Tuvalu

Tuvalu
National AssemblyTuvalu
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 11,204
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 202
Related media
Categories: Tuvalu • People

Tuvalu is a country located in the Pacific Ocean consisting of nine major islands. Its official languages are Tuvaluan and English.

The region has been inhabited since prehistory. In the 19th century European trading companies began operating in the region and named the area the Ellice Islands. In 1892 the British Empire colonized the islands and established a Protectorate and in 1916 it became governed as part of the colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. In 1978 the country achieved independence from Britain as Tuvalu.

History[edit]

The Baha'i Faith was first established in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands by Roy and Elena Fernie who settled in Kiribati in 1954. In order to get there, they created the pretext that Roy was a scientist studying the language and culture of the Gilbertese. So that is what he did when he arrived.[2] They intended to stay in the islands for life, but due to religious government pressure from the Christians, Roy was deported within a year, but Elena remained and carried on the work until 1957.[3] In those days the government required a religious group to have 100 members to be registered. When Roy was deported, over 200 people enrolled in a the days leading up to his departure and the Bahá'í Faith was able to be registered.[3] The Faith then was able to spread throughout the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

In May of 1956, it was reported that there were at least 500 enrolled Bahá'ís in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.[4]

Seven of the nine members of the first Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the South Pacific. Front Row: Dulcie Dive, Gertrude Blum, and Irene Jackson. Back Row: Stephen Percival, Lisiate Maka, Alvin Blmum, and WaLli Khan. Absent are Mabel Sneider and Suhayl 'Ala'i.

In 1959, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were included in the new National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Islands with its eat in Suva, Fiji. The 10 delegates from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were unable to attend because of transportation issues. Attendees included Mrs. Margery McCormick a representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone, 5 Auxiliary Board members, 5 Knights of Bahá'u'lláh nine delegates, and visitors from several countries for a total of 60 believers.[5]

The area of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands is two million square miles, mostly water. The issue of travel int Gilbert and Ellice Islands was explained in th Jun 1961 issue of the Bahá'í News. It takes 6 nights and 5 days to travel by ship from the island of Tabiteuea to Tarawa as the ship stops of many islands to load copra (dried coconut kernels to make oil).[6]

By 1963 there were native Bahá'í from the both the Gibert Islands and the Ellice Islands.[7] In 1964, the National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Islands was dissolved and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands were included in the new National Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific Ocean with its seat in Suva, Fiji.[8]

By 1965 the membership ha reached 521 or about 1% of the population of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and spread to 14 of the colony's 33 islands.[3] The growth continued and in 1967, The National Spiritual Assembly of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands was formed.[9][10]

In October 1966, a teaching conference representing six islands was held in the new Hazíratu'lQuds on Tarawa while Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone was visiting.[11]

From left to right: Miss Rowling, David Hopper, Tebakaro Aritiera, Mote Kiaman, Mr. Featherstone, Joe Russell, Mabel Aritiera, Mr. Tuataga, Opetaia Kiaboua, Jack Pedro and Mr. ‘Alá’i. Absent: Elizabeth Blumer and Peter Kanere.

At Ridván 1967, the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands was formed. Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone, Auxiliary Board members Niu Tuataga and Margaret Rowling, and representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of South Pacific Ocean, Suhayl 'Alá'i were in attendance.[12]

In August 1971 a National Teaching Institute was held in Bikenibeu, Tarawa with 48 attending representing 7 islands including one from the Ellice Islands.[13]

An extensive proclamation was carried out in support of United Nations Day, including presentations to dignitaries, radio programs, exhibits, essay contests for high school students, newspaper publicity, and panel discussions. [14]

The Erena Roe Catamaran

In April 1977, approximately 100 townspeople gathered near the Bahá'í Center at Betio, to watch the launching of a 40-foot catamaran named "Erena Roe" (for Elena and Roy Fernie) built by a Bahá'í, John Thurston. The event was covered in the daily newspaper Atoll Pioneer which was chosen by the Bahá'í community of Tuarabu village, Abaiang. This was the village where Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Elena and Roy Fernie first settled in 1954. The boat was powered by two Diesel engines as well as by sail, carries a crew of two plus the owner. It contains a galley, sleeping quarters, cargo space and a large cabin to be used for classes, film shows, and meetings. The purpose was to facilitate travel and teaching capabilities for the Bahá'í of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.[15] In a short lived cholera epidemic, a Bahá'í served on the Cholera Committee and the Bahá'is of the Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu were able to offer services September of 1977. Services included relaying messages throughout the area using the Bahá'í owned catamaran Erena-Roe and transporting patients from outlying islands to the central hospital.[16]

In 1978 Tuvalu gained its independence from Britain. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Gilbert and Tuvalu was now the name of the National Spiritual assembly. In 1979 when the Gilbert Islands became independent as Kirbati it became the National Spiritual Assembly of Kirbati and Tuvalu. By this time the Bahá'í population represented 8.77% of the total population with 140 towns and villages represented. In Tuvalu 5.8% of the population were enrolled.[3]

In August 1979, it was announced that there were 80 Local Spiritual Assemblies with 16 of them registered, Bahá'ís in 201 localities, and 13 Hazíratu'l-quds within the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of Kirbati and Tuvalu.[17]

Eight members of the newly elected National Spiritual Assembly of Tuvalue with Hand of the Cause H. Collis Featherstone (back row 4th from left), Continental Counsellor Suhayl 'Alá'í (seated far right), Auxiliary Board member Dr. Tilinga Pulusi (seated far right) and Jack Pedro (representative of parent National Spiritual Assembly of Kiribati)

The National Spiritual Assembly of Tuvalu was formed with its seat in Funafuti in 1981.[18][19][20]

In July 1982, some of the women from Tuvalu attended a women's conference in Samoa commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf.[21]

In March of 1985 a youth who had studied community development returned to Tuvalu and was working with one of the pioneers to teach the island women about health, nutrition and sanitation. Also a pioneer in Funafuti was operation a school meeting twice a week with one class for 6-10 years old and a second for ages 11-15 with 30-40 students.[22] In September, the National Spiritual Assembly of Tuvalu sponsored its first National Youth Conference. Forty delegates from seven islands attended.[23]

On January 15, 1986, the Peace Message was presented to the Head of State by a Bahá'í delegation.[24]

In September of 1988, a group of Bahá'í youth performed with another youth group during the commemorative dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of the independence of Tuvalu. Representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly of Tuvalu attended other official commemorative events.[25]

Bahá'í statistics indicate that 5.8% of the population were Bahá'ís and in 1991 the Universal House of Justice noted that the Bahá'í Community had attained the status of one of the "common religions" in Tuvalu. In 2000, the census listed 2052 Bahá'ís representing 2.4 \% of the national population of 84,494.[3]

Evotia Masipei passed away on June 13, 1997. She was born on November 27, 1935 on the island of Nanumea in Tuvalu (then Ellice Islands). She the the first native Tuvaluan to accept the Bahá'í Faith on Tuvaluan soil. She served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bikenibeu for three years and raised six children.[26]

In 2019, Mason Stahl stated that the oceanic communities of the pacific may not represent a large Bahá population, but because of a low total population, they represent a significant portion of the population. The total population of the region was around 100,000 and the estimates of the Bahá'i population in this religiously diverse area is somewhere between 3%-10%. In Tuvalu, the island of Nana Mia was the only geographic area in the world where Bahá'ís are a majority of the population - albeit only with population of about 600.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Baha'i News (1954). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 280, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Graham Hassal. "Origins of the Bahá'í Faith in the Pacific Islands: The Case of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands". Journal of Bahá'í Studies. pp. 36, 38–40.
  4. ↑ Baha'i News (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 303, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Baha'i News (1959). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 341, Pg(s) 4-5. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1961). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 363, Pg(s) 19. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1963). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 392, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 99. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 99. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ Template:Cite journal=
  11. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 433, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 439, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ Baha'i News (1971). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 488, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 526, Pg(s) 12-13. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ Baha'i News (1977). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 555, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ Baha'i News (1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 564, Pg(s) 17. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 581, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 107. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 62. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ The Universal House of Justice. "Ridván 1981".
  21. ↑ Baha'i News (1982). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 620, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ Baha'i News (1986). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 661, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ Baha'i News (1986). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 658, Pg(s) 17. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 683, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ Baha'i News (1989). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 700, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 274. View as PDF.
  27. ↑ Mason Stahl. "Who are the Bahá'ís?: The Forgotten 4th Abrahamic Faith".

See also[edit]

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