BIKINIAN ANTHEM

Written by in 1946 Lore Kessibuki (1914-1994)

No longer can I stay; it's true.
No longer can I live in peace and harmony.
No longer can I rest on my sleeping mat and pillow
Because of my island and the life I once knew there.

The thought is overwhelming
Rendering me helpless and in great despair.

My spirit leaves, drifting around and far away
Where it becomes caught in a current of immense power -
And only then do I find tranquility

I jab ber emol, aet, i jab ber ainmon
ion kineo im bitu
kin ailon eo ao im melan ko ie

Eber im lok jiktok ikerele
kot iban bok hartu jonan an elap ippa

Ao emotlok rounni im lo ijen ion
ijen ebin joe a eankin
ijen jikin ao emotlok im ber im mad ie

Download the first two verses of the
BIKINI ANTHEM as sung by the
people of Bikini in their church on Kili Island in April of 1997 Recorded in MP3 [460K]
by James Tocher

Lore Kessibuki

The 23 white stars in the field of blue in the upper left hand corner of the flag represent the islands of Bikini Atoll.

The three black stars in the upper right of the flag represent the three islands that were vaporized by the March 1, 1954, 15 megaton hydrogen bomb blast, code named Bravo.

The two black stars in the lower right hand corner represent where the Bikinians live now, Kili Island, 425 miles to the south of Bikini Atoll, and Ejit Island of Majuro Atoll. These two stars are symbolically far away from Bikini's stars on the flag as the islands are in real life (both in distance and quality of life).

The Marshallese words running across the bottom of the flag, "MEN OTEMJEJ REJ ILO BEIN ANIJ" [Translation: "Everything is in the hands of God."], represent the words spoken in 1946 by the Bikinian leader, Juda, to U.S. Commodore Ben Wyatt when the American went to Bikini to ask the islanders--on a Sunday after church--to give up their islands for the 'good of all mankind' so that the U.S. could test nuclear weapons.

The close resemblance of the Bikinian's flag to the flag of the United States is to remind the people and the government of America that a great debt is still owed by them to the people of Bikini.

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This Bikini Atoll website is sponsored by:   To purchase or rent Microwave Films and DVDs please go here: MICROWAVE FILMS OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS

The historical information within this site, while constantly updated, is drawn largely from the book, FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND: A History of the People of Bikini and their Islands, Second Edition, published in September of 2001 by Jack Niedenthal. This book tells the story of the people of Bikini from their point of view via interviews, and the author's more than two decades of firsthand experiences with elder Bikinians. Copies can be purchased from this direct ordering link at Amazon.com, or you can also buy and download the Kindle edition.