| Abstrakt: |
The matawfishers of Batanes, the ten small northernmost islands of the Philippine archipelago, engage in the seasonal capture of Flying fish (Exocoetidae) and Dorado (Coryphaena hippurus), known locally as the `fish of summer΄ (among nu rayon), that enter the coastal waters in the summer months of March through May. Each fisher is identified by the `vanua΄ or `port΄ to which he belongs. The vanua is a specific spatial location, but also a particular organized group led by the fisher chosen to make the `first fishing trip΄, to perform ritual and implement the rules of the group. In addition, the ritual schedule governs the use of other gears, thereby regulating fishing activities on traditional grounds. This has potential implications for the stocks of both migratory and demersal species, in terms of closed season, fishing quotas, protected areas, and control over gear use. Via the performance of seasonal rites, which also organize the fishers into a cooperative association with their `clean vanua΄, the fish are coaxed to fulfill the fishers΄ subsistence needs and the ancestral spirits (añitu) are called on to bring luck and forestall tragedy. Tension and creative negotiation exists between the values and practices of the vanuasinherited from the ancestors and the modern values and ideas that accompany newly introduced technologies and the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
