Kenyah society in transition: a Baram case study
| dc.contributor.author | Hong, Evelyne | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-07-06T03:45:45Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-07-06T03:45:45Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1977-03 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the thesis is to examine the traditional economic, social and political organisation of Uma Usun, a Kenyah Longhou.se village community on the Baram River in the Fourth Division of Sarawak, and the transformation of this organisation under the impact of the communi ty1 s interaction with the modem market economy. The direct economic effects of this interaction resulted in a rapid increase intrade and monetisation and the introduction of new crops and cropping systems, giving rise to changes in village land use. A major premise in this study is that changes in the system of production in the village have given rise to important modifications in the traditional system of social stratification, political leadership and beliefs related to the socio-cultural pattern of the Kenyah way of life. Initially the thesis identifies the dominant features of the traditional economy which was based primarily on swidden a.griculture. The agricultural processes of the swidden cycle are thus described. Within the traditional system of production there existed a system of family labour, cooperative or community labour, tribute labour, and slave labour which were expressive of certain economic relations between social groups or classes in the society. The rights and obligations connected to the labour process were the basis for the traditional system of social stratification. Differences in the level of command over the factors of production (mainly land and labo~) also gave rise to the differences in the quantity of products which different individuals and groups could enjoy. The aristocrat class, the keta eu, managed to control the bulk of surplus produced; how this surplus was utilised is also a subject of investigation. Members of the aristocracy formed the majority among the kelunan latak, or village council responsible for the making of the major decisions in the community, such as war, agriculture and the judiciary process. The social stratification and leadership system was sustained by a world view known as Kenyah adet. The thesis attempts to show how the social organisation was consistent with the basic economic relations within the society, and how the moral order was compatible with the economic system of production. ~ comprised a philosophy of life covering economic, political and religious aspects and it was the integrative mechanism for all social interaction. This belief system also encompassed the supernatural realm, hence constituting for the community a coherent world view in both secular and sacred terms. This was further reinforced as traditional Kenyah society was self-contained and insulated, with trade playing only a minor role in the economic activity of the village. The study traces changes in the organisation of the Uma Usun community from the traditional period to the present. It illustrates the increasing influence of a monetised market system and the gradual breakdown of ~ as a result. The study deals with economic, political and socio-cultural change where the traditional s,ystem of organisation is contrasted with the present s,ystem. The changes that have taken place were mainly under the catalyst of Brooke and later Colonial rule, and Sarawak 1s entr,y into Mala:ysia. It was manifested in the introduction of rubber cultivation and the production of other cash crops which altered patterns of land use, land ownership, and the labour process. These economic changes had important ramifying effects on other aspects of the society, and these are examined in detail in the thesis. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4120 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Universiti Sains Malaysia | en_US |
| dc.subject | Traditional economic, social and political organisation | en_US |
| dc.title | Kenyah society in transition: a Baram case study | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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