With Kiribati Language Week - Wikin te Taetae ni Kiribati 2022 just around the corner, author and te Taetae ni Kiribati advocate Kinaua Ewels says it is a time to celebrate everything that is particular to the small Pacific nation.
Kiribati can be found nestled in the central Pacific Ocean and is made up of 33 islands, 32 of them being atolls.
While it is one of the smallest nations in the world, Kiribati has many unique traditions and cultural practices which should be treasured, including its indigenous language, Kinaua adds.
“It is things like our woven mats which makes us unique from other Pacific cultures,” says the 2021 Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ Kiribati Language Champion.
“Kiribati people use different patterns and have meanings and tell us where the mats come from.
“We have many myths and legends which are not recorded and our new generations do not know them, especially younger children who have not been to Kiribati.
“In Kiribati all these myths and legends story books have gone missing and the people who told the stories have died - we should collect them and record them in books to sustain and preserve them.”
Traditional games such as Oreano, Katua and Uniwaka, B’aani, te tie are also unique to Kiribati along with song, dance and traditional clothing, she explains.
Born in Kiribati, Kinaua first came to New Zealand in 2001 to study a Bachelor of Education.
After Kinaua married to Andrew (a Kiwi) and had children, Kinaua became aware about passing te Taetae ni Kiribati onto them.
“I started visiting the Kiribati communities to sustain my culture and language so I could pass it on to my children.
“Nowadays, I help the Kiribati community to initiate projects such as Kiribati dance, writing books, reviving poems and rhymes and teaching Kiribati language, drive through vaccination events, organising the Kiribati Language Week activities and the Kiribati Independence Anniversary celebration.”
“Kiribati is my home, my culture and my identity and talking about Kiribati is something that connects me to my ancestors, reflects the family I come from, and the history and customs.”
Kiribati Language Week is hugely significant to her and the Kiribati community in Aotearoa, Kinaua adds.
“It promotes my culture officially and helps others to recognise it and keeping it alive in New Zealand helps us to connect to our own mother tongue and sustain it through celebrating it.
“The week provides us the opportunity to share our traditional knowledge and skills to younger Kiribati people and other cultures, while also showcasing our culture to promote it and revive it.
“Older people who are knowledgeable and experts in the culture have the opportunity to share their stories, skills with others, especially youth, and these things can be recorded and used in the future.”
Kinaua says her vision is to see young Kiribati people become fluent through singing Kiribati songs, reciting Kiribati rhymes and poems, dancing and writing stories about Kiribati.
“It would be so great to see traditional Kiribati games being played in communities, instead of watching our youth play games on devices.”
This year, Kiribati Language Week - Wikin te Taetae ni Kiribati begins on July 10 and concludes on July 16.
It is the third of nine Pacific Language Weeks staged throughout 2022 and supported by MPP.
This year’s theme for Wikin te Taetae ni Kiribati, is Ribanan, karikirakean ao kateimatoan ara katei ma ara taetae ni Kiribati, which translates to, Nurture, enhance and sustain the Kiribati language and culture.
The theme aligns with the Pacific Language Weeks series overarching theme of sustainability, and focuses on utilising modern technology to promote, nurture and preserve their language and traditions, so their culture can continue to flourish.
Visit the MPP website for more information and language resources as they become available.