University of Tuangaona, Abemama (Warning: Slightly X Rated Blog)

On top of what remains of Stevenson's home in Abemama

I decided to go to the outer Gilbert Island called Abemama because this is the island where Robert Louis Stevenson lived for a while. However, when I mentioned where I was going to my Kiribati friends, their faces broke into a wide grin and they said “oh you are going to the University of Tuangaona.” Then, someone told me that Tuangaona means pussy and that the people of Abemama are known for their special skills and techniques in love making and lewd manner of speaking. It seemed somewhat appropriate that I arrived in Abemama on St. Valentine’s Day.

On Saturday I met Don, a descendent of famous King Tembinok who was immortalized in Stevenson’s book“In the South Seas.” Don took me on a tour of the island and told me some its history.  He said that people do speak openly about sex. In fact just yesterday his wife went to a nearby shop and a man insulted her by saying that she was giving her vagina to Don just for his things.  Don’s wife is his 6^th and a much younger woman I might add. I suppose that the fact that Don does have his own Kava Bar and a satellite dish does add to his attraction but he is also handsome and tells a great story.

Before I met Don, I asked two local ladies about the meaning of the University of Tuangaona. Their version is that there are men on the island that a woman can go to for sexual instruction. What these men do is use their tongue to tickle a woman’s vagina until it comes out of her body.  Once out, the vagina is then left to blow in the wind, which causes an extraordinary sensation.

When I told Don this peculiar story he laughed.  He said me that Tuangaona is not a university

Tembinok Tomb

and does not mean pussy. It is actually the name
of a clan that means ‘spread the word.’  
He is  a member of this clan--the clan of
King Tembinok.

Abemama got its reputation as a place to go to for sex education in the late 1880s. The story is that a Frenchman was left on Kuria, a nearby island, by his crew for some time--no one knows why exactly. The Frenchman passed his time on Kuria instructing the women there on the pleasures of oral sex. Word spread to the King and he decided to send one of his 36 wives to go and learn from the Frenchman.

So, that is what happened. His wife returned and taught the King the technique, which has been passed down through the generations.

They say the technique was perfected in Abemama because a woman was the original teacher. Don also told me how the local men have since improved upon it but I can’t tell you because it is a secret.

Trek to North Tarawa

The island of Tarawa is actually a series of island atolls in close proximity. I live in South Tarawa where 5 main islands are connected by causeways. There are many more islands in North Tarawa and because of the labyrinth of crossings from island to island there are no causeways or bridges from Buota all the way to Abaokoro—a distance of about 10 miles. The only way to get to Abaokoro, the capital of North Tarawa, is by boat, on foot during low tide or to swim. I decided to go by foot and make an adventure out of it.   

 I planned my trip carefully so as to be able to make the majority of crossings between islands during low tide. I left South Tarawa in the evening after work when the tide was in so I took a local canoe to the island of Abatao where I spent the night in a Buia—traditional Kiribati house—and waited for the morning low tides.

The trek began on Saturday around 8 a.m.  Villagers came out to meet me along the road and one lady even invited me to her Kava bar. 

I made 2 crossings where the water was up to my waist before reaching Tabuki Retreat Lodge where I stopped for a coffee break and picked up my 2 guides—a brother and sister. I was advised to go with a guide as it is easy to get lost and it is not safe for women to walk alone. As it turned out, I did most of the guiding as my guides had never been to Abaokoro. They were good for company though and at getting refreshments.

We walked to Abaokoro in 3 hours in 90 degree weather. I counted 18 crossings but they seemed to run into another after a while so not sure how accurate I was.  My guides left me to swim as they had to hurry back home before full tide. I wonder if they made it...

I took a canoe back to South Tarawa the next day and then a bus to my home.  I was only gone 2 days but I guess the neighborhood noticed as some children called out to me when I got off the bus, “You Came Back!”