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Olivia Webb Anthems of Belonging – Ana utu Tiibin (the Tiibin family) 2019. Five-channel 4K/HD digital video (still). Courtesy of the artist
Tangin Bwanaan Tebetebeke
Anthems of Belonging
Ana utu Tiibin (the Tiibin family)
Kiribati/New Zealanders
Tangin Bwanaan Tebetebeke
(Voices from the Pacific Ocean)
Composed July 2018 – September 2019
For 5-part voice and guitar, 5 mins 40 sec
The Tiibins’ anthem considers the reality and possibility of having multiple homes and homelands. Their sense of belonging spans and connects two countries within the vast Pacific Ocean – Aotearoa New Zealand and Kiribati (pronounced “Kiribas”). The bond the Tiibins sing of is strong but fragile. Kiribati is one of earth’s most vulnerable countries with regard to the climate crisis. Rising seas imminently threaten to engulf the low-lying island nation, where the average elevation of the expansive archipelago is 1.8m above sea level. Already, waves wash right over low-lying parts of the land at high tide. Even if bold action was taken today, the fate of Kiribati is dire – within our lifetime most of the nation will be uninhabitable, swallowed by the rising sea.
Facing the realities of this climate emergency head on through song, the Tiibin family ask a profound question: how can a nation of people live on without physical land to rest their feet? How can culture, language and traditions survive and prosper when spread across many countries?
Tangin Bwanaan Tebetebeke
Tina botii bwanaara kain ara marawa
Mairoun te kara ni karokoa te ataei
Ni boutokaia ara taan kairiirii
N ara tautaeka ni karokoa bwanaara
N aban nako tinaniku ake a tauraoi
Ni kan buokira man ara kanganga
Ma iaon marawan nako tebetebeke
Ngkai ea tabe n rikirake rietan taari (hihihi)
Tia bubutiiko
Atuara
Ae bon ngkoe muiokon maiura
Ongo tangira
Katea te buriiti
Mai abara Kiribati nako aban tinaniku
Bwa ana kona ni butimwaeia
Te nati ni climate change
Ake iaon kawaia ngkai n rotaki
Ani bon taraira ngkai a rotaki
Mweenga nako ake a kaan ma taari
A moanna n rotaki ara kai n amwarake
Ao ni mooi ake bon oin maeura
A rotaki nanora n raraoma
Ao nte maaku ngkana ea iinako abara
Ao tinang bane ni ibeibetinako
Inanon marawa ae akea tiana ma tokina (ahaha)
Tia bubutiiko
Atuara
Ae bon ngkoe muiokon maiura
Ongo tangira
Katea te buriiti
Mai abara Kiribati nako aban tinaniku
Bwa ana kona ni butiamwaeia
Te nati ni climate change
Ake iaon kawaia ngkai n rotaki
Ko rabwa te atua
Ibukiia ara utu, ara taetae, ara katei ao ai abara
Ao ibukin te maiu i New Zealand
Are tia noria
Kabwaiara n taai aika ana roko
tia bubutiiko
Atuara
Ae bon ngkoe muiokon maiura
Ongo tangira
Katea te buriiti
Mai abara Kiribati nako aban tinaniku
Bwa ana kona ni butimwaeia
Te nati ni climate change
Ake iaon kawaia ngkai n rotaki
Tina botii bwanaara kain ara marawa
(English translation)
We gather, together young and old
To support our country’s leaders,
To pass on a message
To all countries who are willing to help us
face this climate change challenge,
That our Pacific home
is being swallowed by the rising sea
Let us pray to our God, our creator
Let us plead to God to hear our voices
Build a bridge from our islands to all other countries
So they can welcome all the sons and daughters of climate change
We pray for all who are impacted by climate change
Look upon us now
Our house has been destroyed by the ocean
Our local food and drink are destroyed
Life in Kiribati is being destroyed
Our hearts are filled with worry, fear and sadness
As we know the sea will continue to rise
Our future will drift through
the never-ending ocean
Thank you, God, for our family, culture, language,
For Kiribati and our New Zealand life
Where Kiribati could live on
Related
Exhibition
Olivia Webb: Anthems of belonging
11 July 2021
Songs of belonging, struggle and unconditional love in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Commentary
What We Never Leave Behind
We sang the national anthem every morning before school. Our tiny white business shirts ironed and tucked in by our mothers, our striped red and black ties straightened and pinned to our chests. Across the large concrete plane that constituted both playground and football field, we lined up in two large groups and stood next to our peers before a five-metre flagpole that bore the flag of our nation: the Arab Republic of Egypt.