Reproducing Mane’e: Social Practices and Cultural Continuity in the Kakorotan Island Community

Abstract

Mane’e remains part of everyday life on Kakorotan Island, where collective fishing brings together customary rules, communal work, and local ways of relating to the sea. Its continuity now unfolds amid changing fishing technologies, population mobility, shifting lifestyles, and growing public exposure beyond the island. This study examines how the Kakorotan community continues to practice and transmit Mane’e under these changing conditions. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted on Kakorotan Island, Talaud Islands, in November 2025. Data were collected through observation, interviews with five informants from different social and generational backgrounds, and documentation. The findings reveal that Mane’e continues through a series of activities carried out collectively. Community members deliberate on its timing, divide responsibilities, prepare fishing equipment, observe eha, harvest fish collectively, and distribute the catch. Through eha, the community establishes a period during which marine resources within the pomo area cannot be harvested. Access to the sea is therefore governed by collectively recognized decisions and obligations. Younger generations learn Mane’e by participating in preparations, guarding restricted areas, assisting during the fishing process, and following the guidance of customary elders. Cultural transmission takes place through the experience of practicing Mane’e alongside those who have inherited its knowledge before them. Meanwhile, social media and cultural tourism are bringing Mane’e into wider public spaces. The continuity of Mane’e rests on the Kakorotan community’s capacity to keep customary rules, knowledge of the sea, shared responsibilities, and collective work meaningful and workable as social conditions change.