Banaba

Banaba, Kiribati

The western limestone cliffs of Banaba glow copper at sunset above a golden reflection on a wet rock shelf.

Banaba is a lone raised-coral island where mining hollowed out the interior, a place to visit for its history and its people, not for beaches.

The place

Banaba is a lone raised coral island in the western Pacific, and the westernmost point of Kiribati. The rest of the country lies far to the east, scattered along the Gilbert chain, while Nauru is the nearest land to the west. The island covers about six square kilometres, and its top, 81 metres above the sea, is the highest ground anywhere in Kiribati. That is odd for a country of atolls, and it follows from how Banaba was formed: an old reef lifted clear of the water, with limestone cliffs instead of a low lagoon rim. Its name in Gilbertese is spelt Bwanaba, and the national constitution writes Banaba, a word glossed as hollow land, which suits the interior. Many decades of phosphate mining stripped the soil from the middle of the island, leaving bare rock where nothing can be farmed or lived in. Trees and houses have retreated to the coast, where mango, flame trees, guava, tapioca and saltbush grow. The 333 residents live mainly in coastal villages; the 2010 census counted three occupied ones, Tabwewa, Antereen (also called Tabiang) and Umwa, while Buakonikai now stands empty. The climate is tropical and wet, with rain carried by winds from the north-east to south-east. The drier stretch runs from May to November, and from December to April monthly rainfall averages above 120 mm. There are no natural streams, so water has always been the island's central worry. Local time is UTC+12.

Its story

Banaba's history comes in three layers: long Pacific settlement, a short and harsh period of outside contact, and the mining that reshaped everything. Oral tradition, as set down by the Banaban writer Raobeia Ken Sigrah, holds that the Te Aka clan, with roots in Melanesia, were the first people here, before later arrivals from the East Indies and Kiribati. Settlement unfolded over many centuries and in several waves. Banabans saw their island as the buto, the navel of the world. Unusually for the Pacific, land belonged to individuals rather than to chiefs or noble families, with separate categories for land given to elders, to adopted children or at marriage. Europeans first sighted the island in January 1801, and in 1804 a ship called Ocean gave it the name Ocean Island, which stuck for generations. Whalers called for wood and water through the nineteenth century, the first recorded visit in 1832 and the last in 1904. Water was never easy: with no streams and no freshwater lens, people relied on a cave where rainwater collected. A drought that began in 1873 killed most of the population and nearly all the trees, and many survivors left on passing ships. In 1899 the Pacific Islands Company recognised that the petrified guano was high-grade phosphate rock, and extraction began. It continued for many decades. The cost to the land and its people is the story Banabans still tell.

What to see

Culture

Banaba's culture is shaped by two facts that pull against each other: a deep sense of belonging to a small island, and the loss of much of that island to mining. Banabans traditionally saw their home as the navel of the world, and personal ownership of land, passed on through family, remains central to how people think about belonging. After the phosphate years, many Banabans settled elsewhere, with a large community in Fiji, so the island's story is held both by residents on Banaba and by relatives far away. Some Banaban voices, Sigrah's among them, argue for a separate identity from the rest of Kiribati, and that is a charged subject in national politics. A visitor does best to listen rather than debate it. Everyday life centres on family, church and the village meeting house, and hospitality is real but stretched by limited supplies and irregular transport. Songs, dance and storytelling carry the island's memory, and a visitor invited to a gathering is being trusted with something. Humour and patience go a long way. Ask the village before you cross land, photograph people or enter the mined interior, because land is individually owned and the history of the mining is still painful.

What to wear

Traditional dress in Banaba and the wider Gilbertese world uses plant fibres: skirts of plaited or shredded leaf and fibre, woven pandanus mats, and flower or leaf garlands for the head and neck. These are worn mainly for dance, feasts and church or community celebrations, not for daily life. Everyday clothing today is simple and practical: cotton T-shirts and shorts, wrap skirts or sarongs, loose dresses for women, and flip-flops. Sunday is dressed up for church, with clean shirts and modest dresses. Tinned and imported goods mean clothes often arrive second-hand or by supply boat. A visitor should pack for heat, sun and rough ground. Choose light cotton or quick-dry fabrics that cover the knees and shoulders in villages, and keep swimwear for the water, with a sarong to cover up afterwards. Bring a wide-brimmed hat and sun protection. The limestone and coral edges are sharp, so sturdy sandals or reef shoes are better than bare feet, and closed shoes help in the mined interior. A light rain jacket is worth carrying, especially from December to April when rain is heavier.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. May to November is the drier stretch, so June to October is the sensible window. From December to April rain is heavier, and rainfall varies a lot from year to year. Heat and humidity are constant.

How long. 3–5

Getting there. Fly into Kiribati's main airport on Tarawa, then arrange the onward leg to Banaba, which is remote and served irregularly by air or sea. Confirm current options with Kiribati's transport operators and the Banaban community website before booking anything.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources