Tongan student Siaosi Lavelua celebrates five-year te reo Māori journey

A 21-year-old Tongan New Zealander is sharing his journey of cultural connection after dedicating five years to learning te reo Māori. Siaosi (George) Lavelua, who has roots in Kolomotu‘a and Makave, told RNZ that his experience learning the language has reinforced his belief that Māori and Pasifika are "one people" at the end of the day. Lavelua’s journey began as a Year 9 student at Auckland Grammar School. Initially seeking a space to connect with other Māori and Pasifika students, he soon found himself captivated by the linguistic and structural similarities between te reo Māori and his native Tongan language. He noted that the sentence structures often mirrored the "old Tongan" he spoke at home with his parents. This realization turned a classroom choice into a long-term commitment that lasted through his final year of secondary school. His connection to te ao Māori is also practical. For years, Lavelua has been a fixture at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Auckland night markets, serving 'otai for his family business, Lav’s 'otai. Being able to converse in te reo with those he meets at these events has fostered a deeper sense of whanaungatanga. Lavelua described the principle as one that resonates deeply with him, focusing on the relationships between people, the community, and the environment. Now based in Brisbane working in marketing and hospitality, Lavelua told RNZ that his studies also opened his eyes to the historical solidarity between Indigenous leaders. He highlighted how King Tāwhiao and other Pacific sovereigns once wrote to one another to support their respective sovereignty against colonisation. Encouraging others to take up the language, he shared the whakataukī "Tūwhitia te hopo, mairangatia te angitū"—urging people to feel the fear and do it anyway.