Nomads of the Borneo Rainforest: The Economics, Politics, and Ideology of Settling Down
The Punan societies of Borneo, traditionally nomadic rainforest hunters and gatherers, have undergone a transformation over the past centuries. As downriver farming peoples expanded upstream and their cultures and technologies diffused, the Punan gradually abandoned their nomadic existence for a more sedentary life of trade-related activities and subsistence agriculture. But the culture that has emerged from these changes is still based on the enduring ideological premises of nomadism. This...
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The Punan societies of Borneo, traditionally nomadic rainforest hunters and gatherers, have undergone a transformation over the past centuries. As downriver farming peoples expanded upstream and their cultures and technologies diffused, the Punan gradually abandoned their nomadic existence for a more sedentary life of trade-related activities and subsistence agriculture. But the culture that has emerged from these changes is still based on the enduring ideological premises of nomadism. This study, historical in perspective, examines the many factors - ecological, economic, commercial, political, social, cultural, and ideological - that have played a part in this continuing transformation. Bernard Sellato spent much of the past twenty years in the center of Borneo living with more than a dozen nomadic or formerly nomadic groups. From that wealth of experience emerged this major ethnographic work focusing on two groups, the Bukat and the Kereho Busang. Sellato reconstructs their history largely from oral tradition, demonstrating its value in understanding the political, social, and economic history of societies without a written language. The text is enhanced by photographs, charts, and detailed maps that allow the reader to follow the progress of the Punan migrations. Originally published in French as Nomades et Sedentarisation a Borneo, the work was awarded the Jeanne Cuisinier prize for the best French book on Southeast Asia in the social sciences and humanities. The English translation, by Stephanie Morgan, contains a foreword by Georges Condominas. Booknews Describes the process by which nomadic hunters of the Borneo rainforest have become sedentary and taken up subsistence farming and trading. Anthropologist Sellato has spent most of the past 20 years among the several groups, and emphasizes how the nomadic ideology survives to create a culture that is significantly different both from the previous way of life and from the downriver peoples with different heritages. First published in French in 1989. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
ForewordPreface to the English EditionPreface to the French EditionPt. 1Punan Histories: Data and Methodology3Ch. 1Land and People8Ch. 2The Bukat18Ch. 3The Kereho of the Busang River75Pt. 2Traditions and Changes: Origins of the Punan115Ch. 4Traditional Nomad Culture118Ch. 5Processes of Change163Ch. 6Summary and Conclusion215Appendix: Maps and Charts221Abbreviations253Bibliography257Index275
\ BooknewsDescribes the process by which nomadic hunters of the Borneo rainforest have become sedentary and taken up subsistence farming and trading. Anthropologist Sellato has spent most of the past 20 years among the several groups, and emphasizes how the nomadic ideology survives to create a culture that is significantly different both from the previous way of life and from the downriver peoples with different heritages. First published in French in 1989. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
