Geography
Abaiang Island has a total land area of 16 square kilometres and an estimate distance of about 23.8 miles from North to South. It has a latitude of 1°57âN and a longitude is 172°53âE. The main government center is located at Taburao village. The island also serves as a home for two secondary schools, each of them owned either by Roman Catholic Church or Kiribati Protestant Church. The island has a population of 5,502 2005 census.
History
Interestingly, the history of Abaiang Island started off with the belief that ancestors living on it were known to be spirits, some of them created in Samoa and some in Abaiang. Years passed by and then real people came along followed then by the arrival of Reverend Dr. Bingham and his team, international traders, beachcombers, whalers and even labour traders. Colonizers then came along too and hoisted Union Jack on the island.
The first church in Kiribati also established on Abaiang Island in 1859 by Reverend Dr Hiram Bingham and his team. Reverend Dr. Bingham, his wife and his team were sent from America in 1856 to set up a mission in Kiribati. Their arrival in Abaiang was coincided with a war between Ten Temaua and Ten Teiwaki. Reverend Bingham and his team stayed with Ten Temaua. Ten Teiwaki took immediate fancy for Mrs. Bingham and announced that he will take her as his wife only if he won the war but unfortunately, he lost it. Their arrival on Abaiang also marked the important era in the establishment of the first Protestant Church in Kiribati.
In a traditional context of Abaiang Island, it was a paramount chief who ruled and provided overall leadership of the island in the past. Following independence of Kiribati, the overall leadership of Abaiang changed whereby the Mayor formerly Chief Councilor and the elderly men are now playing the role of providing political leadership for the island. Abaiang island still values the importance of family and respect of the elderly, guest hospitality, cultural practices and coming together under the maneaba traditional meeting house to socialize and feast.
Culture
Dress code is also restricted on the island. Casual wear is preferable and women are not allowed to walk around with bikinis, mini skirts or shorts. A skirt/short covered down to your knees or wrapped around sulus and T-Shirts are preferable.