USP Open Day 2022. Rabi Islanders (Banabans)

Every year, the University of the South Pacific (USP) at its Laucala Bay campus in Suva hosts an annual Open Day where school students from around the country with an interest in furthering their education at the university level visit the USP and are given guided tours. The highlight of the day happens around 2pm with students from various Pacific nations performing dance routines from their respective nation's traditions. Although the performances were still limited after Covid, the students from Rabi Island (Banabans) were captivating. A little bit of history: Banaba, also called Ocean Island, is a small island located 250 miles west of the Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati. Due to the over-mining of phosphate in Banaba, the British relocated the islanders (known as Banabans) to Rabi Island in the Fiji Island group shortly after World War Two. Their traditional songs and dances often reflect thsi displacement.