Draft:Bureimoa
High Chief of Butaritari and Makin
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Bureimoa,[a] also known as Nan Te Mate ('Mr. Corpse'),[b] was the tenth high chief of Butaritari and Makin from 1888 until his death in 1910. Although he was the youngest of four sons of Teitimararoa, Bureimoa eventually inherited the chieftainship because he was the only one of his brothers with issue. He earned his nickname as a feared assassin during the despotic reign of Kaiea I, his eldest brother. His other brothers, Teitei and Bakatokia, were less capable as rulers and Bureimoa also inherited their significant debts to rival trading firms on Butaritari, the commercial centre of the 19th-century Gilbert Islands (in modern-day Kiribati).
| Bureimoa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| High Chief of Butaritari and Makin | |
| Reign | 1888–1910 |
| Predecessor | Bakatokia |
| Successor | Tabu |
| Father | Teitimararoa |
One of four parts of Robert Louis Stevenson's In The South Seas (1896) is about his sojourn on Butaritari in 1889. Stevenson portrays Bureimoa as a docile ruler of a miniscule realm, often laughably parodic of European monarchs, and suggests he might be haunted by memories of his violent past. He also notes that, unlike Teitei and Bakatokia, Bureimoa comfortably supported himself by issuing trading licenses at $100 and head taxes at the rate of a dollar for a man, half a dollar for a woman, and a shilling for a child. In 1891, Bureimoa visited San Francisco and petitioned the U.S. to establish a protectorate over the Gilbert Islands. He was possibly unduly influenced by American traders who objected when a British protectorate was established instead in 1892. The British made Bureimoa abolish the trading licenses. Bureimoa died in 1910 and was succeeded by his son, Tabu.
Background
Bureimoa was the youngest of four sons of Teitimararoa, the high chief of Butaritari and Makin. His name can be translated as "Radiant Beauty". After Teitimararoa died in July 1852, he was succeeded by his eldest son, the adolescent Kaiea, who grew up to become a feared despot. Bureimoa served as Kaiea's assassin, wiping out his political rivals and their families by night, and was dubbed Nan Te Mate ('Mr. Corpse').[c] He was also assigned to govern Makin and was widely regarded as the brother with the greatest potential to live up to Kaiea.
When Kaiea died without issue in 1879, Teitei, the second brother, succeeded him. Robert Maka, one of two Hawaiian Congregationalist missionaries on Butaritari, converted Teitei to Christianity and persuaded him to promulgate religious laws and cast aside 16 of his 17 wives. This curtailed his wealth, as a significant amount of his resources came from customary contributions from in-laws. Like Kaiea, Teitei died without issue in 1884. Bakatokia, the third brother, was also a Christian convert and burdened his office with great debt—Butaritari, the most fertile of the Gilbert Islands, with the most spacious lagoon, was the archipelago's commercial capital in the 19th century, with multiple trading firms. After Maka allegedly slighted the toka (petty chiefs) by claiming he was second only to Bakatokia, the toka overthrew the high chief. Bakatokia died without issue in mid-1888. His office and his debts were inherited by Bureimoa, who moved from Makin to the village of Butaritari. Unlike his brothers, Bureimoa had an adult son, Tabu, and a three-year-old daughter.
Reign
Economy
Bureimoa surrendered his right to harvest
Foreign relations
Notes
- Other spellings include Bure-i-moa and Burimoa. Bureimoa is also referred to as Na Bureimoa and Te Bureimoa, from which Robert Louis Stevenson got Tebureimoa. Te is a masculine honorific in the Gilbertese, and Na is its equivalent in the dialect of Butaritari and Makin. According to Kenneth E. Knudson, his name can be translated as "Radiant Beauty".
- Translated as 'Mr. Corpse' by Robert Louis Stevenson. Nan is a variant of Na, te is an article, and mate means 'death' or 'corpse'. See Trussel for full definitions.
- Translated as 'Mr. Corpse' by Robert Louis Stevenson. Nan is a variant of Na, te is an article, and mate means 'death' or 'corpse'. See Trussel for full definitions.