Maneaba

Maneaba or Mwaneaba (recent case) is the name for a traditional meeting house in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, mostly with sacred and secular function. It is understood as the common house of the community. Sometimes it is on an island or a village, several of these houses for the different clans, the kaainga. Besides the task as a meeting place to meet important joint decisions for the community, it is always meeting and festival center, eg for dance and vocal performances. Also, it has a protection and asylum function is used as a warehouse and offers accommodation space for guests. It is rectangular in general, on the sides open and protected by a large gable roof.

The largest maneabas had a length of 60 meters and a height of 12 meters ( Butaritari and Makin ), while today more likely to have a length of about 25 meters and a width of about 14 meters with a coarsened construction. They are made entirely without nails or screws and held together with coir ropes. The structure is supported by support posts, depending on the location and blocks of coral limestone. They are generally on the western lagoon side, as the East Side of the islands were the ghost houses and ancestor worship reserved.

Each maneaba has its own name; they are closely associated with the mythology and history of settlement of the Gilbertesen. They can be related to the origin differ in three styles: Tabontebike on Beru and originally Samoan, Tabiro on Beru and Maungatabu, mainly in connection with the islands Nikunau and Onotoa. While on the northern islands of the archipelago a chiefdom prevailed that were maneabas mainly reserved for the chiefs and warriors, were the central and southern Gilbert Islands from time immemorial by a counsel of the old men, the unimane directed the heads of the various clans. This is reflected in a strict seating order within the maneaba, the boti system in which each family occupying a specific site, which also determines the status.

The museum Te umanibong in Bikenibeu shows one of these traditional maneaba.

The word is also a general term for the various buildings in which people gather. The Parliament of Kiribati is called maneaba ni Maungatabu ( German: meeting house for the Assembly ), churches are also named as maneaba te Atua (House of God).