Motueka embraces Bislama - the language of Vanuatu
From left: Valorie Patrick, Maria Bennich, Kenny Willis, Chris Sutton, Robyn Auborn and Lui Taliliu outside the Motueka museum after the opening and blessing of the Vanuatu cultural arts exhibition. Photo: Fiona Nelson.
FIONA NELSON
Language is a cornerstone for the health and well-being of a people - and, as history shows us, a loss of language leads to a loss of culture and identity.
This week, Motueka is hosting the pilot Bislama Language Week. Bislama is the main language of Vanuatu, and in conjunction, Motueka Museum is holding a Vanuatu cultural arts exhibition. On Sunday, mihi whakataua (welcome) and waiata were given by Te Awhina o Motueka outside the museum.
Since 2010, The Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) has been promoting Pacific Language Weeks for nine Pacific countries. Next year, it is intended that a further two be added to the list.
To get official support from MPP to revitalise and sustain the main language of Vanuatu (Bislama), community-led pilot programmes, such as this one, are being hosted throughout Aotearoa.
Valorie Patrick has co-ordinated the Bislama Language Week programme. She has lived here with her husband and two daughters for the last seven years, and she co-ordinates the orchard staff at Heywood Orchard in Riwaka.
“As there is two-to-three hundred ni-Vanuatu who work seasonally in the local orchards, Motueka is an ideal location to host a pilot for Bislama Language Week,” she says.
Motueka Museum’s exhibition manager, Kenny Willis, says seasonal workers began arriving in Motueka in the 1930s and have added to the social fabric ever since.
“The exhibition is a community-led initiative with the people and friends of Vanuatu having identified culturally significant items they would like to share. This celebration encourages everyone to get involved in Bislama Language Week as well as the cultural arts from Vanuatu, which enrich and diversify our town as well as our country.”
Karina Paksa, a ni-Vanuatu worker at Heywood Orchard in Riwaka, considers it a privilege to have the welcome and celebration of Bislama language here in Motueka. She says that what she likes about the area, is that people are friendly.
The language week celebrations continue this week with a library tour and games night at Motueka Public Library Te Noninga Kumu on Wednesday, 16 November at 6pm and a String Band Concert at Much More Grocery Store at 6.30pm.
‘Leftemap Bislama: Embracing Bislama’ will run at the museum until 3 December.