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Sapon Riki Ba Kain Toromon: a Study of the I-Kiribati Community in Solomon Islands

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Sapon Riki Ba Kain Toromon: a Study of the I-Kiribati Community in Solomon Islands SAPON RIKI BA KAIN TOROMON: A STUDY OF THE I-KIRIBATI COMMUNITY IN SOLOMON ISLANDS A PORTFOLIO PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI´I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN PACIFIC STUDIES AUGUST 2011 By Tammy Tabe Portfolio Project Committee: Terence Wesley-Smith Geoffrey White Tarcisius Kabutaulaka Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii Preface……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..v CHAPTER ONE: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 - Significance of Study……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 - Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 - Portfolio Outline……………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 CHAPTER TWO: Relocation: From Gilbert and Phoenix Islands to Solomon Islands - Relocation: An Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………….7 - Relocation from the Southern Gilbert to Phoenix Islands………………………………………………13 - Settlement of Phoenix Islands and Changes Encountered……………………………………………..20 - From Phoenix Islands to Solomon Islands………………………………………………………………………24 - Settlement of Titiana and Wagina and Challenges Encountered…………………………………...31 CHAPTER THREE: Changes and Experiences in Solomon Islands - Adaptation and Experiences in Solomon Islands: Experiences Shared……………………………37 o Sociocultural Changes . Village Organization……………………………………………………………………………..38 . Construction of Modern Dwellings ………………………………………………………39 . Changes in Roles and Way of Life………………………………………………………….39 . Changes of Traditional Practices …………………………………………………………..41 . Changes in Culture and Moral Behavior………………………………………………..43 o Economic Changes . Involvement in Income-Generating Activities ………………………………………48 . Shift from Subsistence to Semi-Subsistence …………………………………………48 - Sociocultural and Economic Issues o Sociocultural Issues: . Land Disputes ……………………………………………………………………………………..50 . Civil Crisis…………………………………………………………………………………………….55 . Erosion of Culture and Language…………………………………………………………58 . Loss of Identity…………………………………………………………………………………….62 o Economic Issues: . Lack of Access to Opportunities and Benefits……………………………………..64 . Lack of Government Assistance ………………………………………………………...65 CHAPTER FOUR: Construction and Reconstruction of Identity: Strategies for Assimilation - Mobility and Identity…………………………………………………………………………………………………..67 - Identities at Different Levels o Personal Identity……………………………………………………………………………………………76 o National Identity……………………………………………………………………………………………78 o Regional and International Identity……………………………………………………………….79 - Identity Issues: A Personal Reflection………………………………………………………………………..80 - Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………85 - References………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..88 - Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….95 Acknowledgement This study encapsulates an effort to elucidate the uncertainty of personal identity. It is my journey home to a place of my origins, my home island, and a place where my cultural essence is embedded. To the many people who have encouraged me to take this path and supported me throughout this journey, I say, ‘Kam batin rapa.’ I would have not made it without your guidance. I would like to say kam na batin rapa to the elders and people of Arariki, Cookson, and Nikumaroro on Wagina and Titiana, New Manra, and Babaga in Gizo; without your rich insights about and experiences of the relocation and life today in Solomon Islands, this study would have not been a success. A special thanks to Peter Tobire for his assistance with my interviews. To my parents and siblings, I thank you for your continuous support and prayers. A special thanks goes to my father for assisting me with his materials from the Kiribati archives. Many thanks and much love to my family in Solomon Islands—my grandmother Mere, uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces, and nephews—for encouraging and assisting me with my fieldwork; to my grandmother Terabata Groves and her family for supporting me while here in Hawai‘i; and to my I-Kiribati and Tuvaluan families for your great support and encouragement. Vinaka vaka levu to my friends and families in Fiji, who continuously encouraged me through your emails. Many thanks to my Pacific Islands friends in Hawai‘i: Ebil Matsutaro, Edelene Uriarte, and Keola Diaz from Palau, Brian Aloifatuli, Jonathan Porter from Samoa, Takena Redfern from Kiribati, James Viernes from Guam, Marion Cadora, William Rarick and Brandon Barbour from USA, Ponipate Rokolekutu, Nikola Komailevuka, Kavina Dayal, Alissa Dean, Nanise Young, David Dugu, Taniela Lee, Millie Lee and Maria Lee from Fiji, my friend Stephanie Robinson for always being there for me through difficult times, and Dorah Wilson from Vanuatu for believing that I can make it . Special thanks to my friend John Lee for your encouragement, to the Kabutaulaka family and to Aunty Susana Rarick for your continuous support. A special thanks to the staff of the Pacific Islands Development Program: Gerard Finin , Scott Kroeker, Mona Nakihei, Titilia Barbour, and especially Peter Wagner and Edelene Uriarte for taking me on board to work on the Pacific Islands Report, which gave me rich insights into the current affairs of the Pacific Islands. Many thanks to the East-West Center staff—Mary Hammond, Gene Vricella, and Mayitta Penoliar—for administering my scholarship and taking care of the logistics of my fieldwork. I would like to express special thanks to the staff of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, especially Coco Needham for tirelessly offering secretarial assistance when we need it. I would like to thank my Pacific Islands Studies cohort—Ebil Matsutaro, Chai Blair Stahn, Brian Aloifatuli, Dorah Wilson, Healoha Johnston, Daniel K. Maile, and Alan Vandermyden—for inspiring me with your thoughts and experiences during our class seminars. Your support has motivated me to complete this study. My deepest gratitude goes to the Pacific Research Council of Norway, which, through the University of Bergen and the leadership of Edvard Hviding, was able to fund my studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Many thanks to the Bergen Pacific Group for sharing ideas with me regarding my study while in Norway. A special thanks to Edvard Hviding for your insightful comments about my thesis, and especially to Eilin Torgersen for being an awesome chaperon who also possesses great technical skills. Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my thesis committee—Terence Wesley- Smith, Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka, and Geoffrey White—for your patience, constant guidance, constructive comments, and affirmative encouragement throughout this study. To the family, friends, and colleagues whom I have not mentioned, thank you for your support, love, and encouragement. Kam batin raba. Preface I was preparing to return to the village to conduct my fieldwork. It was already too late to await a flight to Wagina, so I had to board the boat. I was told that the boat trip from Honiara to Wagina would take three days. I didn’t approve of the idea of traveling for that long, but it was necessary for the completion of my study within the allocated time frame. I was in my own world on the boat, just lying down and watching everyone move about, so I made no attempt to initiate conversations with other I- Kiribati people on board. By the second day, however, I was bored and decided to start conversations with some of the I-Kiribati teenagers. It was difficult because they would yarn to each other in the Kiribati language, while I merely sat and listened. I didn’t like the idea of just sitting around, but I thought I could befriend some of them; indeed, by the end of the day, I found myself telling stories and chewing betel nut with the group. I recall a young I-Kiribati male telling me that I didn’t know how to chew betel nut—which was obvious because I lacked the chewing skills—and was thus wasting it, adding that I probably didn’t know how to speak the language either. I was offended, but this incident made me realize that I had missed out on some fundamental aspects of my culture while I was away from home. In this paper I attempt to explore my identity and to evaluate why my I-Kiribati great grandparents and grandparents were relocated to Solomon Islands, and to discuss the socio-cultural and economic changes and issues that the community, being Micronesian in a Melanesia society, faced. Further, this paper addresses how their relocation has affected even recent generations of I-Kiribati Solomon Islanders like myself—in particular, the negotiations of multiple and multi-layered identities. This study tells the story of a group of people who relocated from the Southern Gilbert Islands to Phoenix Islands in the 1930s, and then to Solomon Islands in the 1950s and 1960s. Both relocations were administered by the British colonial government when the Gilbert and Phoenix Island groups were part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands1 Colony (GEIC). This paper discusses the experiences of the original settlers and the changes and issues that their descendants now face more than fifty years later. The issue of identity is a recurring one in this study. The original I-Kiribati settlers were relocated to a place far from their home islands and settled among people whose languages and cultures differ greatly. Decades later, their descendants still feel a sense of ‘not belonging,’ but at the same time acknowledge and benefit from their status as Solomon Islands citizens. Despite this, the
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