Banaba is west of the Gilbert Group and just south of the equator. The island has been almost entirely destroyed by phosphate mining, which has left a weird landscape of stark coral pinnacles protruding from burning white rock, littered with rusted mining equipment. The population of about 280 lives in a fringe of vegetation that hasn't been mined, hanging on in their homeland despite most of the former population having been settled on Rabi Island in Fiji (where they had to buy their plots of land) at the end of WWII. Islanders still cling fervently to their culture and maintain links with their kinsfolk on Rabi. Banaba is an ecological curiosity - see how mining has trashed a unique island and traditional culture - but because facilities are limited you will need to get approval from the island council before you arrive. While there is no regular passenger service to the island, you may be able to negotiate passage on a yacht.
Banaba is 600km (372mi) south-west of Tarawa. An extremely remote isolated island several hundred kilometres to the west of the Gilberts Group. It is a raised atoll, rising several tens of metres above sea level. Extensive phosphate deposits were mined from the turn of the century until 1979. These deposits, destined for processing into fertiliser, were sold at below world market prices to Australia and New Zealand and helped 'kick start' these major agricultural economies. It is indeed curious that 1979 should also have been the year of Kiribati independence.
From the original 1,500 lush tropical acres that was the original Ocean Island, there is now only 150 viable acres left unmined, where the Banaban inhabitants reside today. As of October, 1996 the population on Banaba had reached 500 people which also included some Kiribati civil servants and their families. The latest news in 2001 was that due to droughts and some resettlement for people back to Rabi island there was approximately just over 200 Banabans currently living on the homeland.
Dancing is one of the most important aspects of Banaban Culture. Banaban history has been passed down over the generations in an oral form by Banaban Elders. The other form of recording major events in Banaban history is through Dance. The Cultural dances are clever snippets of these events displayed in a combination of singing, dancing and mime and are constantly updated to include more contemporary issues which effect the community today.
The tradition of the dance is strictly enforced, with costumes similar to those used over 100 years ago. A good example of this aspect of such detail is a dance called the - 'te Karanga' Stick Dance. Not only are the costumes kept similar, but the dance steps together with the old traditional Banaban language used in the dance are still used. Even though the meaning of the words are now lost the preservation of the dance in its original form is very exciting.
