Kibu Island

In the mythology of the Mabuiag people of the Torres Strait, Kibu is the mythical land of the dead, believed to exist over the horizon far to the west. The correct full term is Kibukuth "Horizon's End". The prime meaning of the word kibu is "horizon", while the reference to Kibu, the land of the markai (spirits of people who have travelled to Kibu after death) is a specialised, religious use of the word. Traditional Torres Strait religion can be characterised as 'totemic' and 'ancestor worship', as the markai are the ancestors, and are specially revered. The ancestors are with the totem, and the totem generates the ancestors.

Before becoming markai, the spirit of the dead person is called mari. Mari are the spirits of the dead who have not yet passed to the other side. The passage to the other side is made on the sand banks just west of Boigu, in north-west Torres Strait. At Boigu, the mari either leave a sign or otherwise talk to the mariumulaimoebaig "spirit talker", to let people know how he or she died, and if he or she was murdered (and if so, who killed them). This is done where the cemetry is at Boigu, just west of the village.

In the traditional mythology, the world (arkath "hole", apagoewa "underfurrow/ditch/garden") is at the bottom of a sphere, with the sky (dapar) above and around it. The markai live in Kibu, the main 'gateway' of which is in the west (Kibukuth "Horizon's End"). However, the markai often come back to visit. The land of the markai actually surrounds the world, so markai can be seen passing from east to west as well as west to east, coming down from the sky, and sometimes even coming up from under the ground via Apangab "Netherway, Underway", the mythical pathway under the earth used by markai and others, such as dhogai "long-eared witch women", maidhalaig "magic-men", and others to travel under the earth and the sea from place to place.

One favourite means of transport of the markai is the markaigub "spirit wind", that is to say, waterspouts.

In the passage over to the other side, at the sandbanks west of Boigu, the mari, which is black (kubikub) just as in life, becomes white (gamulnga] (this is a belief common to many Pacific and Australian peoples). Therefore, when Asians and Europeans visited Torres Strait, they were at first believed to be markai returning. In the modern language, markai is still often used to refer to Europeans, though no longer to Asians. However, this is considered to be impolite, and the correct term is either Yurupau Moebaig "European" or Gamulmoebaig "(Light) Coloured Person".