Atonio Mafi NFL draft diary: My Tongan heritage means everything to me

As offensive lineman Atonio Mafi transitions from UCLA to the NFL, he is sharing his journey with Times staff writer Ben Bolch through a weekly diary leading up to the April 27 draft. This week, Mafi discusses his Tongan heritage.

If you watched me closely the last few years, you noticed I would pound a fist into my forearm every time we scored.

The motion formed a “T” in honor of Tonga, my parents’ homeland. Defensive lineman Jay Toia, who is also of Tongan descent, made the same gesture after big plays. We even got left tackle Raiqwon O’Neal to do it, joking that he was the first Tongan from Conway, S.C.

NFL draft prospect Atonio Mafi is joined by his brother, Tita, and cousin, Filo, during his sophomore year in Tonga.

(Courtesy of Atonio Mafi)

My Tongan heritage means everything to me. I have the Tongan seal and motto “Ko e ʻOtua mo Tonga ko hoku tofiʻa,” which means “God and Tonga are my inheritance,” tattooed on my left arm. After we beat Louisiana State a few years ago, I ran around the field with a custom flag in UCLA colors bearing the Tongan seal that my brother had brought to the Rose Bowl.

It was just letting everybody know that I’m proud to be Tongan. People like to say we’re big-boned and meant to be linemen. It’s sort of a metaphor for everything we do. I’ve got a big heart, I’m a big person and I try to play that way when I’m on the field as well.

We’re also friendly people. Tonga has long been known as the friendly islands because of the way we welcome visitors. I consider it a second home even though I was born in the Bay Area because I have so much family there and I’ve visited about 15 times.

Whenever I go, I hang out with my first cousins and my parents’ siblings, catching up and telling them what life is like here in the U.S. The aunt who I stay with lives right on the beach — you literally walk out of the driveway, cross the street and you’re on the sand. The whole island shuts down on Sundays for church and we always have huge family meals.

Food is a big part of the culture. We use a ton of coconut milk, we eat a lot of lamb and corned beef and wrap dishes in taro leaves. Our meals always bring us all together. When I was at UCLA, a family relative would cook Tongan food and let me take it back to my apartment. I’d tell my Polynesian teammates and everyone would come over to hang out and eat.

One of the things I loved about our team was all the Poly boys. Last season, the other Tongans were Jay [Toia], Laiatu Latu, Siale Taupaki, Ale Kaho and Yutaka Mahe. We also had a bunch of Samoans with Darius Muasau, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Devin Aupiu, Noah Pulealii, Kaleb Tuliau and Tyler Manoa, who was half-Tongan, half-Samoan.

I had already met Ken Niumatalolo, the Samoan who just joined UCLA’s staff as the director of leadership, because he’s Tyler’s uncle. He’s a big staple in the Polynesian community. Having been head coach at Navy, everyone knows who he is, so I personally think it was a really great hire to establish a bigger link to get more Polynesian kids to UCLA.

My dad once played for the Tongan national rugby team and it’s been awesome seeing so many Tongans make it in the NFL, too. I love watching San Francisco’s Talanoa Hufanga throw up the “T” because I played against him when he was at USC. Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea is also from the Bay Area, so seeing him put on for the Tongan culture means a lot.

I can’t wait to get to the NFL to let the world know more about the Tongan people and what we represent. We come from a small island nation thousands of miles away, but we’re still doing it big.