Tekinaiti
Tekinaiti was the sixth uea of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka in the Gilbert Islands. Although the Kingdom of Abemama ended after British annexation in 1892, the uea survived as customary rulers. Tekinaiti inherited the title from his father, Tokatake, late in World War II. Before American soldiers liberated the Gilberts, the pro-British Tekinaiti was exiled by Japanese occupiers. In the 1960s, Tekinaiti gave his title to his son, Bauro, and moved to the Solomon Islands.
Biography
Tekinaiti was born. His father, Tokatake, was the fifth uea of Abemama, Kuria and Aranuka in the Gilbert Islands. The uea were hereditary monarchs whose role survived British annexation in 1892, though in a diminished, customary form. His mother, Agnes Tokatake, was the eldest daughter of George McGhee Murdoch, a Scotman who owned a trading post and a small estate on Kuria, and his first wife, a Gilbertese woman named Takeiti. Tekinaiti had four siblings: Binatake, Taonamaina, Tiare, and Tiaon. His brother, Binatake, was appointed Assistant Administrative Officer of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1950.Tekinaiti was educated at the King George V School on Tarawa and spoke English well. When Tekinaiti was 16, he was married to the daughter of Captain Jimmy Smith, a famous resident trader on Abemama, and his Nauruan wife. His son, Bauro Tokatake, was born. Tokatake died in 1935. Because Tekinaiti was deemed too young to rule, his father's brother, Tabere, served as uea in his stead. By 1941, his uncle had died and Tekinaiti had now assumed the position. He was the sixth uea.
The Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands began in December 1941. Knowing his ancestors had lost much of their power under the British, the Japanese thought about enlisting Tekinaiti as a collaborator until they saw him without the white singlet he almost always had on and discovered that a Union Jack was tattooed across his chest. Afterwards, Tekinaiti was considered "probably pro-British", and he was later exiled to Nonouti. After U.S. forces liberated Abemama in November 1943, Nonouti was retaken the following month. Tekinaiti led a triumphant procession on Nonouti on 21 December before returning to Abemama on the USS PC-599 on 24 December. In 1944, Tekinaiti's legitimacy was challenged on Abemama by supporters of Taburimai, a grand-nephew of Binoka, the "third and... most infamous of all Uea." This small minority claimed that Tekinaiti had behaved in a dishonourable manner, failed to concern himself with his subjects' welfare, and had less Ba n uea blood than Taburimai.
In the early 1960s, Tekinaiti moved to the Solomon Islands, giving his title to his son, Bauro. He went by George Tekinaiti Tokatake, after his paternal grandfather. In 1965, Tekinaiti was serving as Assistant Resettlement Officer, charged with the transfer of Gilbertese immigrants to the Solomons. He later ran unsuccessfully in the 1967 election for the Ysabel/Russels constituency, receiving 180 votes.
Photographs of Tekinaiti appear in, and.