Raobeia Ken Sigrah

About the author

Raobeia Ken Sigrah

1956 - 2021Raobeia Ken Sigrah was a Banaban born on Rabi, Fiji. From the age of 14 years, he was trained by Banaban elders in cultural protocols in his inherited role as Clan spokesman. In 1972, he joined the Banaban Dancing Group which was invited by Australian authorities to perform at the official opening ceremonies of the Sydney Opera House. In 1974, he toured with the group to Nauru, Banaba and Tarawa and in 1975, attended the South Pacific Festival of Arts at Rotorua, New Zealand.    In 1997, he acted as an interpreter for the U.K. documentary: Coming Home to Banaba, BBC OUL, filmed on Banaba Island. In 1997, he formed a personal and collaborative partnership with Stacey King, an Australian woman whose family had been involved with the early mining industry of Banaba. Together they built one of the largest private collections on Banaban history from an indigenous and European perspective. Their first published work, Te Rii Ni Banaba – the Backbone of Banaba (2001), is the first on Banaban history written from an indigenous perspective and endorsed by Banaban Clan elders. Since moving to Australia in 1997, he has worked on various projects relating to his community.    In 2004, he co-founded Abara Banaba – Banaba our homeland, an international lobby group to campaign on behalf of the Banaban community. In November 2004, he was part of the Banaban delegation of four that attended the International Small Island Study Association conference in Kinmen Island, Taiwan where he presented the following papers, The Cultural Identity of Banabans (2004) and Essentially Being Banaban in Today’s World: The Role of Banaban Law ‘Te Rii ni Banaba’ (Backbone of Banaba) In a Changing World (2004). In Jan 2006, he presented a paper, Banaba-Ocean Island Chronicles: Private collections and indigenous record-keeping proving fact from fiction (2006) at The Pacific in Australia - Australia in the Pacific conference Brisbane, Australia. In May 2006, he coordinated an Austrian television production company and the making of a Banaban documentary filmed on Rabi, Fiji.    He co-founded Banaban Vision Publication to record and convert his traditional knowledge into digital publications in his quest to uphold Banaban identity for future generations and further dissimilation of the Banabans as a unique Pacific people.

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