One young person's journey of learning vosa vakaViti has inspired a community cookbook that combines recipes, family stories and language, helping others connect with their heritage one meal at a time.
To celebrate Fijian Language Week, the Fiji Society of Hamilton has launched a community cookbook this week, filled with recipes shared by members of the community, showcasing treasured family favourites and traditional Fijian dishes.
Tegan McIntyre and her children Talei, 15, and Milli Prior, 10, are active members in the Society, with Talei and Milli attending vosa vakaViti classes through the Society for the past three years.
Talei admits to being more comfortable behind the scenes, so decided to opt to help the adults in the kitchen this year, helping prepare food shared before the Monday evening classes.
Tegan says, “Talei’s learning her vosa vakaViti in a different kind of way. Through the banter, laughter and conversations in the kitchen, she's picking up the everyday Fijian words and phrases used when people come together around food."
Talei’s unique learning journey sparked the idea for the community's cookbook.
Traditionally the Society’s Fijian Language Week Committee organises celebrations for children, with many of the events involving performances. But this year the Committee wanted to create a different kind of opportunity for the children to take part in, one that felt more relaxed and comfortable for them, especially for the ones like Talei who find performing a bit daunting.
So they chose something more hands on and interactive, with the children learning to make a dish each in class instead.
This approach aligns well with this year’s theme for this week - "Na noqu vosa me tekivu mai vale ka me'u na vosataka e na veisiga" - My language starts at home and I need to speak it every day.
Tegan says, “For Fijians, everything is about food. It's about hospitality, it's reciprocal, sharing food together, looking after one another, respect. It's all those things, they're all quite intertwined.
"Somewhere along the way, we were like, you know, this is amazing. We should make this into a cookbook for them,” says Tegan.
After a call-out to the community, Society members sent through their recipes for Talei to create and format the book.
The cookbook includes the Masu (prayer) used by the children every Monday and a glossary of food related Fijian words and phrases.
“Our Society is made up of busy families with parents juggling work and many other commitments, so when Talei put her hand up to pull the recipe book together, we were like, yes, go do it!” says Tegan.
The Ministry for Pacific Peoples provided funding to the Society for the publication of the book, through the Fijian Language Week fund.
The project reflects the Society's commitment to preserving Fijian culture, strengthening community connections, and sharing traditions with future generations.
Tegan says, "We've done it particularly for our youth, our kids, so that they can carry on their learning journey, or their cooking journey. For us the two are really intertwined."
For Tegan seeing her children contribute to the book was significant as her own childhood was very different. Like many navigating life in a new country, her father moved away from speaking vosa vakaViti when she was young.
“So when I see my kids getting this opportunity to go to these vosa vakaViti classes it really makes me feel proud and dad almost cries when he sees and hears them.”
Leaving the last word to Milli, she says, “It's cool because I'm learning the language when I'm young, so I can have it for the rest of my life.”
