The maneaba
Tall thatched roofs.
Rafael Ávila Coya — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Flexmaen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · STS-61A mission crew — Public domain
Abemama is a coral atoll in the Gilbert Islands of Kiribati, just north of the equator. Small islets ring a deep lagoon, with coconut palms and traditional meeting houses called maneaba, their tall thatched roofs standing over yards of white sand. The atoll has about 27 km² of land, from 50 m to 2 km wide, in the shape of an unfinished letter G. Causeways link the eastern islets, so cars can drive between the villages. The village of Kariatebike is the government centre. The writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent two months on Abemama in 1889 with his wife and her son, and wrote about its chief Tem Binoka, whose tomb is near Tabontebike village. You see the maneaba, the heart of village life, where families gather for events and discussion. You walk the beaches and causeways and look out over the lagoon and its seaweed farms. Abemama is about 150 km in a straight line southeast of South Tarawa, reached by small plane. A maneaba has its own etiquette, so ask before entering, sit where you are invited, and dress modestly.
Tall thatched roofs.
Between the islets.
And seaweed farms.
Central Gilbert Islands, southeast of Tarawa, Kiribati
A traditional village meeting house, with etiquette for entering and sitting.
By small plane from South Tarawa.