Tabalia is the name of the Mother House of the
Melanesian Brotherhood
The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.
History
The Melanesian Brotherhood was formed in 1925 by Ini Kopuria, a policeman from M ...
(MBH) on northeastern
Guadalcanal in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
.
Tabalia (pronounced "TAHM ba lia") was given by Ini Kopuria to the Melanesian Brotherhood (known in the Mota language as ''Ira Reta Tasiu''). Tabalia was the customary
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officia ...
of Ini Kopuria, founder of the Brotherhood, who donated the land in 1925 to the ''Tasiu''.
As the Mother House, Tabalia is the headquarters for the Solomon Islands Region of the Melanesian Brotherhood. The other Regional Headquarters are
on East Ambae,
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
, and Popondetta, in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
From Tabalia, the Melanesian Brotherhood looks after 38 households (
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
) in the Solomon Islands. It is also the location for quadrennial Great Conference, where representatives from all three regions meet.
The
burial ground at Tabalia contains the
graves
A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...
of Dr.
Charles Elliot Fox (Feast day October 29) and the Seven Martyred Brothers (Feast day April 24).
Christianity in the Solomon Islands
Anglicanism
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