Manit Day celebrations take place in November each year. Schools and communities across the atolls prepare for weeks in advance, rehearsing dances, practising crafts, and putting together traditional foods. On the day itself, children dress in bright traditional clothing and perform for their families and community leaders.
During Manit week, crafts that might only be seen in museums come to life. Weavers make baskets, mats and fans from pandanus leaves. Canoe builders show their skills. Young people learn to make stick charts alongside elders who have been making them for decades. Everyone, old and young, has a role to play.
Traditional songs called beit are an important part of Manit celebrations. These are choral songs where large groups sing together in harmonies. The songs tell stories of the ocean, the atolls, the stars and the people. Some beit have been sung for hundreds of years and are still recognised and loved today.
Manit Day is also a reminder that Marshall Islands culture belongs to everyone – not just to elders or experts, but to every child who learns a dance step, weaves a leaf, or tells a story. The festival is one of the ways the Marshall Islands ensures that its traditions will still be alive and celebrated a hundred years from now.