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The Banabans often lament the loss of their
traditional language. Leading up to the discovery of Phosphate in
1900, was the first arrival of the Missionaries to the island.
Captain Walkup from the American Mission Society travelled the
Pacific in his small yacht and arrived on Banaba in the late 1890's.
The Banaban's folklore had foretold the arrival of such a man or
prophet, and the community eagerly adopted this new religion.
Captain Walkup had translated the Bible into
the Gilbertese language, and encouraged the community to adopt the
language so the Banabans would be able to hear the word of God.
Over the years this was promoted, and today the Banaban Elders are
unable to talk or understand their old language.
This copy of an old 'lullaby' that was part of the Dalton
Family's Collection from the island in 1921 has been thoroughly
researched by various Gilbertese language experts and the Banaban
Elders themselves. The language experts have drawn a complete
blank, while the Elders are sure this is a lullaby from the old
language. Due to the fact that the old language has never been
recorded, there are no known written facts on the subject.
However, one of the Banaban traditional dances called the - 'te
Karanga' or Stick-dance is sung in words that the Banabans do not
understand. The tradition of this dance is still strictly carried
out today on Rabi Island, and the old words are still used. Even
though they are not understood, this precious part of the
traditional dialect is still preserved for future generations.
The words used in the lullaby were phonetically spelt by the
Dalton Family, and over the years the actual pronunciation has
probably been altered by the English translation. One day we hope
that more pieces of the puzzle will fall into place and the
mystery of the - LOST LANGUAGE OF THE BANABANS, will be
discovered.
A whole chapter is devoted to this important topic with the
release of old Banaban words in
"Te Rii Ni Banaba - The Backbone of Banaba"
by R.K. Sigrah & S.M. King
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