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Draft:Eamwit

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Eamwit
Size:3,052 People as of 2021 Census
Location:Nauru
Origin:Buada District, Nauru

The Eamwit are a tribe in Nauru, an island country in the Pacific Ocean with around 13,000 people..[1] Nauruans belong to 12 different tribes, and each had its own chief. However, around the mid-19th century, they changed to a system of having a single chief of the island. [2] The people are believed to be of Micronesian, Polynesian, and Melanesian descent.[3]

The Eamwits' emblem is the snake or eel, and they are known for being sly.[2] As of 2017, they have the second largest population of any of the tribes, at 3052, behind only the Iruwa.[4] The complete attire for a Eamwit tribal costume is called an ekirira. The Eamwits originated in Buada district. The other tribes of Nauru are the Eamwitmwit, the Eaoru, the Eamwidara, the Iruwa, the Eano, the Iwi and Irutsi (who are both extinct), the Deiboe, the Ranibok, the Emea, and the Emeangum.[2]. The 12 tribes are honored on Ibumin Earoeni, the Day of the Tribes, and by the 12 pointed star on Nauru's flag.

History

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For a long time, Eamwit were the largest and most powerful tribe, but for a couple centuries, it was Deiboe, who now have just 1,029 people.The 1st Inhabitants of Anabar District were members of the Deiboe Tribe who fled from a war with the Eamwits, who retook power. In 1878, A member of the Eamwits named Giubu was killed by a drunken white at a wedding, and his death led to the Nauruan Civil War. Giubu was the nephew of the chief Teiauw and great-nephew of the chief Aremwa. The war may have been ended when Eigamoiya, Queen of Nauru and leader of the Eamwits, stood between the 2 rival sides, one in support of the current king, King Aweida, and those backing his overthrow, and waved a white fabric. Fighting immediatly ceased. A Nauru Passanger Sjip, the MV Eigamoiya, was named after her [5]

Etymology

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The English translation of the word eamwit is "small white eel", and the Eamwit tribe name means "most important or largest eel".[6]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ Britannica, Nauru History
  2. ^ a b c Nauru Government website, Tribes of Nauru
  3. ^ Nauru Government website, About Nauru-The People
  4. ^ Nauru Public Service Act 2016 Sec. 81(1)(k), 12th August 2019
  5. ^ Women's Political Participation in Nauru
  6. ^ Nauru Economic & Development Strategy Handbook, Vol 1, page 244, IBP, 2013

See also

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