Sociological Review about Ehat Culture in the Preservation of
Coconut Trees in The Island of Talaud
Maryam Lamadirisi
Faculty of Social Sciences, Manado State University, Tondano, 95618, Indonesia
Keywords: Ehat, Social Punishment, Advancement of Society.
Abstract: Ehat culture of the Talaud Island district is estimated to have existed since ancient time. However, it is not
certain when this culture started. Now with the advancement of the society, the needs of the farmers are
increasing, especially for their children's educational fees. The price of a young coconut is also higher than
old coconut retailed or even after processed into copra (smoked or sun-dried coconut). With this change, is
this culture still continuously preserved? Or is it started to shift? These are the questions that are going to be
answered through this research. This study used a qualitative approach to describe how the Ehat culture
implementation in the society. The data collection is performed through observations and interviews. The
findings of the research indicate that the term Ehat is still widely known in the society, from the old to the
younger generation. But as for how the Ehat was performed, especially for the punishment, can no longer be
seen in daily life. In ancient time, the violators were punished by humiliation (social punishment). But now,
the violators of Ehat are only fined with a fixed amount of money governed by the village rules formulated
by the village government and the village elders. Nevertheless, even though the Ehat in its physical form
(social punishment through humiliation) can no longer be observed in the society, but the educational value
of Ehat in people's behavior can be felt in the social life in Talaud in general, and especially in the Village of
Bantane. For example, if members of the society (youngsters or teenagers) are drunk as the result of drinking
liquor, it is unlikely for them to disturb other people by making disturbing acts on the streets. If they do, the
elders from each of their tribes will summon them and give heavy punishment to them. The Ehat culture in
the form of social sanctions has assimilated into the daily life in the Talaud society. Although alcohol
consumption is rather high in the Village of Bantane, there is hardly any commotion because of the shame
inflicted from the social sanctions for the violators. In conclusion, Ehat still exists, but the advancement of
the society has triggered the increasing needs of the farmers to accommodate their family's needs. Thus, the
Ehat culture is adjusted to meet the advancement of the society and the needs of the farmers.
1 INTRODUCTION
Ehat is a customary law in the islands of Talaud
Regency of North Sulawesi that governs the harvest
period on land or in the sea. Specifically, on land,
Ehat regulates Coconut trees harvest time. The
customary law referred is: after the harvest period of
Coconut, the members of the society are forbidden to
climb and collect Coconuts even if the Coconut trees
belong to themselves. The sanction for the violation
of this customary law is that the hair of the violator
will be shaved. Coconut husk will be hung on the
violator's neck and the violator will be paraded
around the village while shouting "Jangan iko pa kita
ada pancuri kalapa di masa Ehat" (don't copy what I
did, I stole Coconut in the Ehat period).
In the society, there will always be orders and
restrictions that apply to all members of the society
with existing values and social norms as the basis.
Norms and social values are not only as a guidance of
behavior but also as a control that binds the
community from doing social deviance. The referred
control is the ability of norms or values that cause
somebody or some group of people to obey it. If all
members of the society are willing to comply with
these rules (social values and norms), then it is almost
certain that the social life will be in order, safe, and
comfortable. But hoping that all members of the
society acting according to the values and norms is
488
Lamadirisi, M.
Sociological Review about Ehat Culture in the Preservation of Coconut Trees in The Island of Talaud.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 2, pages 488-491
ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

not easy. In a society, there will be some who obeys,
and some who violates these rules, probably even
some of us have broken those rules.
The Ehat culture has existed in the islands of
Talaud since ancient times; even the customary elders
are unable to ensure when this culture started. It is
estimated that this culture has existed since the
Colonial Era. It was intended to preserve the quality
of the harvested coconuts and to make sure that the
Coconut trees keep producing plenty of Coconut
fruits.
Now that the time has changed, the needs of the
Coconut farmers are getting bigger, especially for
their children educational fees. The price of the young
coconut is also higher than old coconut retailed or
even after processed into copra (smoked or sun-dried
coconut). With this change, is this culture still
continuously preserved? Or is it started to shift?
These are the question that is going to be answered
through research.
2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research is a qualitative-descriptive research
which is intended to describe a phenomenon, whether
in the present time or the past. There is no
manipulation or use of free variables in this research
but describes the condition as is, and the description
can be individual, group, and can also by using
numbers. The qualitative research comes from
constructivism, which views reality as multifaceted,
interactive, interpretative based on social experience.
Thus, this study is classified as qualitative-interactive
research as this research is an in-depth study using a
direct data collection technique from people in its
original environment and the researcher interprets the
phenomena within (Sukmadinata, 2007:61).
The aim is to describe a group which becomes the
subject of this study, which are the customary elders
and the members of the society that are still
performing the Ehat culture. And for that, data are
collected by conducting a direct interview with the
customary elders and members of the society that are
related to the Ehat culture.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 The History of Ehat Culture
In the effort to find out the history of Coconut Ehat
culture, the writer has examined the sample of this
research which is Bantane Village in the district of
Rainis. The writer has done interviews with the chief
of Bantane Village and other customary elders who
are presumably able to provide accurate information
regarding the history of Ehat. The result of the
interviews is not very satisfying. They know that Ehat
had existed since their childhood. When the
informants were in their childhood, on a couple of
occasions, they saw how the violators of Ehat were
humiliated by being paraded around the village while
shouting: "Jangan iko pa kita ada pancuri kalapa di
masa Ehat" (don't copy what I did, I stole Coconut in
the Ehat period). In recent time, the Ehat culture is
still practiced, but they do not see that there are
members of the society being paraded around the
village. According to them, the sanction to Ehat
violators has been replaced with fines with amount as
regulated by the Bantane Village Regulation about
Programs and Customary Rules of Bantane Village of
2007 clause 10 verse 2 that states a) Anyone who
produces copra in the period when Ehat is closed (still
not opened) will be fined with Rp. 250.000 (two
hundred and fifty thousand rupiah). b) Anyone who
intentionally or unintentionally carries Coconut fruit
with the intention of selling it or for family usage
while in Ehat/closed period is subject to fine of
Rp.100.000 (one hundred thousand rupiahs).
3.2 Ehat in the Ancient Time
Coconut Ehat in Bantane Village in the ancient time
is a form of an unwritten customary law. Even so, the
supervision of Ehat violation is pretty strict. Whoever
caught violating the rule will be immediately
processed and sanctioned by parading them around
the village and shouting words as described in the
earlier section. Before the Islands of Talaud expanded
into Regency (in the year of 2000), Ehat is held every
year (three times a year), but it is rare for people to
violate it. It is because of a high level of obedience
from the members of the society to the customary
rules. Together, the members of the community
preserve the tradition, reminding each other in the
society. In addition, another supporting factor that
supports the implementation of this custom is that the
living cost and children educational fee for the
Coconut farmers' family is still small. Thus, for
Coconut farmers that rely solely on the revenue from
the coconut harvest (copra) are still in the "safe" level
until the next harvest period.
Sociological Review about Ehat Culture in the Preservation of Coconut Trees in The Island of Talaud
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3.3 Ehat in Present Time
Currently, after the Islands of Talaud are expanded
into Island of Talaud Regency, access to remote
villages due to unopened or unpaved roads is now
entering a new era where road access has been opened
and paved. The rapidly growing telecommunication
era seems to require everyone to own a mobile phone
(handphone). Thus, in addition to the household
needs, families are now burdened with additional
need to buy mobile phone devices and credit.
Children who previously need only to have a
secondary education are now motivated to continue
their study to College, at least one that located in
Manado (UNIMA or UNSRAT, Polytechnic, or other
private universities). All of it requires presumably
more money than the coconut harvest result which
remains unchanged.
The household needs are increasing while income
stays unchanged tempts the coconut plant owners to
glance at the coconut fruits that are on the trees even
though the Ehat period is still not opened. The Ehat
rule that is regulated in the village rules which states
that violator of Ehat is penalized with Rp. 250.000 if
they produce copra is thought to be a small amount of
money for a family that is in need of money.
From the interviews with the customary elders in
the Village of Bantane, it is known that the Ehat
period is no longer three months long, but is reduced
to only two months. The adjustment of the duration
of Ehat is based on the consideration of the members
of society needs for their children education funding.
It means that Ehat was not intended to preserve the
quality of the coconut fruits, but a rule meant to
exhibit the power of the customary elders in
regulating the social life in the society. So, it is safe
to assume that the Coconut Ehat culture in the Village
of Bantane will be fading in the future and may even
just become a memory.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Customary Law is a rule that binds customary
community members to control their behaviors to
follow the traditional rules. Customary laws which
related with ethics and aesthetics are usually more
lasting compared to those related to the economy. The
rules that are related to ethics and aesthetics in the
Village of Bantane is like ban in using “golpi” or
shorts/trunks during church worships or column
worships, while coconut Ehat rule which restricts the
coconut harvest activity is related to the livelihood of
the coconut farmer's family. They need funding for
their children education, but at the same time, they are
not allowed to harvest their coconut to be sold or
processed as copra. Realizing the problems that the
members of their society are facing, the customary
elders are not turning away from their community
members. They looked at those obstacles wisely.
Rules that were strict are loosened. The sanctions that
were initially humiliated now lightened with a penalty
of some amount of money. Ehat that was previously
set to three months now is shortened to only two
months.
Thus, the development of civilization has eroded
the customary values that were earlier strict, because
of a shift in values and needs, and as long as it does
not violate higher norm which is the religious norm,
the customary law can be adjusted to follow the needs
of the society. Therefore, Ehat is not erased from the
order of the community life of the Village of Bantane,
but it is adjusted to the current condition in the
society. Ehat is fading not because it is deemed
unsatisfactory in the society. Not because of lack in
the formulation, and not because there is a conflict of
interests between the customary elders and the
farmers who own the coconut trees. But Ehat faded
solely because of the rapid changes in the way of life
that causes the needs of the farmers to increase
regarding their daily live financing. It is also realized
by the customary elders in which some of them are
also farmers who own coconut trees. The irresolute
action from the customary elders in administering
sanction to the violators of Ehat is not because of their
inability in administering it, but solely because of
their tolerant demeanor as a violation to Ehat culture
is not an offense that inflicts harm on others, but it is
purely a violation of an agreement. The form should
be completed and signed by one author on behalf of
all the other authors.
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