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Te
Rii ni Banaba (the backbone of
Banaba) is a history of the people
of Banaba, through their
genealogies, myths, legends,
customs, culture, sports, music,
dance, totems, and magic rituals.
The authors discuss
anthropological, archaeological,
and linguistic evidence that point
to the uniqueness of the Banaban
people.
Te
Rii ni Banaba, which brings to
light new research, including long
kept secrets of the te Aka clan,
and the successive invasions of
Banaba. The Auriaria established
Tabwewa District and their customs
were distinct from those of the
people who preceded them.
Nei Anginimaeao's arrival led to
new boundaries and the
introduction of new rights,
resulting in the emergence of a
different culture again.
Then the I-Matang arrived.
First, White beachcombers,
blackbirders, whalers, and
missionaries came, followed by
miners. The Japanese
occupied the island during World
War II. Mining and war led
to displacement of the Banaban
people, who were twice exiled from
their homeland - first to Kosrae,
Nauru, and Tarawa during the war,
then to Rabi (Fiji) afterward.
Always remote and now decimated
form mining, Banaba remains in the
hearts of all Banabans who still
retain their original culture, as
detailed in this book.
Raobeia
Ken Sigrah is a Banaban, born and
schooled on Rabi and elsewhere in
Fiji. His elders educated
him on Banaban genealogies, myths,
legends and customs. He
danced, sand, and played Banaba's
living culture as he grew up.
He has worked for the Rabi Council
of Leaders and represented
Banabans in cultural performance
abroad. Until now, he has
carried much of this knowledge in
his head, utilizing this
information in his role as clan
spokesman.
Stacy
M. King, called Nei Titeiti Naking
by the Banabans, hails from an
Australian family, who for four
generations, were involved with
the phosphate mining industry 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 New in 1992 and in 1993
formed the Banaban Heritage
Society Inc, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the
preservation of history and
bettering the lives of the Banaban
people.
Together
Sigrah and King have built a vast
collection of original documents
and research material, and
interviewed people who have lived
and worked on Banaba. All
the Banaban clans involved in this
history have sanctioned their work
for this book. With the
elders permission, Sigrah and
King's findings are now finally
published. Te Rii ni
Banaba offers not only
traditional knowledge, but also
research. Its vast number of
pictures and diagrams show the
essence of Banaba. The book is
essential reading for Banabans and
all people interested in Banaba's
story.
To
order from email
book@banaban.com
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D.
Stanley's - Moon Mandbooks: Fiji,
Published by Avalon Travel
Publishing, Latest Edition 2001.
Now
a new Pacific Web Site by David
Stanley at
South
Pacific Organizer
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Fiji
Fantastic! Friendly Fiji, where Melanesia
mixes with Polynesia, ancient India with
Oceania, and tradition with the modern
world. You have in your hands the
original-and still the best-detailed,
reliable guide to this 322-island
archipelago, crossroads and throbbing heart
of the South Pacific.
The
latest edition of this great travel book has
just been released and has up to date
details on travelling to Rabi Island in
Fiji. This is the only travel book we've
seen to include details on Rabi Island.
To
order from
Amazon
Books
 ARCHIVAL
& HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
Empire
Books U.K.
For
one of the most comprehensive collections of
historical and Colonial documents relating
to United Kingdom and its role in Pacific
History can be found with rare book dealer
Colin Hinchcliffe at Empire Books U.K.
Material selected from their catalogue can
be posted anywhere in the world.
Contact
Colin Hinchcliffe at
EMPIRE
BOOKS
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TRAVELLING
TALES
by
Charles Wooley
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Charles
Wooley recounts his most memorable stories
during his World travels as journalist with
the Australian '60 Minutes' Television
Program. He dedicates a chapter called -
EXILES IN PARADISE to the Banabans, after
his visit to meet the community on Rabi
Island in the October of 1993. Charles
travelled to Rabi to do a story on the
Banabans for the '60 Minutes' program. He
was so taken back by the hospitality of the
Banaban people and their desire to one day
return to the homeland, that he has
considered his visit to Rabi and his
subsequent flight over the devastated
Banaban homeland island as one of the most
unforgettable stories of his career. His
book can be obtained through all leading
Book Stores and is published in Australia by
Random House Publications. R.R.P. : $16.50
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BOOK
OF BANABA
by
Harry & Honor Maude
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When
the had to leave their ancestral homeland as
a result of the devastation caused by the
phosphate mining industry they settled on
the island of Rabi in Fiji.
Unfortunately
the traumatic upheavals which the community
has been trough since the beginning of the
century, and particularly since the Japanese
occupation, have resulted in an
understandable loss of confidence and a
questioning of their identity and future.
The Rabi born, in particular, have little
conception of their rich historical heritage
and former culture.
This
book, therefore, has been prepared to
provide the present and future generations
of Rabi islanders with all that has been
recorded of their former way of life on
Banaba from the time their forbears first
settled it over a thousand years ago and
created a prosperous, self-supporting and
happy society numbering several thousand.
The
work will be of interest as well to a wider
readership since it is the first to detail
the settlement of an isolated Pacific
Island, the development on it over the
centuries of a community superbly integrated
into its unique environment, and its final
reluctant abandonment owing to external
pressures beyond their control.
This
is the last book written by Professor Harry
Maude in a career that has spanned more than
eighty years. Harry is the man responsible
for buying Rabi Island for the Banabans. To
order this great book contact Linda Crowl,
at the Institute of Pacific Studies, at the
University of the South Pacific. Email:
crowl_l@usp.ac.fj
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STRATEGIC
ATOLLS - Tuvalu and the Second
World War
by
Peter McQuarrie
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Peter
McQuarrie has now completed his history of
Tuvalu during the period of the Pacific War,
1942 - 1945. He documents the events of the
war and explores their implications through
the eyes of indigenous Tuvaluans and
occupying forces. The publication of the
book in December 1994 is timely , given the
50th. Anniversary of many important World
War II events.
The
book is published jointly by the Macmillan
Brown Centre for Pacific Studies and the
Institute of Pacific Studies in Suva.
To
order this book contact Linda Crowl, at the
Institute of Pacific Studies, at the
University of the South Pacific. Email:
or
Email: Kate Scott, at the Macmillan Brown
Centre for Pacific Studies, University of
Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
k.scott@pacs.canterbury.ac.nz
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Neil
Levy's - Moon Handbooks: Micronesia,
Published by Avalon Travel
Publishing, Latest Edition 2000.
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Undiscovered
Isles. Still undiscovered by all but a
fortunate few, the four vast archipelagoes
of Micronesia between Hawaii and the
Philippines are an island-hopper's paradise.
Micronesia Handbook was the first- and is
still the best-comprehensive, reliable
source of information on all the seven
territories of Micronesia - not just the hot
spots. Author Neil Levy - a well known
authority on Pacific law - takes you from
gateway Guam to the remotest Pacific atoll-
a Pacific adventure all your own. This
travel book of Neil's covers in detail the
Banabans homeland of Banaba. His book also
covers one of the most important aspects of
travelling in this region - the local
customs.
For more
information, visit Micronesia Handbook
http://www.southpacific.org/micro.html
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