Te Rii Ni Banaba: Backbone of Banaba

Te Rii ni Banaba - backbone of Banaba, is a history of the people of Banaba, a small island in the Central Pacific once known as Ocean Island. By recording genealogies, myths, legends, customs, culture, sports, music, dance, totems, and magic rituals, the authors discuss anthropological, archaeological, and linguistic evidence that points to the uniqueness of the Banaban people. This second edition includes twenty-one additional photographs, and an expanded text and highlights the discovery of the missing link of the Toakira, the search for Teimanaia's missing skull, complete identification of the landowners who signed the first lease agreements in 1900 and further insights on the now famous 1975 Banaban Court Case. It identifies all the destroyed hamlets and villages lost due to mining and provides the links for future generations to trace their family's genealogies and land use and land rights.
Te Rii ni Banaba - backbone of Banaba, brings to light new research, including the long-kept secrets of the mysterious te Aka clan, and the successive invasions of Banaba. Then the I-Matang (Europeans) arrived - beachcombers, blackbirders, whalers, missionaries, miners and an occupying Japanese military force during World War II. 1900 was a turning point in this sequence of events with the discovery of phosphate (guano) and a tragic trail of loss and environmental degradation from mining. The Banaban people, who were exiled from their homeland first during the Pacific War, then to Rabi (Fiji) afterwards. The names all those Banabans tragically killed on Banaba during the War and the names of the displaced Banaban survivors who arrived on Rabi in 1945 are recorded. Although always remote and now decimated by mining, Banaba remains in the hearts of all Banabans. A key narrative in Te Rii Ni Banaba backbone of Banaba, is the struggle by Banabans to discover their culture and identity, and the authors write, fearful that due to pressure from Fijian, I-Kiribati and western influences, future generations will no longer know or identify as Banaban.
Raobeia Ken Sigrah is a Banaban, born and schooled on Rabi, Taveuni, Korovou and Suva in Fiji. His elders educated him as a very young boy on Banaban genealogies, myths, legends, and customs. He was privileged to be given the responsibility to represent and speak for twelve clans. He danced, sang and was part of Banaba's living culture as he grew up. He worked for the Rabi Council of Leaders and represented Banabans in cultural performances abroad and until now, has carried much of this knowledge in his head, utilising this information in his role as clan spokesman.
Stacey M. King called Nei Titetiti Naking by the Banabans, hails from an Australian family who for four generations, were involved with phosphate mining on Banaba. Led by family interest, she conducted her own research, visiting Rabi for the first time in 1991. She began to publish Banaba/Ocean Island News in 1992 and in 1993 formed the Banaban Heritage Society Inc, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of history and bettering of the lives of the Banaban people.
Together Sigrah and King have built a collection of original documents and research material over thirty years and interviewed expatriates and Banabans who have lived and worked on Banaba. All the Banaban clans involved in this history have endorsed this book. With the elder's permission, their findings are again published. Te Rii ni Banaba offers not only traditional knowledge and historical research but also the results of a desperate mission to save the remaining evidence of the old Banaba. The book is essential reading for Banabans, and for a broad audience keen to learn more about migrations, environment, human rights and the fate of an indigenous people in the modern world.

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