Who Are the I-Kiribati?
The I-Kiribati (pronounced ee-keer-ee-bass) are the Micronesian people of the Republic of Kiribati, a nation of 33 coral atolls spread across 3.5 million square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean—an area larger than India but with only 811 square kilometers of land. Numbering approximately 120,000, they speak Gilbertese (Kiribati), a Micronesian Austronesian language. Kiribati is unique in spanning all four hemispheres and straddling the International Date Line. Like Tuvalu, Kiribati faces existential threats from climate change, but its cultural traditions—particularly navigation and community governance—demonstrate remarkable adaptation to Pacific conditions.
Navigation and Seafaring
I-Kiribati culture was built on mastery of the sea. Traditional navigation techniques allowed voyaging across hundreds of miles of open ocean without instruments, using stars, wave patterns, bird behavior, and cloud formations. The outrigger canoe (wa) was essential for fishing, inter-island travel, and communication. Canoe building was a skilled craft with spiritual dimensions. Fishing techniques ranged from individual line fishing to large communal efforts. The babai pit—excavated areas for growing swamp taro—represented ingenious agriculture on coral islands. Traditional meeting houses (maneaba) served as centers of community governance, where elders made decisions affecting the community. The warrior tradition included distinctive armor made from coconut fiber and shark teeth.
Colonial and Modern History
British colonization as the Gilbert Islands (named after a British naval captain) lasted from 1892 to 1979. World War II brought devastating battles to Tarawa—the 1943 American assault was one of the bloodiest in Pacific theater history. British nuclear testing on Christmas Island (Kiritimati) in the 1950s-60s left environmental and health legacies. Independence in 1979 created the Republic of Kiribati. The nation faced challenges including remoteness, limited resources, and overcrowding on South Tarawa. Phosphate mining on Banaba Island, exhausted by independence, had provided revenue but displaced the Banaban population to Fiji.
Contemporary I-Kiribati
Modern Kiribati confronts climate change as perhaps its defining challenge. President Anote Tong (2003-2016) became an international advocate for climate action, purchasing land in Fiji as potential refuge. Rising seas, king tides, and coastal erosion threaten inhabited areas. Freshwater contamination and coral bleaching affect food security. Yet I-Kiribati maintain cultural resilience. The Gilbertese language remains strong and universal. The maneaba system continues governing community affairs. Traditional dance, music, and crafts persist. Fishing remains central to both subsistence and identity. The I-Kiribati diaspora in Australia, New Zealand, and other countries maintains connections to home. Kiribati represents both the vulnerability of low-lying nations and the determination of Pacific peoples to survive and maintain their cultures.
References
- Maude, H. E. (1963). The Evolution of the Gilbertese Boti
- Grimble, A. (1972). Migrations, Myth and Magic from the Gilbert Islands
- Teaiwa, T. (2015). Consuming Ocean Island: Stories of People and Phosphate from Banaba