Tabiteuea, Atoll in Gilbert Islands, Kiribati.

Tabiteuea is an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati, made up of one main island, Aanikai, in the north and several smaller islets along the eastern rim. Its land area is 38 km2, while the lagoon covers 365 km2. The northern and southern parts are separate administrative units, each with its own villages and airport.

On 1 July 1799 Charles Bishop and George Bass entered the lagoon aboard the brig Nautilus; Bishop named the atoll Bishop's Island and its main northern island Drummond's Island. In April 1841, during the United States Exploring Expedition, a missing sailor from the USS Peacock led to the Battle of Drummond's Island: twelve islanders were killed and Utiroa, a village of over 1,000 people, was burned. In the late 1800s the Christianised north invaded the south, where the Tioba cult had arisen around 1860.

The name Tabiteuea is Gilbertese for "no chief allowed", and the island has a tradition of egalitarian organisation. It is known for its huge maneaba, the communal meeting house where village affairs are conducted. Customary fishing practices tied to the lagoon and the open ocean are still part of island life.

Two separate airports serve the northern and southern regions, connecting the atoll to other islands in the archipelago. Movement between the two sections is limited, so planning your route in advance helps.

Tabiteuea's maneaba, the traditional meeting house, is described in the sources as huge, and the atoll's egalitarian tradition is tied to it. The name itself, "no chief allowed", comes from that refusal of hereditary leadership. Utiroa, the northern capital, was burned during the 1841 fighting and later rebuilt.