CULTURE
The I-Kiribati are a warm, friendly
and welcoming people. Visitors and those working in Kiribati
are treated with the greatest of respect, Politeness and deference.
Canoe racing, volleyball and soccer
are all popular on the islands, but more traditional pursuits,
such as intricate and beautiful dances - particularly on Tabiteuea
- an indigenous martial art and making figures out of string are
still practised. Also important in Kiribati are chants for one
to four voices that honour particular achievements, such as initiation
rites. The chants are not normally accompanied by dance.
The I-Kiribati (as locals are known,
pronounced 'ee-kee-ree-bus') speak a Micronesian dialect, although
English is widely used in official communications. The local alphabet
has only 13 letters, with 'ti' standing in for 's'. The missionaries
got their talons in early, and the Kiribati Protestant Church
today has over 28,000 followers and the Catholic Church close
to 40,000. Religion is taken very seriously, and the further south
you go the more you should avoid doing anything that looks remotely
like work (even darning your beach towel could be frowned upon).
Traditional customs and beliefs still
survive, which is not surprising for a people who have lived so
closely to a force as mysterious as the sea for so long. Belief
in the power of magic and the existence of ghosts (anti)
is widespread, and small shrines are common in the bush. The clan
is the basic building block of society, and authority throughout
the islands is invested in the maneaba (meeting house),
councils of elderly men who are leaders of a clan.
Islanders
have traditionally lived in a a subsistence economy based on root
crops like taro and sweet potato, coconuts and produce from the
sea, but as the cash economy makes inroads this is starting to
fall by the wayside. Imported foodstuffs are becoming more common
and growing in the popularity and status stakes in rural as well
as urban areas. The local drop is the unfortunately named sour
toddy, which missionaries frowned upon but were never able to
wipe out. It is brewed from the coconut palm, (and, uh, you should
drain the beetles out of it before you drink any)
