Reorganized meeting house system: the focus of social life in a contemporary village in Tabiteuea South, Kiribati

Kazama, Kazuhiro

article

Reorganized meeting house system: the focus of social life in a contemporary village in Tabiteuea South, Kiribati

People and culture in Oceania • 17 • Published In 2001 • Pages: 83-113

By: Kazama, Kazuhiro.

Abstract
This document traces the “traditional” functions and seating arrangements for Kiribati village meeting houses as influenced by colonial rule and Christian missions prior to indipendence in 1979, comparing the information to observations made in the 1990s. The author recognizes the centrality of the structures in linking individual households with the central government and global markets, and how, by the time of fieldwork, meeting houses were qualitatively different from what had previously been reported. The most important change concerns the status and roles of different clans in the village council. In the past, functions and seating in the village meeting house were assigned strictly on descent, age and gender. In the new era meetings are attended by all residents, including young men, women, and newcomers whose ancestors never held seats.

Community structure

Community councils

Community heads

Activities of the aged

Status and treatment of the aged

Age stratification

Gender status

Inter-community relations

Visiting and hospitality

Clans

Mythology

Public structures