Unimwane Day – July 15, 2024

History of Unimwane Day

The area now known as Kiribati, mainly the 16 Gilbert Islands, has been inhabited by Austronesian peoples speaking the same Oceanic language, since sometime between 3000 B.C. and 1300 A.D. Around 1300 A.D., a huge exodus occurred from Samoa, coinciding with the forced abolition of cannibalism, resulting in the addition of Polynesian ancestry to the mix of most Gilbertese people. These Samoans would later bring strong features of Polynesian languages and culture and would create clans based on their Samoan traditions and slowly intertwined with the indigenous clans and powers already dominant in Kiribati. Travelers from Tonga and Fiji introduced some Melanesian cultural aspects as well.

In the 15th century, starkly contrasting systems of governance arose between the Northern Islands, primarily under a high chief structure, known as ‘uea’, and the Central and Southern Islands, mostly under the rule of their council of elders, the ‘unimwane’. Tabiteuea was an exception, as it was the only island known for its traditional egalitarian society. Tabiteuea gets its name from the root term ‘Tabu-te-Uea,’ which means ‘chiefs are prohibited.’

Soon after, civil war sprang out, with land acquisition as the primary means of conquest, and clans and chiefs began fighting over resources, fueled by animosity and reignited blood feuds. This lasted well into the European visitation and colonial era, from the 17th century onwards, and resulted in certain islands decimating their opponents with weapons and cannon-equipped ships that some Europeans were coerced into using by the more cunning and persuasive among the Kiribati leaders. From 1892 to January 12, 1916, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were a British protectorate, and subsequently a colony, until January 1, 1976.