Tongan cultural performers at Polyfest 2018. Photo: PeninaJoy/ Coconet
A Tongan law academic credits Tonga's "strong leadership" for its unique history.
Tongan Language Week is being celebrated in Aotearoa this week under the theme 'Our language is a vital strand of our Tongan culture'.
The University of Auckland's Dr Suliana Mone spoke with Pacific Waves about promoting lea faka-Tonga (Tongan language) while visiting Oxford University.
She said the country's collective identity has kept the culture alive.
"It's easy to get lost when you go to bigger platforms. It's easy to not have a sense of who you. [Staying connect to your culture] gives you a grounding.
"It gives you the anchor - something constant and consistent - something that I feel has never let me down, no matter where I am."
Dr Mone said Tongan culture is about collectivity and pride in oneself.
"The fact that Tonga was not colonised comes down to strong leadership we have had and our sense of a collective identity.
"I think part of that unity is being able to speak a common language."
She said you cannot exactly define what it means to be Tongan, but there are some commonalities that bring Tongans together.
"Those are our values and a lot of our values are expressed in our language. Language binds us as a collective, as a people, and it keeps our culture and our cultural practices alive."
Law academic Dr Suliana Mone had the opportunity to visit the University of Oxford where she opened her presentation by speaking in lea faka-Tonga, or Tongan language. Photo: The University of Auckland
She said Tonga has been strong in resisting many outside influences.
"There are very different and conflicting ideas and opinions within the Tongan community. But the beauty of it all is everyone's voice is taken into account [when deciding] where Tonga goes.
"It is an internal dialogue that will determine our pathway forward, as opposed to having things imposed on us, as has been done to a number of neighboring Pacific islands."
Tongan Language Week runs until Saturday.
According to Stats NZ, there more than 97,000 people who identified as Tongan in New Zealand in 2023, making then the second-largest Pacific ethnic group in Aotearoa, after Samoans.
Ministry for Pacific Peoples secretary Gerardine Clifford-Lidstone said the Tongan language is more than a way of speaking - it is a living link to ancestral wisdom, community strength, and cultural pride.
