babatu

Bingham: Hiram Bingham, A Gilbertese-English Dictionary (1908, 1953). American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Sabatier: Ernest Sabatier, M.S.C., Dictionnaire Gilbertin-Français (1954), translated by Sr. M. Oliva as Gilbertese-English Dictionary (1971). South Pacific Commission Publications Bureau.

Bingham

babæ/tu

n. a mat just begun, the first half of a mat.

vi. to begin braiding a mat.

babatu

n. from babati.
a mat just commenced.
Nei Babatu: the woman who made the first mat. <myth>.