An aerial photo of two parts of an island in the Pacific ocean. There is a small strip of an island in the distance.

Kiribati

The Republic of Kiribati is an island nation of over 32 atolls in Micronesia, in the central Pacific Ocean, with most of its population of over 119,000 living on the island of Tarawa. Contributing to its uniqueness, Kiribati straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, which means it is in all four hemispheres at the same time. The name is pronounced Kiribass, and the name of its people, the I-Kiribati, is pronounced as ee-Kiribass.

A man and a woman are standing in a museum store room. Both are looking at the camera.

Pacific curators talk about Te Papa’s Kiribati collections

As part of Kiribati Language Week 2024, Senior Curator Pacific Histories & Cultures Sean Mallon and Curator Pacific Cultures Emelihter Kihleng talked to Brian Sagala from the Pacific Days team at 531 PI about some of Te Papa’s Kiribati collection.

A view of a woman's torso. She is wearing a traditional clothing.

Te taetae ni Kiribati (Kiribati language) and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand

Rose Namoori-Sinclair is from Tabiteuea Island in Kiribati and has been working as UN Coordination Specialist – Kiribati. Here she answers some questions about the significance of te taetae ni Kiribati (Kiribati language) in Aotearoa New Zealand.

A young girl in a dance costume from Kiribati

Read about Tony Whincup and his connection and photography in Kiribati

Tony Whincup captured both the enduring and the changing facets of life in his photography over an almost four-decade-long relationship with Kiribati.

A man is in a small canoe that has a sail in front of part of a Pacific island beach.

Browse Tony Whincup's photographs from his visits to Kiribati

Tony Whincup photographed the remote islands of the Pacific nation of Kiribati over four decades, creating extensive photographic documentation of it's people and providing a richly layered portrayal of their culture.

Watch: Puffer Fish Helmet – Tales of Te Papa

In Kiribati, the most dangerous sea-creatures are worn bravely and proudly, like this warrior's helmet, made from the dried skin of a porcupine fish.

Rere: Shark-tooth sword

Long and short-hand weapons featuring shark-tooth blades were part of an indigenous armoury in Kiribati. This rere (light, curved knife or short sword) has two rows of shark teeth lining either side of its blade.

Otintaai: The Rising Sun and the I-Kiribati climate change warrior

Meet Otintaai, a female I-Kiribati climate change warrior made by master weavers Kaetaeta Watson and Louisa Humphry QSM and welcomed as a new acquisition in 2021.

Laptop case: Indigenous knowledge, modern uses

While laptops are an imported product into the Pacific, this case made in Kiribati of local materials utilises indigenous hand-weaving techniques of the Pacific and is, in some ways, reflective of the goals of the PacINET conference; to share knowledge from a range of sources.

A short piece of bamboo tube with a long stick protruding from one end that is tied with cord.