How it began
The armor was made in the Gilbert Islands, the main group of what is now the Republic of Kiribati. Smarthistory, drawing on the Pacific Presences research project at the University of Cambridge, states that it is not known where or when in the islands this type of armor was developed, but that it has come to stand as uniquely Kiribati. Pieces had reached European collections by 1824, and the first known written description came in 1844 from the United States Exploring Expedition's account of Tabiteuea atoll.
Before it existed
The islands are coral atolls with few raw materials, and Smarthistory notes that islanders made their material culture from what was at hand. Fighters carried swords, spears and daggers edged with shark teeth, and the fiber suits were the protection against those blades.
How it works
A suit consists of overalls and sleeves of coconut fiber with a coconut fiber cuirass worn on top. The cuirass has a high backboard to guard against attack from behind, and thick belts of woven fiber or dried ray skin protected the vital organs. The fiber comes from the coconut husk. It was soaked in lagoon water for two to three months, rinsed, dried and rolled into strands that were rolled again into long cord. Helmets were porcupine fish skins dried hard in the sun, worn over a fiber or pandanus cap.
How it spread
According to Smarthistory, the influence of the armor spread to the nearby islands of Nauru and Tuvalu. During the 1800s whalers, traders and other visitors from Australia, the United States and Europe acquired suits and took them home, which is why many now sit in museums around the world.
Who pushed back
Production fell quickly at the end of the 19th century. Smarthistory attributes the decline to missionaries, who arrived from France in 1888, and to the British, who arrived in 1892; both brought new laws and tried to pacify the islands. With no further need for the armor, suits were offered to visitors and officials.
Where it stands today
Suits are no longer made for use. Historic examples are shown at Te Umwanibong, the Kiribati Museum and Culture Centre on Tarawa. In 2016 the Pacific Presences project commissioned artists Chris Charteris, Lizzy Leckie and Kaetaeta Watson to make a new suit, named Kautan Rabakau, now in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge. A British Museum film with Watson describes practitioners rebuilding and teaching the lost skills.
