A few days ago, Collin Johansson sent me an email about the culture of gratitude in Tonga where he lives. I found the email inspiring. So, with his permission, I’d like to share the email with you. Here is what Collin wrote to me (with some edits for better clarity):
Your email reminded me of a story of an American lady (Patricia Ledyard) who came here in the 1960s to volunteer as a teacher for the Methodist mission. She was posted to Vava’u, an outer island group further north (beautiful place… so beautiful that they warn you that if you go there you may never come back). Long story short she loved the place, the people especially, and fell in love with an English doctor.
In her book, Utulei, My Tongan Home (Utulei is the village where she lived), she talks of the one most valuable thing she learned from her ‘Tongan’ family and that was that the most appropriate attitude to life was gratitude. People would always show gratitude as was always the proper thing to do. She then explained that, to her amazement, the Tongan social etiquette was based on thankfulness. The Tongan word for hello is Malo lelei which means ‘most grateful that you are well.’ When you greet someone at work or who is working, you say Malo e ngaue which means ‘thanks for your hard work.’ Even when you greet someone that has just arrived, you say Malo e folau which means ‘thank you for making the journey.’ When visiting someone that is sick you greet them by saying Malo e mo’ui which means ‘so thankful that you are alive.’
Photo by Ibrahim Iujaz
