Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

The German Flag

I never thought I would sing in German.  We are learning a song in the German language. I am so happy for this. I love languages and learning some German just makes the world that much smaller. When I think about it, our music is heavily influenced by Germans. For example, G.F. Handel was German.

It is an exciting time to be involved in the choir. We are "America's Choir" and yet we sing for "everyone".

Who would have thought that a Tongan (me) would learn to sing a song in German?

Actually, the connection between Germans and Tongans goes back to the mid 1800's.

The following is taken from the University of Auckland, New Zealand website regarding Germans and Tongans.

 One of the German pioneers in Tonga was August Sanft, from Pyritz in Pomerania, who, in 1848, at the age of 28, left his homeland for the New World, arriving first in Boston. Hearing of the gold rush in California, he spent some time in California prospecting and panning for gold, before trying his luck at the gold fields in Queensland, Australia. It was while he was in Australia that he heard of the Pacific Islands and the lucrative coconut oil trade. He arrived in Nuki’alofa in 1855, and, after a few years there, leased some land fronting the harbour in Neiafu, Vava’u, where he established a business importing goods from Germany and exporting copra, bananas, vanilla and cotton to Hamburg. His most important partner in this enterprise was Godeffroy & Sohn. He invited Sophie Dörner, from Freiburg im Breisgau, to come to Vava’u, and they were married on her arrival in 1864. They had six children. In the early 1870s they were joined by eight of his nephews: four Sanfts and four Wolfgramms, and their second cousin Hermann Guttenbeil. Together, they continued the business that August Sanft had set up and branched out into their own businesses, many of them marrying Tongans. Sanft, Wolfgramm and Guttenbeil are some of the best known European surnames in Tonga today, with many descendants also in Samoa, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Other names of early German settlers in Tonga which are well known throughout the region are Brähne, Hansen, Hoeft, Riechelmann, Schober, and Schulz.

It's strange but I grew up with the descendants of these German pioneers who came to Tonga. Now, in a strange way, singing in German actually makes me feel more connected to them.

Most recently Tonga and Germany were connected again during the last Winter Olympics when a Tongan luger who adopted the name of Bruno Banani (after a German underwear company) competed. I don't know the details but apparently he left Tonga, trained in Germany and worked hard to compete in the Olympics.

Bruno Banani. Tongan luger in the Winter Olympics.

Anyway, I totally digress.

I'm excited to learn a little German and I'm grateful we get to do this in choir. Wish me luck!