Celebrating Rotuman Language Week on our campuses
Gasav Ne Fäeag Rotuạm Ta! Rotuma Language Week is being celebrated across our organisation this week from 10-16 May, highlighting the rich cultural connections our staff and students have with the island nation.
The celebration marks the beginning of the 2026 Pacific Language Weeks series led by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, which for 20 years have been promoting and preserving Pacific languages across Aotearoa.
“Celebrating Pacific Language Weeks recognises the importance of our cultures and communities in the diaspora,” says Interim Manager Pacific Success Sooalo Daisy Bentley-Gray.
“Hence, participating as an institution enables us as a Pacific community to celebrate our cultures as a community, and participating expresses to our students and communities that we value Pacific peoples, traditions, and cultures. “
This year’s theme, “Ȧf’ȧk, putua, a’pumuạ’ȧk ma rak’ȧk ‘os fäega ma ‘os ag fak Rotuma, la se maoen ‘e ‘os tore” — treasure, nurture and teach our Rotuman language and culture so it may live on through generations — resonates strongly across the community.
To celebrate the week, our Pacific Centre team, Bula Community and Library team have created a dedicated display in Te Puna at our Mt Albert Campus, featuring Rotuman language resources, books, posters, cultural items and information for kaimahi ‘staff’ and ākonga ‘students’ to explore.
Bachelor of Architectural Studies student Ian Ratusau says celebrating his Fijian-Rotuman heritage is an important part of who he is and something he proudly shared recently while studying in Mexico on a Prime Minister’s Scholarship.
“This scholarship meant a lot to me, and I was blessed with the opportunity to share the love for my culture with those I met overseas,” he explained.
While spending four weeks at partner institution Tecnológico de Monterrey, Ian introduced fellow international students to Rotuman and Fijian traditions such as the kava drinking ceremony and sharing its cultural significance, protocols and preparation.
“My father is Rotuman and his maternal lineage is from Saulei Nuatau, while his paternal links is from Hapmak, carrying a chiefly lineage,” adds Ian.
“Growing up in Fiji, I was exposed to both my Fijian and Rotuman heritages. Although I may be more fluent speaking Fijian, my Rotuman side will have to take the cup. I’m on my own personal journey to learn my traditions and language properly, so that I too may be able to pass down its knowledge to the future generations.”
Ian says his Rotuman identity is built on his Christian faith.
“In Rotuma, ‘Rotu’ means Church and ‘Ma’ means Faith. This is a value we as a people honour most in our everyday life, Fellowship with God, and each other. This was one of the values that my Mapigas’ (Grandparents in Rotuman) passed down to my father, and from my father down to us, and I plan to carry it down to my future children,” he explains.
“I feel so grateful that we’re recognised here in Aotearoa New Zealand, to have a week dedicated to my people, to be able to showcase our traditions, dances, food and most importantly, our faith.”
Ian’s experience reflects the wider purpose of Pacific Language Weeks — strengthening identity, encouraging cultural exchange and ensuring Pacific languages and traditions continue to thrive not just in Aotearoa New Zealand, but globally.
Subject Librarian (Pacific) Sana Saleem says Rotuman culture has long left a lasting impression on her through friendships formed while growing up in Fiji.
“Two of my classmates hailed from Rotuma,” Sana says.
“Language in Rotuma is actively celebrated through song and dance. These traditions ensure that even far from the island, Rotumans maintain a strong linguistic and cultural identity in Aotearoa.”
Located about 650 kilometres northwest of Fiji, Rotuma is known for its distinct Polynesian culture and language, which differs from Melanesian Fiji. The island has a population of around 2,000 people and a strong global diaspora, including more than 1,300 people of Rotuman descent living in New Zealand, primarily across Auckland, Wellington and Waikato.
Rotuman is also recognised for its unique 10-vowel language, making it one of the Pacific’s most distinctive linguistic traditions.
Sana encourages staff and students wanting to learn more about Rotuman culture and identity to explore the book Learning to Be Rotuman: Enculturation in the South Pacific, available through Te Puna Library.
Through events and initiatives such as Rotuman Language Week, we continue to celebrate the diversity of its Pacific communities on our campuses.
