Dr Jaap Timmer is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University, Sydney. He has a broad regional interest in the Southwest Pacific and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on Melanesia (Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands) and Indonesia (Papua, Maluku and Kalimantan). His anthropological research focuses on the cultural politics of knowledge with particular emphasis on religion, ethnicity, migration, tenure arrangements, access to justice, governance, and non-state regulations. Jaap is interested in designing, undertaking, and managing research, and organising and managing projects that take a lively interest in the history, use and meaning of indigenous knowledge and material culture. Phone: +61(0)298508077
Living with Intricate Futures offers a close look at the complex patterns of Imyan society (West ... more Living with Intricate Futures offers a close look at the complex patterns of Imyan society (West New Guinea, Papua) and the diversity of Imyan people’s lives which are shaped by a variety of contingent forces, and by the ways in which people endow the world with meaning. Jaap Timmer shows how and why Imyan subdivide traditions of knowledge and related modes of activity as they shape their understanding through the enactment, reproduction, and invention of meanings. An important theme is the emphasis placed on tracing the emergence and the historical trajectories of certain key categories that have come to epitomise the traditions of knowledge. These categories come to the fore when Imyan discuss their own society, their customs, their futures, the church, and the government. Timmer traces the historical development of the categories and details the role of knowledge and secrecy to understand how conceptions of effective knowledge meaningfully relate to the traditions which shape behaviour which in turn (re)shapes the knowledge traditions. The result is a rich and empirically detailed ethnographic study that includes discussions of origin stories, male initiation, village construction, struggles for local leadership, opposition to Indonesian political control, criticisms of the early Dutch missionaries, and the advent of a new eschatology rooted in local myth and Christian doctrine.
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 2022
Reflecting on the violence in Papua and how this is shaping Papuan lifeworlds and triggers attemp... more Reflecting on the violence in Papua and how this is shaping Papuan lifeworlds and triggers attempts to disengage from Indonesian and Dutch imperialism, we, I Ngurah Suryawan and Jaap Timmer, position ourselves as nationals from colonising states-one current, Indonesia and one historic, Netherlands-in relation to our anthropological research in Papua. We came to the long-drawn-out conflict and growing affirmations of cultural autonomy in Papua from different backgrounds, and this has affected the way in which we try to contribute to remedy decades of violence. Yet, as we will show, we converge in the way we recognise that a key role we can play as anthropologists is to contribute to a better understanding of Papuan cultures and more appreciation of their creative expressions and to enable, for Papuans, a decolonial epistemology.
This bibliography presents a review of references to published and unpublished materials on nine ... more This bibliography presents a review of references to published and unpublished materials on nine of the communities of Bintuni Bay. The focus of the bibliography is on
In this chapter I juxtapose the urgency Malaitans feel to understand and combat their past with t... more In this chapter I juxtapose the urgency Malaitans feel to understand and combat their past with the situation and experience in Germany at the end of the First World War, one that fed directly into the phenomenology developed by Heidegger. I use this juxtaposition to develop both an insight into Heidegger's phenomenology and to reflect on the way people in Solomon Islands bring God's Word to life to respond to a perceived crisis of history in their land amidst widespread cynicism over Western historiography and positivism. The juxtaposition will shed light on the specific theology and related nationalism in North Malaita while showing how Heidegger's phenomenology can be used as a foundation for more extensive anthropological research grounded in religious concerns. Just as many To'abaita conclude that the crisis of history, illustrated by the failure of the contemporary postcolonial Solomon Islands' state, is best countered by a return to “essential To'abaitan-ness or Malaitan-ness,” arguing for theocracy as their natural and culturally appropriate form of governance, so also Heidegger's phenomenological turn was made in the context of a similar conviction in the destiny of his own people's natural culture.
Indonesian language version of "Erring ecentralisation and elite politics in Papua" Thi... more Indonesian language version of "Erring ecentralisation and elite politics in Papua" This book chapter focuses on conflicts in the Province of Papua (former Irian Jaya) evoked by the recent devolution of power of administrative functions in Indonesia. While the national decentralisation policy aims at accommodating anti-Jakarta sentiments in the regions and intends stimulating development, it augments contentions within the Papuan elite that go hand in hand with ethnic and regional tensions and increasing demands for more sovereignty amid communities. ...
Haji Idris of Sungai Banjar came from South Sulawesi with his wife and three children to the Maha... more Haji Idris of Sungai Banjar came from South Sulawesi with his wife and three children to the Mahakam Delta in East Kalimantan in 1997.1 Idris began to work for a local pond owner, and within two years a local businessperson and the pond owner trusted him to operate ten hectares of ponds near Sungai Banjar. At the time, the number of ponds in the region was growing rapidly as profits were mounting. Idris built a large house in Sungai Banjar, which he furnished nicely with an impressive set of couches and two tall cabinets filled with porcelain. After some time, Idris managed to collect big harvests and he and his family cashed large sums of money. They saved a part of it and went on pilgrimage to Mecca three times in a period of five years. Since 2003, harvests began to decrease and by now Idris is unable to collect shrimps any more. He now fishes small shrimp, which he and wife dry on the jetty in front of their house. They Discussion Paper 2011/5
List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2... more List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2) Introduction: Land Politics and Postcolonial Sociality in the Wake of Environmental Disaster Chapter 1. An Orientation to the Shifting Patterns of Tolai Land Tenure Chapter 2. Land at Sikut: Freedom from Kastomand Economic Development Chapter 3. Kulia: an Ambiguous Transaction Chapter 4. What Makes a Landholder: a Case Study of a Matupit Land Dispute Chapter 5. Kastom, Family and Clan: Extending and Limiting Obligations Chapter 6. Kastom and Contested Reciprocity Chapter 7. Big Shots, Corned Beef and Big Heads Chapter 8. A Fish Trap for Kastom Chapter 9. Big Men, Big Shots and Bourgeois Individuals: conflicts over moral obligation and the limits of reciprocity Chapter 10. Your Own Buai You Must Buy: the Big Shot as Contemporary Melanesian Possessive Individual Chapter 11. Conclusions Glossary References Index
List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2... more List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2) Introduction: Land Politics and Postcolonial Sociality in the Wake of Environmental Disaster Chapter 1. An Orientation to the Shifting Patterns of Tolai Land Tenure Chapter 2. Land at Sikut: Freedom from Kastomand Economic Development Chapter 3. Kulia: an Ambiguous Transaction Chapter 4. What Makes a Landholder: a Case Study of a Matupit Land Dispute Chapter 5. Kastom, Family and Clan: Extending and Limiting Obligations Chapter 6. Kastom and Contested Reciprocity Chapter 7. Big Shots, Corned Beef and Big Heads Chapter 8. A Fish Trap for Kastom Chapter 9. Big Men, Big Shots and Bourgeois Individuals: conflicts over moral obligation and the limits of reciprocity Chapter 10. Your Own Buai You Must Buy: the Big Shot as Contemporary Melanesian Possessive Individual Chapter 11. Conclusions Glossary References Index
For several decades people have been grappling with how to retain the material safety and cultura... more For several decades people have been grappling with how to retain the material safety and cultural richness of indigenous non-capitalist societies and economies, but also gain the health, wealth, education and life opportunities the modern capitalist world offers. This book brings together examples of attempts to forge locally appropriate versions of modernity; development that suits the aspirations and circumstances of particular groups of people. Authors question how the market economy has been variously negotiated by groups who also have other systems through which they organize their social and economic life. What has worked for these people, what has not, and why? The volume addresses how ,as a social and economic system, capitalism has been very effective in generating wealth and technological innovation, but has also been associated with great social inequity and environmental damage. Its inherent flaws have been highlighted by the escalation of ecological problems arising fr...
Review (s) of: Boelaars, Jan HMC and Arnold, AC, Mono Koame:'wij denken ook', Blom, Nij... more Review (s) of: Boelaars, Jan HMC and Arnold, AC, Mono Koame:'wij denken ook', Blom, Nijmegen: Centre for Pacific and Asian Studies, Nijmegen University, 2001. Written in Dutch with an English language introduction by A. Borsboom, I. Buskens, and J. Kommers. 319 pp., maps, photos, np (paper).
Living with Intricate Futures offers a close look at the complex patterns of Imyan society (West ... more Living with Intricate Futures offers a close look at the complex patterns of Imyan society (West New Guinea, Papua) and the diversity of Imyan people’s lives which are shaped by a variety of contingent forces, and by the ways in which people endow the world with meaning. Jaap Timmer shows how and why Imyan subdivide traditions of knowledge and related modes of activity as they shape their understanding through the enactment, reproduction, and invention of meanings. An important theme is the emphasis placed on tracing the emergence and the historical trajectories of certain key categories that have come to epitomise the traditions of knowledge. These categories come to the fore when Imyan discuss their own society, their customs, their futures, the church, and the government. Timmer traces the historical development of the categories and details the role of knowledge and secrecy to understand how conceptions of effective knowledge meaningfully relate to the traditions which shape behaviour which in turn (re)shapes the knowledge traditions. The result is a rich and empirically detailed ethnographic study that includes discussions of origin stories, male initiation, village construction, struggles for local leadership, opposition to Indonesian political control, criticisms of the early Dutch missionaries, and the advent of a new eschatology rooted in local myth and Christian doctrine.
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 2022
Reflecting on the violence in Papua and how this is shaping Papuan lifeworlds and triggers attemp... more Reflecting on the violence in Papua and how this is shaping Papuan lifeworlds and triggers attempts to disengage from Indonesian and Dutch imperialism, we, I Ngurah Suryawan and Jaap Timmer, position ourselves as nationals from colonising states-one current, Indonesia and one historic, Netherlands-in relation to our anthropological research in Papua. We came to the long-drawn-out conflict and growing affirmations of cultural autonomy in Papua from different backgrounds, and this has affected the way in which we try to contribute to remedy decades of violence. Yet, as we will show, we converge in the way we recognise that a key role we can play as anthropologists is to contribute to a better understanding of Papuan cultures and more appreciation of their creative expressions and to enable, for Papuans, a decolonial epistemology.
This bibliography presents a review of references to published and unpublished materials on nine ... more This bibliography presents a review of references to published and unpublished materials on nine of the communities of Bintuni Bay. The focus of the bibliography is on
In this chapter I juxtapose the urgency Malaitans feel to understand and combat their past with t... more In this chapter I juxtapose the urgency Malaitans feel to understand and combat their past with the situation and experience in Germany at the end of the First World War, one that fed directly into the phenomenology developed by Heidegger. I use this juxtaposition to develop both an insight into Heidegger's phenomenology and to reflect on the way people in Solomon Islands bring God's Word to life to respond to a perceived crisis of history in their land amidst widespread cynicism over Western historiography and positivism. The juxtaposition will shed light on the specific theology and related nationalism in North Malaita while showing how Heidegger's phenomenology can be used as a foundation for more extensive anthropological research grounded in religious concerns. Just as many To'abaita conclude that the crisis of history, illustrated by the failure of the contemporary postcolonial Solomon Islands' state, is best countered by a return to “essential To'abaitan-ness or Malaitan-ness,” arguing for theocracy as their natural and culturally appropriate form of governance, so also Heidegger's phenomenological turn was made in the context of a similar conviction in the destiny of his own people's natural culture.
Indonesian language version of "Erring ecentralisation and elite politics in Papua" Thi... more Indonesian language version of "Erring ecentralisation and elite politics in Papua" This book chapter focuses on conflicts in the Province of Papua (former Irian Jaya) evoked by the recent devolution of power of administrative functions in Indonesia. While the national decentralisation policy aims at accommodating anti-Jakarta sentiments in the regions and intends stimulating development, it augments contentions within the Papuan elite that go hand in hand with ethnic and regional tensions and increasing demands for more sovereignty amid communities. ...
Haji Idris of Sungai Banjar came from South Sulawesi with his wife and three children to the Maha... more Haji Idris of Sungai Banjar came from South Sulawesi with his wife and three children to the Mahakam Delta in East Kalimantan in 1997.1 Idris began to work for a local pond owner, and within two years a local businessperson and the pond owner trusted him to operate ten hectares of ponds near Sungai Banjar. At the time, the number of ponds in the region was growing rapidly as profits were mounting. Idris built a large house in Sungai Banjar, which he furnished nicely with an impressive set of couches and two tall cabinets filled with porcelain. After some time, Idris managed to collect big harvests and he and his family cashed large sums of money. They saved a part of it and went on pilgrimage to Mecca three times in a period of five years. Since 2003, harvests began to decrease and by now Idris is unable to collect shrimps any more. He now fishes small shrimp, which he and wife dry on the jetty in front of their house. They Discussion Paper 2011/5
List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2... more List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2) Introduction: Land Politics and Postcolonial Sociality in the Wake of Environmental Disaster Chapter 1. An Orientation to the Shifting Patterns of Tolai Land Tenure Chapter 2. Land at Sikut: Freedom from Kastomand Economic Development Chapter 3. Kulia: an Ambiguous Transaction Chapter 4. What Makes a Landholder: a Case Study of a Matupit Land Dispute Chapter 5. Kastom, Family and Clan: Extending and Limiting Obligations Chapter 6. Kastom and Contested Reciprocity Chapter 7. Big Shots, Corned Beef and Big Heads Chapter 8. A Fish Trap for Kastom Chapter 9. Big Men, Big Shots and Bourgeois Individuals: conflicts over moral obligation and the limits of reciprocity Chapter 10. Your Own Buai You Must Buy: the Big Shot as Contemporary Melanesian Possessive Individual Chapter 11. Conclusions Glossary References Index
List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2... more List of illustrations List of tables Acknowledgements Note on Language General maps (Maps 1 and 2) Introduction: Land Politics and Postcolonial Sociality in the Wake of Environmental Disaster Chapter 1. An Orientation to the Shifting Patterns of Tolai Land Tenure Chapter 2. Land at Sikut: Freedom from Kastomand Economic Development Chapter 3. Kulia: an Ambiguous Transaction Chapter 4. What Makes a Landholder: a Case Study of a Matupit Land Dispute Chapter 5. Kastom, Family and Clan: Extending and Limiting Obligations Chapter 6. Kastom and Contested Reciprocity Chapter 7. Big Shots, Corned Beef and Big Heads Chapter 8. A Fish Trap for Kastom Chapter 9. Big Men, Big Shots and Bourgeois Individuals: conflicts over moral obligation and the limits of reciprocity Chapter 10. Your Own Buai You Must Buy: the Big Shot as Contemporary Melanesian Possessive Individual Chapter 11. Conclusions Glossary References Index
For several decades people have been grappling with how to retain the material safety and cultura... more For several decades people have been grappling with how to retain the material safety and cultural richness of indigenous non-capitalist societies and economies, but also gain the health, wealth, education and life opportunities the modern capitalist world offers. This book brings together examples of attempts to forge locally appropriate versions of modernity; development that suits the aspirations and circumstances of particular groups of people. Authors question how the market economy has been variously negotiated by groups who also have other systems through which they organize their social and economic life. What has worked for these people, what has not, and why? The volume addresses how ,as a social and economic system, capitalism has been very effective in generating wealth and technological innovation, but has also been associated with great social inequity and environmental damage. Its inherent flaws have been highlighted by the escalation of ecological problems arising fr...
Review (s) of: Boelaars, Jan HMC and Arnold, AC, Mono Koame:'wij denken ook', Blom, Nij... more Review (s) of: Boelaars, Jan HMC and Arnold, AC, Mono Koame:'wij denken ook', Blom, Nijmegen: Centre for Pacific and Asian Studies, Nijmegen University, 2001. Written in Dutch with an English language introduction by A. Borsboom, I. Buskens, and J. Kommers. 319 pp., maps, photos, np (paper).
This edited volume brings together attempts by anthropologists to understand the consequences of ... more This edited volume brings together attempts by anthropologists to understand the consequences of capitalism in Oceanic communities. In the preface McCormack and Barclay indicate that they were guided by the question of “how people may get what they want from capitalism without losing the vibrancy and importance of other ways of being in society” (ix). The volume covers a lot of ground, perhaps even too much. The authors showcase interesting arguments in their chapters, but often what is said relates only in part to the main perspective of the volume itself. This is even true of the epilogue to the volume, though the authors do refer back to the individual contributions. The problem is that the net is cast very wide. If the number of contributions to the volume had been larger the overall impression of the volume would be more outspoken. Also, while the authors refer to each other’s work in general, there is too little common ground in the various contributions. While most authors refer to the urban setting of New Zealand as a partial or core locality, these different strands remain unattached and that is a missed opportunity.
Applying an eclectic methodology and building on both historical sources and recent ethnographic ... more Applying an eclectic methodology and building on both historical sources and recent ethnographic fieldwork, Ellen seeks to show how trade in an out-of-the-way region of Eastern Indonesia can be understood against the backdrop of larger regional and even global systems of trade. The focus is on the Seram Laut and Gorom archipelagos off the easternmost tip of the Moluccan island of Seram that have formed a trade hub between the Moluccas and the island of New Guinea for over 500 years. The importance of this remote archipelago lay with its privileged access to the New Guinea coast, and during the seventeenth century as a challenge to Dutch VOC monopoly power. Ellen shows convincingly that the Seram Laut–Gorom region differs significantly from politically and economically more important domains such as Ternate, Tidore, Banda and Java in terms of its position in trade networks and ecological and social characteristics.
Papuan Borderlands reacts against the traditional view of Papua New Guinea Highland anthropology ... more Papuan Borderlands reacts against the traditional view of Papua New Guinea Highland anthropology in which the localized, kinship-based community was seen as analytically embedded in a network of more or less similar communities. Against this view, the volume aims to situate local investigations in wider regional and political frameworks of the post-independence state and the world at large. The twelve studies result from a conference held at the Australian National University in Canberra in 1991. Appearing four years later, the essays express an awareness of regional and temporal variation and the effects of trans-local and trans-national relations. In what Biersack calls 'ethnography in the excentric mode', the authors go beyond the essentialist ethnographic descriptions that have long ascribed authentic ontologies or mentalities to Central Highland peoples: 'big-men', ceremonial exchange, clan parish organisation, intensive subsistence production, and a preoccupation with bodily substances. The Western Highlands, the book's regional focus, were counterposed to this Highland prototype and became marginalized in the literature as a domain of eccentric 'fringe' groups. While the Central Highlanders became the 'true' Highlanders, the western borderland was regarded as a back- water. The Mt. Kare and Porgera gold and ore mines in the area, however, drew the attention of the new Papua New Guinea nation-state and of world financial markets. Focusing on these modern developments and on the historical relations between groups, as well as on the resulting processes of cultural syncretism, Papuan Borderlands successfully establishes a place for the Western Highlands within Melanesian anthropology.
This work is the first major study of language and law in a non-Western society (the Huli, Southe... more This work is the first major study of language and law in a non-Western society (the Huli, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea). It is a contri- bution to the burgeoning field of legal anthropology and makes a strong case for assigning a central position to the law-and-language approach. In line with Goldman's previous studies of Huli disputes, it presents a welter of ethno-linguistic information with continual references to various approaches to explanations of accidents and the ethnographic back- ground, which makes the linguistic analysis meaningful and lively.
In view of Juillerat's interesting contributions to debates concerning leadership, ceremonies, ri... more In view of Juillerat's interesting contributions to debates concerning leadership, ceremonies, rituals, and mythology in the West Sepik societies of Papua New Guinea, it is to be applauded that his major ethnography of the Yafar, Les enfants du sang; Société, reproduction et imaginaire en Nouvelle-Guinée (1986), has now been made accessible to those who do not read French. This monography of Yafar society is a pioneering effort to describe and analyse the cultural richness of the peoples in the West Sepik area. It is also beautifully written, rich in ethnographic detail and wel1 produced, with many plates and figures. The decision by the editors of Berg's Explorations in Anthropology series to include this book in their list of outstanding works is fully appropriate.
This book focuses on Bush Kaliai discourse about 'cargo' and 'the millen- nium' in stories told a... more This book focuses on Bush Kaliai discourse about 'cargo' and 'the millen- nium' in stories told about the past, the present and the future. The Bush Kaliai live in the northwestern part of West New Britain where the author spent about thirty months in four villages during a ten-year period from 1985 to 1996. Bush Kaliai people visited Lattas in the houses that he built from bush material and during these sessions, they would recount their beliefs, rituals, and customs. The gatherings often appear to have been sensational in nature as the stories, chiefly related to a cargo movement that was active in the region during the first half of the 1970s, are remarkable in the way they blend the realms of the symbolic and the real. This is embodied in the book through an abundantly rich picture of the Bush Kaliai people's creative logic and their particular ways of continuously reworking information, reflections, and expectations.
This book's principle author, Jan Boelaars, worked as a Dutch Catholic missionary and anthropolog... more This book's principle author, Jan Boelaars, worked as a Dutch Catholic missionary and anthropologist among the Papuans of the Digul River area of Southwest New Guinea (then Netherlands New Guinea and currently Indonesian Papua) from 1951-1957 with subsequent visits in 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1967. The book comprises of twenty-six chapters divided into three parts. The first part is titled “The Old Days” and takes up almost half of the volume and deals with the origin of things, social structure and major life cycle events. The second part is called “The New Era” and contains accounts of events since the early 1930 with a focus on the arrival of the mission and the government. This section also briefly discusses Yahray responses to these outside influences and the occurrence of a cargo cult in the region in 1957 (pp. 231-240). In the final part of the book, the authors broach the subject of change and the differences between them and us. The chapters that deal with ethnographic information from the Yahray are alternated with intermezzos that offer psychological interpretations by Blom. These essays contain penetrating remarks and are clearly the result of intimate knowledge of the Yahray and discussions with Boelaars. At times, they read as complex curiosities that do not clearly link to the preceding texts due to a lack of a clear theoretical perspective. The reader missing a sense of direction while reading the wonderful Yahray myths and the histories of the mission and the government in the region is, I believe, largely due to the constraints of the ethnographic material available. After 1968 Boelaars did not continue his ethnographic research among the Yahray and began to pull together the information that he gathered with that of the missionary documentation since the early 1930s. Despite its shortcomings, after careful perusal of the text one gains a good sense of the wonderful ways in which the key informants of Boelaars blur explanations of ongoing and immediately past events. In short, what we have at hand is a delicate document disclosing a wealth of materials about a hardly studied group of Papuans.
'Papua is alive! Come and visit the Kamoro' is the slogan in the February- May 2003 newsletter of... more 'Papua is alive! Come and visit the Kamoro' is the slogan in the February- May 2003 newsletter of the National Museum of Ethnology (Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde) in Leiden, the Netherlands. An appealing but problem- atic slogan to attract visitors to a major exhibition of Kamoro (Southwest Papua/Irian Jaya) material culture. Can we can really come and see the Kamoro in Leiden? The colourful cover of the brochure shows a photograph of Papuans in war-attire but it is not clear who or what they are attacking. One of the warriors directs his anger towards the camera. It is a beautiful image, though out of focus (perhaps deliberately), and its message is unclear. Are these the Kamoro that we can meet in Leiden? Does the exhibition por- tray the Kamoro and in particular their ways of warfare? No, on the contrary, the exhibition gives us very little insight as to what is happening in the land of the Kamoro or to what the Kamoro aspire. It appears that Papua is much less alive in Leiden than suggested.
Almost two decades ago Knauft wrote his exemplary ethnography of homicide among the Gebusi, Good ... more Almost two decades ago Knauft wrote his exemplary ethnography of homicide among the Gebusi, Good Company and Violence (University of California Press, 1985). The dramatic sorcery inquests central to this study were observed during twenty-one months of fieldwork from 1980 until 1982. During that research, Knauft devoted little time to documenting the social and cultural changes due to outside influences since ‘first contact’ in 1940. In 1998, some sixteen years later, Knauft revisited the Gebusi and became intrigued by changes among his old acquaintances, inspiring an exploration into significant decline in sorcery accusations and the process of the Gebusi becoming modern. The result is this rich account of recent developments that eloquently contrasts contemporary Gebusi styles of life with their patterns of life in 1980-2. The story is subtly punctuated with personal memories and reflections on recent changes in the discipline of anthropology.
This is the first integrated history of West New Guinea or present-day Indonesian Papua. It tells... more This is the first integrated history of West New Guinea or present-day Indonesian Papua. It tells a story of Papua from the earliest recorded European impressions to the current struggles of its people in the context of Indonesian and foreign economic, geo-political and nationalist interests. The region’s social and political history has not been scrutinised as a whole before; only a handful of mainly Dutch and Australian academics and journalists and a few Indonesian scholars have covered fragments of the region and parts of its history. We have at hand studies of early trade cycles, bits and pieces on prehistory, detailed accounts of the Catholic and Protestant missions, ethnographies of particular communities, a relatively large body of writings on the transfer of Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia in the 1960s, and very little on recent social and political changes apart from often lopsided activist accounts. Vlasblom draws most of these works together in the light of extensive interviews with people from Papua, Dutch missionaries and colonial officers, and Indonesian players. This much alone makes his intellectual effort exceptional and timely. Moreover, the book is a readable mix of scholarly and journalistic styles, accompanied by accurate maps.
The authors featured in this collection of essays all seek to find ways to establish a new legal ... more The authors featured in this collection of essays all seek to find ways to establish a new legal relationship between indigenous people and states with both common law and civil traditions. The book’s quest is launched on a pessimistic note, by the former Canadian high commissioner to Australia, Jean T. Fournier. Fournier observes that increasing autonomy and political involvement of most so-called indigenous communities offers mostly fragile hopes. Most of the contributors confirm this from a scholarly point of view that is basically informed by the fields of political science, comparative law, international human rights and indigenous rights. They generally depart from the observation that life for indigenous people is hard and that hundreds of years of damage must be repaired before they can take their rightful places. As a result, the collection reads like a rights-based approach to the problems that indigenous people face rather than a critical appraisal of what exactly is unfinished in the process of constituting constitutions in relation to societal dynamics.
Gaining independence from Britain in 1978, the economy of Solomon Islands has slipped into a deep... more Gaining independence from Britain in 1978, the economy of Solomon Islands has slipped into a deep crisis in 1998 due to armed conflict, the breakdown of effective governance, poor management of the economy, and lack of commitment to sustainable natural resource development. The crisis saw a violent unleashing of tensions between different regions, in particular between Guadalcanal and Malaita. The violence eventually brought about the removal of the government in 2000 and culminated in the intervention of an Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in 2003. The two books under review here seek to trace the historical, social and cultural roots of the crisis in discontent among the communities of the Solomon Islands over land and resources, over the complex entwinement of traditional culture and modern society, and over poor governance and poor economic performance.
This is an odd book. The historical setting for Haberberger’s research is German and British New ... more This is an odd book. The historical setting for Haberberger’s research is German and British New Guinea in the period of 1884 – 1914, shortly after first contact and until the First World War. The link that Haberberger establishes between cannibalism and colonialism appears to be largely limited to an evaluation of the effectiveness of government and missionary attempts at abolishing cannibalism. Haberberger appears to agree with the then widely accepted idea that cannibalism is an uncivilized and sinful act and should thus be abolished heavy-handedly. This is obviously not a healthy point of departure for a scholarly research.Furthermore, he suggests that the arrest of individuals would be new to the indigenous population and would thus make a much lesser impact than collective punishment. Yet many of the cases of cannibalism concern punishments for individual sorcerers, misbehaving widows, and particular persons of enemy groups. Both group and individual punishment exist in Melanesian cultures and Haberberger’s conclusion appears to whitewash or legitimize harsh punitive expeditions that targeted whole communities and often destroyed villages and gardens. Even more esoteric are the poorly printed pictures of open spaces in forests that informants pointed out as locations where human flesh was devoured. They add a kind of CSI evidence to the argumentation and ridicule local signatures in the landscape that may point to many other meanings. For historians, anthropologists and socio-legal scholars interested in colonial cultural interactions Haberberger has not much to add. For those who are especially interested in cannibalism in Melanesia this book provides useful overviews of cases per region and in relation to archival resources.
Intensely rational, Peter Kenilorea, a Solomon Islander born in Takataka village, South Malaita i... more Intensely rational, Peter Kenilorea, a Solomon Islander born in Takataka village, South Malaita in 1943, describes his native country coming of age in postcolonial times with the intent of straightening misunderstandings about its political trajectory, as the title shouts out. This autobiography yields a dense, absorbing account of near-paradise boyhood in Are-Are culture, romanticized discipline at King George VI School in Honiara, mind boggling experiences while studying at the Teachers’ College in New Zealand, an impressive career serving the nation and God, and nurturing a Christian family.
This is a remarkable account of flight from Indonesian Papua (West New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Papua,... more This is a remarkable account of flight from Indonesian Papua (West New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Papua, Papua Barat) across the national border with Papua New Guinea (PNG). The book sets off narrating her participating in a ceremony in the Waraston refugee camp at East Awin to commemorate the declaration of the independent state of West Papua by Seth Rumkorem in 1971. The year is 1998, 36 years after the first Papuans moved across the border seeking refuge from a deteriorating security situation in their homeland. Histories of an unsettling fate of Papuans in Indonesia are recounted by Nonie Sharp (1978), Ron May (1986), Carmel Budiardjo and Liem Soei Liong (1988), Robin Osborne (1988) and Gabriel Défert (1996), among others. These writings vary in degree of accuracy, often overlap and repeat each other, and tend to enforce both Papuan and foreign activists’ ethnonationalist dichotomies. Glazebrook is the first to develop a more critical perspective on the conflicts in Indonesian Papua on the basis of anthropological fieldwork among refugees dwelling in Papua New Guinea.
This volume looks at how people in Melanesia (and Western Desert Aborigines) deal with moral dile... more This volume looks at how people in Melanesia (and Western Desert Aborigines) deal with moral dilemmas and challenges. It centers around the scholarly work of Kenelm Burridge whose discussion on ‘the moralities’ emphasizes the importance of looking at predicaments, disagreements and arguments as situations in which moral assumptions are challenged, confirmed and amended. Moreover, the volume follows Burridge’s special attention to exemplars, the type of persons, typically leaders, who exemplify a society’s moral compromises and contradictions. Finally, as Burridge paid significant attention to the figure of the Christian missionary in Melanesia, this is followed up by some of the contributors on the basis of recent research in this pervasively Christian region.
This ambitious book adds a perspective from South Sumatra to the burgeoning literature on post-Su... more This ambitious book adds a perspective from South Sumatra to the burgeoning literature on post-Suharto social, political and economic changes. At times it comes close to resolving an intriguing conundrum of democratisation in Indonesia: that inequalities and injustices persist amid democratising forces at all levels of society. Yet Indonesia Betrayed seeks an answer in ‘‘the power wielded by international financial institutions, multinational corporations, and national and local political and business elites’’ (p. 192). Collins maintains that it is the power of global neo-liberalism that betrays Indonesia – it pressures Indonesia to free-market policies that solely empower old New Order oligarchs who want to block the democratic reforms that are taking root since reformasi (1998).
This is a handy overview of politics in both French-speaking and Englishspeaking territories in t... more This is a handy overview of politics in both French-speaking and Englishspeaking territories in the Pacific, written by well informed specialists. It concisely reviews historical backgrounds, colonial experiences, constitutional frameworks, political institutions, political parties, elections and electoral systems, and problems and prospects. It targets scholars teaching about the Pacific and Pacific policy makers, as well as others with a political or scholarly interest in political systems in the Pacific. The book covers all regions (Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia) and all countries, and includes good references for further reading.
What I found most exciting about this volume is that it brings together studies on religious and ... more What I found most exciting about this volume is that it brings together studies on religious and ritual change by scholars doing research in Taiwan, and scholars working in Melanesia. This is the result of a longer project of Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in which they attempt to explore similarities and differences in and between Austronesia and non-Austronesian worlds. The volume addresses this theme most constructively in the Introduction, in which the editors draw rather heavily on the Duna and Hagen people of highland Papua New Guinea, where Strathern and Stewart have done most of their fieldwork. This emphasis on their own work means other studies, such as the one by Pey-yi Guo on space and power in Christianity among the Langalanga people of Malaita, Solomon Islands, are often taken as illustrating Stewart and Strathern’s analyses of similar topics in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. In a concluding chapter to the book, Stewart and Strathern again discuss the highlands of Papua New Guinea in a theoretically broad and ethnographically impoverished discussion of conversion among people of the Mount Hagen, Pangia and Duna regions.
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