Tabwakea, also known as Tabakea, is a village in

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

, located on the island of

Kiritimati Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, ...

, within the archipelago of

Line Islands The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands (in Gilbertese, ''Aono Raina'') are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawa ...

. In 2020, it was inhabited by 3,537 people, making it the most populated of the four settlements of the island.

Name

''Tabwakea'' means turtle in

Gilbertese language Gilbertese or taetae ni Kiribati, also Kiribati (sometimes ''Kiribatese''), is an Austronesian language spoken mainly in Kiribati. It belongs to the Micronesian branch of the Oceanic languages. The word ''Kiribati'', the current name of the i ...

and may refer to the first name given by

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

on 24 December 1777, Turtle Island, before giving to it the name of Christmas Island (Kiritimati).

Demographics

In 2005 it had a population of 1,881 people. In 2010 it had a population of 2,311, 3,001 in 2015, and 3,537 in 2020. It is the largest village on Kiritimati and in the whole

References

Populated places in Kiribati Kiritimati {{Kiribati-geo-stub