Makin Atoll

Butaritari is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean island nation of Kiribati. The atoll is roughly four-sided. The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets along the north side. Bikati and Bikatieta islets occupy a corner of the reef at the extreme northwest tip of the atoll. Small islets are found on reef sections between channels on the west side. The lagoon of Butaritari is deep and can accommodate large ships, though the entrance passages are relatively narrow. It is the most fertile of the Gilbert Islands, with relatively good soils (for an atoll) and high rainfall. Butaritari atoll has a land area of and a population of 3,224 . During World War II, Butaritari was known by United States Armed Forces as Makin Atoll, and was the site of the Battle of Makin. Locally, Makin is the name of a separate but closest atoll, to the northeast of Butaritari, but close enough to be seen. These two atolls share a dialect of the Gilbertese language.

Geography

Butaritari is the second most northerly of the Gilbert Islands; to the northeast is Makin. Butaritari was called Makin Atoll by the U.S. military, and present-day Makin was then known as Makin Meang (Northern Makin) or Little Makin to distinguish it. Now that Butaritari has become the preferred name for the larger atoll, speakers tend to drop the qualifier for Makin. Butaritari has also previously been known as Pitt Island, Taritari Island, or Touching Island.

The atoll is roughly four-sided and nearly across in the east–west direction, and averages about north to south. The reef is more submerged and broken into several broad channels along the west side. Small islets are found on reef sections between these channels. The atoll reef is continuous but almost without islets along the north side. In the northeast corner, the reef is some across and with only scattered small islet development. Thus, the lagoon of Butaritari is very open to exchange with the ocean. The lagoon is deep and can accommodate large ships, though the entrance passages are relatively narrow.

The south and southeast portion of the atoll comprises a nearly continuous islet, broken only by a single, broad section of interislet reef. These islets are mostly between and across, but widen in the areas where the reef changes directions. Mangrove swamps appear well developed in these latter areas as well as all along the southern lagoon shore. (Narrow islets are somewhat characteristic of Kiribati atolls running east–west.)

Bikati and Bikatieta islets occupy a corner of the reef at the extreme northwest tip of the atoll, bordering a small lagoon to the north of the main lagoon. There is a village on the larger Bikati (2 by 0.5 km).

Environmental issues

Seepage of saltwater into the pits in which ''babai'' (''Cyrtosperma merkusii'' or ''giant swamp taro'') is grown is the major concern of islanders. The erosion problems are identified as being linked to aggregate mining, land reclamation and the construction of causeways that is thought to change the currents along the shoreline. The causeways have also resulted to reduced flushing of the lagoon that has resulted in low levels of oxygen, therefore causing damage to fish stocks in the lagoon and causes other biological problems. Aggregate mining and the removal of coral boulders is exacerbating coastal erosion.

Villages

The population of Butaritari in the 2010 Census was 4,346 people, inhabiting twelve villages:

Climate

Butaritari is one of the lushest of the islands of Kiribati due to good rainfall. Typical annual rainfall is about 4 m, compared with about 2 m on Tarawa Atoll.

Economy

Butaritari has rich marine resources, with a large lagoon and wide reef. Butaritari has the greatest potential for agriculture in Kiribati: bananas, breadfruit and papaya grow well, and successful cultivars of pumpkin, cabbage, cucumber, eggplant and other vegetables have been created with assistance from the Taiwan Technical Mission based in South Tarawa. However, most households keep to a subsistence lifestyle and, although food is plentiful, money is often scarce as there are few paid jobs on the island.

History

Early history

Myths and legends

There are different stories told as to the creation of Butaritari and the other islands in the Southern Gilberts. An important legend in the culture of Butaritari is that spirits who lived in a tree in Samoa migrated northward carrying branches from the tree, ''Te Kaintikuaba'', which translates as the tree of life. It was these spirits, together with Nareau the Wise who created the islands of Tungaru (the Gilbert Islands).

1606 to 1899

The Spanish expedition led by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós sighted the ''Buen Viaje'' (good trip in Spanish) Islands (Butaritari and Makin) on 8 July 1606.

Traditionally, Butaritari and Makin were ruled by a chief or ''Uea'' who lived on Butaritari Island. This chief had all the powers and authority to make and impose decisions for Butaritari and Makin, a system very different from the southern Gilbert Islands where power was wielded collectively by the ''unimwane'' or old men.

The people of Kuma village had the power to call dolphins or whales, and used this ability on special occasions to provide meat for important feasts such as the opening of a new maneaba.

The islands were visited as part of the United States Exploring Expedition in 1841. Any possible Guano Islands Act claim by the United States to Butaritari and Little Makin was renounced in the 1970s.

The first traders resident in the Gilberts were Randell and Durant who arrived in 1846. Durant moved on the Makin, while Randell remained on Butaritari. The earliest trading companies on Butaritari were the Hamburg-based Handels-und Plantagen-Gesellschaft der Südsee-Inseln zu Hamburg (DHPG) with Pacific headquarters in Samoa, and On Chong (Chinese traders with Australian connections via the goldfields). These traders helped Butaritari became the commercial and trading capital of the Gilbert Islands until Burns Philp, a powerful trading company, moved to Tarawa

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