5 Gods, Spirits and Natural Hazards …
89
When they [ancestors] see that the bush is very dry, or burnt by the fire, nothing to eat, then
they would go to these people [spirit mediums] and ask them to make rain to fall. And then
these people make bule bule [magic] and then they will hear the sound in the sky. And then
they will say: “Ok, it’s going to rain tonight”.
Rich in traditional ecological knowledge, spirit mediums could predict hazards
through observation of indicators and communication with spirits. Participants
suggested there was at least one spirit medium in each village and they served important religious and political roles in pre-contact Bedamuni society. During fieldwork
in 2018 Bedamuni informants claimed there are no practicing spirit mediums left
due to Christian conversion and missionary influence.
The overarching (and somewhat unsatisfactory) concept of animism appears to
have defined pre-contact Bedamuni society. Everything had an essence, from mountains, trees, animals, and people, and nothing happened randomly, without cause.
Ancestral spirits lived in their sections of the forest and continued to live much as
the Bedamuni, for example, gardening and marrying. This suggests there was no
separation of physical and metaphysical worlds as seen in Judeo-Christian religions.
When asked if there was a heaven or hell in traditional religion, an elder from Igimi
village (13-08-2018) responded, “[we] were not told about these two places. But we
were told not to create problems. When you create a lot of problems you will die”.
Similar to many cultures, true knowledge of the world was not widely disseminated,
but passed down by spirit mediums when they find a “quiet man, who will not spread
this knowledge” (Journal 06-09-2018).
Turning to the I-Kiribati, as with the Bedamuni and most Indigenous cultures,
there exist origin stories. These stories differ slightly depending on which islands
and families they come from. The principal creation story is that of Nareau the
Creator. Nareau, meaning ‘the spider’, was a god who had no known origin and who
could do human as well as godly things. It was said that he once floated in space all
alone but then eventually came across Te Bomatemaki, which is the earth and the sky
sealed together. After trying and failing to open Te Bomatemaki, Nareau the Creator
created Nareau the Wise who was then tasked with creation of the earth and sky,
sun, moon and stars (Beiabure et al. 1979). Spirits were then formed ranging from
Uka, the essence of moving air, to Nei Kika, the octopus. Spirits were created which
eventually evolved into human beings. The I-Kiribati believed that all their ancestors
were spirits at some point (Beiabure et al. 1979).
Rituals also played a role in pre-contact life in Kiribati as documented in the
seminal book Tungaru Traditions by Arthur Grimble (Grimble 1989) which provides
a detailed ethnographic exploration of life during the early 1900s. For example,
people in certain clans would perform various agricultural rituals that would promote
productive yields, or protect harvests and crops from theft with spells and magic often
included throughout these rituals. Through these stories told and rituals performed,
insights can be gleaned into how I-Kiribati in pre-contact time related and interacted with the world around them when misfortune and even death were commonly
attributed to inappropriate or ill behaviour that angered the gods (Beiabure et al.
1979).
89
When they [ancestors] see that the bush is very dry, or burnt by the fire, nothing to eat, then
they would go to these people [spirit mediums] and ask them to make rain to fall. And then
these people make bule bule [magic] and then they will hear the sound in the sky. And then
they will say: “Ok, it’s going to rain tonight”.
Rich in traditional ecological knowledge, spirit mediums could predict hazards
through observation of indicators and communication with spirits. Participants
suggested there was at least one spirit medium in each village and they served important religious and political roles in pre-contact Bedamuni society. During fieldwork
in 2018 Bedamuni informants claimed there are no practicing spirit mediums left
due to Christian conversion and missionary influence.
The overarching (and somewhat unsatisfactory) concept of animism appears to
have defined pre-contact Bedamuni society. Everything had an essence, from mountains, trees, animals, and people, and nothing happened randomly, without cause.
Ancestral spirits lived in their sections of the forest and continued to live much as
the Bedamuni, for example, gardening and marrying. This suggests there was no
separation of physical and metaphysical worlds as seen in Judeo-Christian religions.
When asked if there was a heaven or hell in traditional religion, an elder from Igimi
village (13-08-2018) responded, “[we] were not told about these two places. But we
were told not to create problems. When you create a lot of problems you will die”.
Similar to many cultures, true knowledge of the world was not widely disseminated,
but passed down by spirit mediums when they find a “quiet man, who will not spread
this knowledge” (Journal 06-09-2018).
Turning to the I-Kiribati, as with the Bedamuni and most Indigenous cultures,
there exist origin stories. These stories differ slightly depending on which islands
and families they come from. The principal creation story is that of Nareau the
Creator. Nareau, meaning ‘the spider’, was a god who had no known origin and who
could do human as well as godly things. It was said that he once floated in space all
alone but then eventually came across Te Bomatemaki, which is the earth and the sky
sealed together. After trying and failing to open Te Bomatemaki, Nareau the Creator
created Nareau the Wise who was then tasked with creation of the earth and sky,
sun, moon and stars (Beiabure et al. 1979). Spirits were then formed ranging from
Uka, the essence of moving air, to Nei Kika, the octopus. Spirits were created which
eventually evolved into human beings. The I-Kiribati believed that all their ancestors
were spirits at some point (Beiabure et al. 1979).
Rituals also played a role in pre-contact life in Kiribati as documented in the
seminal book Tungaru Traditions by Arthur Grimble (Grimble 1989) which provides
a detailed ethnographic exploration of life during the early 1900s. For example,
people in certain clans would perform various agricultural rituals that would promote
productive yields, or protect harvests and crops from theft with spells and magic often
included throughout these rituals. Through these stories told and rituals performed,
insights can be gleaned into how I-Kiribati in pre-contact time related and interacted with the world around them when misfortune and even death were commonly
attributed to inappropriate or ill behaviour that angered the gods (Beiabure et al.
1979).