Tekinaiti

Not to be confused with Tekinaiti Kaiteie.
Tekinaiti
Uea of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka
Reignc. 1941 – c. 1964
PredecessorTokatake
SuccessorBauro Tokatake
RegentTabere
FatherTokatake
MotherAgnes Murdoch

Tekinaiti (fl. c. 1916 – c. 1967) was the sixth uea (king) of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka in the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati). Although the Kingdom of Abemama ended after British annexation in 1892, the uea survived as customary rulers. Tekinaiti inherited the title from his father, Tokatake, late in World War II. Before American soldiers liberated the Gilberts, the pro-British Tekinaiti was exiled by Japanese occupiers. In the 1960s, Tekinaiti gave his title to his son, Bauro, and moved to the Solomon Islands.

Biography

Tekinaiti was born c. 1916.[a] His father, Tokatake, was the fifth uea of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka in the Gilbert Islands.[4]:274 The uea were hereditary monarchs whose role survived British annexation in 1892, though in a diminished, customary form. His mother, Agnes Tokatake (née Murdoch),[5] was the eldest daughter of George McGhee Murdoch, a Scotman who owned a trading post and a small estate on Kuria,[4]:274 and his first wife, a Gilbertese woman named Takeiti.[6]:80 Tekinaiti had four siblings: Binatake, Taonamaina, Tiare, and Tiaon.[2]:4–5[7][b] His brother, Binatake, was appointed Assistant Administrative Officer of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1950.[9]

Tekinaiti was educated at the King George V School on Tarawa and spoke English well.[1]:161 When Tekinaiti was 16, he was married to the daughter of Captain Jimmy Smith, a famous resident trader on Abemama, and his Nauruan wife.[4]:274[10]:95[c] His son, Bauro Tokatake,[4]:277 was born c. 1932.[12] Tokatake died in 1935.[1]:161 Because Tekinaiti was deemed too young to rule, his father's brother,[10]:83 Tabere,[2]:5 served as uea in his stead. By 1941, his uncle had died and Tekinaiti had now assumed the position.[10]:83 He was the sixth uea.[4]:274

The Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands began in December 1941.[13]:224 Knowing his ancestors had lost much of their power under the British, the Japanese thought about enlisting Tekinaiti as a collaborator until they saw him without the white singlet he almost always had on and discovered that a Union Jack was tattooed across his chest. Afterwards, Tekinaiti was considered "probably pro-British",[14] and he was later exiled to Nonouti. After U.S. forces liberated Abemama in November 1943,[13]:223 Nonouti was retaken the following month. Tekinaiti led a triumphant procession on Nonouti on 21 December before returning to Abemama on the USS PC-599 on 24 December.[13]:224 In 1944, Tekinaiti's legitimacy was challenged on Abemama by supporters of Taburimai, a grand-nephew of Binoka,[4]:274 the "third and ... most infamous of all Uea."[4]:272[d] This small minority claimed that Tekinaiti had behaved in a dishonourable manner, failed to concern himself with his subjects' welfare, and had less Ba n uea (royal) blood than Taburimai.[4]:274

In the early 1960s, Tekinaiti moved to the Solomon Islands,[15] giving his title to his son, Bauro.[16] He went by George Tekinaiti Tokatake,[17]:67[18]:19 after his paternal grandfather.[1]:161 In 1965, Tekinaiti was serving as Assistant Resettlement Officer, charged with the transfer of Gilbertese immigrants to the Solomons.[18]:19 He later ran unsuccessfully in the 1967 election for the Ysabel/Russels constituency, receiving 180 (8.0%) votes.[17]:67

Photographs of Tekinaiti can be found in McGregor 1968, p. 80, 81, and PIM 1965, p. 19.

Notes

  1. ^ In a February 1945 article, Tekinaiti is said to be 27 years old.[1]:161 However, Tekinaiti appears in a 1916 genealogical book,[2]:3 written by Paul I. Timon, his great-uncle, and collected by H. E. Maude.[3]
  2. ^ Taonamaina, Tiare, and Tiaon are also known, respectively, as Molly, Charles, and John.[8]:83
  3. ^ One source describes Smith's wife as "the daughter of an American father and a Samoan mother".[11]
  4. ^ Tokatake, Tekinaiti's father, was the nephew of the fourth uea, Binoka's nephew and adopted son.[4]:274

References

  1. ^ a b c d Moore, W. Robert (February 1945). "Gilbert Islands in the Wake of Battle". The National Geographic Magazine. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 2. pp. 129–162.
  2. ^ a b c Simon, Paul I. (1960) [1916]. The Genealogical Book of the Royal Family of Abemama (in Gilbertese).
  3. ^ Maude, Henry Evans, 1906-2006 : Papers relating to the Gilbert Islands. National Library of New Zealand. Micro-MS-Coll-08-1077. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Roberts, R. G. (1953). "The Dynasty of Abemama". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 62 (3). Polynesian Society: 267–277. JSTOR 20703382.
  5. ^ "The Editors' Mailbag". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXVIII, no. 12. July 1, 1958. p. 27.
  6. ^ McGregor, Ken (August 1, 1968). "George Murdoch, Colourful Pioneer Of The Gilberts". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 39, no. 8. pp. 79–81.
  7. ^ Robson, R. W. (December 1, 1958). "Descendants of a Tyrant King". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXIX, no. 5. p. 83.
  8. ^ McGregor, Ken (May 1, 1970). "Cleaning Up The Memory Of 'Good' King Binoka". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 41, no. 5. pp. 81–83.
  9. ^ "Representing Pacific at Coronation". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXIII, no. 5. December 1, 1952. p. 86.
  10. ^ a b c Robson, R. W. (1 May 1958). "How Trader Murdoch's Grandson Became King". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXVIII, no. 10. p. 83, 95.
  11. ^ "How Captain Jimmy Smith Kept His Watch". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XVI, no. 7. February 15, 1948. p. 24.
  12. ^ "King does not perform all traditional royal tasks". The Saskatoon Pheonix. The Canadian Press. April 20, 1981. pp. C9.
  13. ^ a b c Alexander, Joseph H. (1995). Utmost savagery : the three days of Tarawa. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-031-1.
  14. ^ "Tropicalities". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XV, no. 2. September 18, 1944. p. 11.
  15. ^ Macdonald, Barrie (1982). Cinderellas of the Empire: Towards a History of Kiribati and Tuvalu. Canberra: Australian National University Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-70811-616-6.
  16. ^ "People". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XL, no. 2. February 1, 1969. p. 116.
  17. ^ a b Wood, Terence (May 2014). Solomon Islands Election Results: 1967 – 2013. The Centre for Democratic Institutions. OCLC 7375038783.
  18. ^ a b "Tropicalities". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 36, no. 2. February 1, 1965. pp. 17–19.
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