The common reference of Kibukuth, and its abbreviation Kibu to the land of the markai (the 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 with a form ancestor worship, and as such the markai are the ancestors, and are specially revered. Kibukuth is made up of different totemic territories, those of kœdal "crocodile", thabu "snake", baidham "shark", samu "cassowary", kursi "hammer-head shark", dhœibaw "wild white yam", among many others. After death, the mari "soul" travels to Boigu, just past which it becomes a markai, and is met by markai relatives who have come to take it to the augadh territory. The augadh generates the buwai "totemic clan/moiety".
