Kiribati Proverbs (10)

Traditional proverbs of Kiribati in Khmer and English — each with its meaning and source.

Tai ira te moan ang.

“Do not follow the first breeze.”

A caution against acting on a first impulse; wait and think before reacting.

Source: Traditional Kiribati proverb (taeka n rabakau), documented in Pasefika Proud, "Boutokaan te mweeraoi: A Conceptual Framework for Enhancing I-Kiribati Wellbeing" (NZ Ministry for Pacific Peoples)

Kateira ma rabakaura bon kinaakira.

“Our culture and knowledge are our identity.”

A people's customs and accumulated knowledge are what define who they are.

Traditional Kiribati Wisdom

Te mauri bwa te tautau.

“Respecting the guiding hand brings spiritual protection.”

Honouring the guidance of elders and those who lead safeguards wellbeing.

Traditional Kiribati Wisdom

Teimatoan te maiu raoi mani babaaire aika a nikoraoi.

“The maintenance of wellbeing comes from just and fair decision-making.”

A community stays healthy and at peace when its leaders decide matters justly and fairly.

Traditional Kiribati Wisdom

E tabu te aomata.

“The person is sacred.”

Every individual carries an inherent dignity and worth that must be respected and protected.

Traditional Kiribati Wisdom

Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabomoa.

“Health, peace, and prosperity.”

Kiribati's national motto, borne on the Coat of Arms, expressing the nation's guiding aspiration for its people.

Traditional Kiribati Wisdom

Source: National motto of the Republic of Kiribati, borne on the Coat of Arms of Kiribati since independence in 1979

“Whatever is agreed within the United States today, with China, it will not have a bearing on our future, because already, it's too late for us.”

Spoken during a 2014 CNN interview, reflecting Tong's view that global climate negotiations, however important, could no longer reverse the sea-level rise already threatening Kiribati.

Anote Tong

Source: Anote Tong, interview on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, 8 June 2014

“We are that canary. But hopefully, that experience will send a very strong message that we might be on the front line today, but others will be on the front line next — and the next and the next.”

Tong compared Kiribati to a canary in a coal mine, warning that his nation's climate crisis was an early warning of what other countries would eventually face.

Anote Tong

Source: Anote Tong, interview on CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, 8 June 2014

“Our fate has already been decided.”

Reflecting on scientific projections for low-lying Pacific nations like Kiribati, spoken years after leaving office.

Anote Tong

Source: Anote Tong, interview with RNZ Pacific, "Former Kiribati President Anote Tong: Our fate has already been decided"

“Sea level rise is turning our freshwater resources salty, rendering the land unable to grow staple crops such as coconut and taro, and eating away our shoreline.”

A description of the direct, visible effects of rising seas on daily life and food security in Kiribati.

Anote Tong

Source: Anote Tong, quoted in The Guardian, 10 October 2018