Stories From Kiribati

[This story took place several decades back and at the time when there was only one main hospital ever built for all the inhabited islands of Kiribati. This hospital was at Abaokoro village on the island of North Tarawa. All patients with serious cases from the rest of the islands had to be admitted to this hospital for treatment]

An elderly man from the island of Arorae, the last island in the south, was admitted to Abaokoro hospital for treatment. Accompanying him all the way fro...

Bakoa (shark) was indeed a wicked king who wanted to rule the entire ocean all by himself. To attain this savage desire, Bakoa began his brutal killings to all the other kings of the sea. He succeeded that in the end, he became one and the only king of the whole sea empire.

Bakoa had a son named Teimone. But the son had to die since the father still wanted nobody to become king after him. On the set day, Bakoa asked his son to go and hunt for dad's favourite food. Teimone did what ...

An old man named Toantemabine, once lived at Baretoa village on the island of Abemama. He was known to possess a rare skill of ‘binekua’. With this skill, a person could call or make the whales swim all the way from the bottom of the ocean to the shore. At the shore, they would be killed; their meat cut up then cooked by the villagers for food.

There came an occasion, when the people of Baretoa experienced an intense food craving for the meat of the whale. Thus, everyon...

(IANGOAN TIRINGAKIN MATARI)

Ngke e euta atuna Matari ao e a noora Bakoa, are e tekateka ni kaitaraa. E a toki raoi ngkai nanon Matari bwa e a bon tibwa itaramata ma Bakoa are e a boongata arana inanon taningana mani uarerekena. Akea te kakarongoa ngkai a tabe moa uaakai ni kamwataua tarakiia i bon irouia.

Ai tera te mwaneaba aio n te tai aei? E onrake nanona ao tinanikuna irouia kaain Moone bwa kaitaraan ao kan noran te roko aio. A boni babane kaain marawa ni moa mai irouia bakoa ...

At Kiebu on Makin, there lived a man called Nang Keneia. The people of Kiebu at that time, occasionally went to Butaritari to attend the dancing festival. After preparing all that was required and needed, people had to wait for the day of the trip.

When the day came, the people got onto the ‘baurua’ (big sailing canoe) which would take them to Butaritari. The canoe went on its first then second trip taking many people there, however Nang Keneia hardly care of the commotion.

(KAITIBON MATARI MA BAKOA)

I mwiin te tai ae aki rangi ni maan, ao akea bwa a manga otirake mai taari n te tabo teuana ike e a mena te aba i etaia. E iabuti te tabo are a otirake iai ao man aki toko waeia, aingaia are a uauarake riki teutana ni kaea eta. Ngke a toko waeia ma aontano ao a nakonako ni karaurau rinanon taian rawarawa ake a mena imwaaia. E rimoa kaain taari ao man taorimwiaki iroun Matari.

Ma ai aki akora bwaai ake a tauraoi ao mani wene n tataninga inanon taian rawar...

As the big tree known as 'Te Kaintikuaba' finally collapsed, Nei Takarara left the tree and went to the island of Nabanaba. She brought the seed of the tree with her. Arriving at Nabanaba, two men - Tauaba and Nakekea - met and married her. Nei Takarara soon gave birth to a daughter whom she named Tekanuea.

There was also a man by the name of Tearikintarawa who lived on the island of Tarawa. With him were his wife, Nei Tarawa, and only daughter Nei Terieri. Everyday, Nei Teri...

Tetaake and Nabureiwa swam out to the ocean. Suddenly Nabureiwa felt being falling into a deep hole of water. Shortly and as Tetaake assured, they had landed now at Tetaake’s father’s island in a world beneath the sea. The name of this beautiful island was Moone. Together the couple walked to their father Bakoa whom delighted to see them. Bakoa was the king of Moone. Nabureiwa was stunned to know his wife was more than an ordinary lady - the princess of Moone and the only daughter...

There was once a young man by the name of Nabureiwa who lived at Kauake village on the island of Aranuka. One day he went out fishing in the ocean. While fishing he suddenly felt a strong tug onto his line so he pulled back in return. As he was busy pulling the line, he saw the long human hair beside his canoe. Curiosity made him forgot all about his catch and instead started pulling onto the hair. He pulled and pulled until a lady appeared onto the water surface. Nabureiwa couldn’t bel...

Long ago, on one of the islands of the Marshalls, there lived a king with his three daughters. The daughters were happy but their father was not happy. The king was thinking hard about how to get some flowers from a special plant called kaura. Every king’s daughter in the Marshall islands had to plait these special flowers into a crown. Daughters had to crown themselves when they became young women.

One day, the king whispered to his eldest daughter. The princess nodded ...