| Abstract: |
Hunting continues to be an important activity for many of the world's remaining small-scale societies despite dramatic social, economic, and environmental changes of the last century. Still, threats to this lifestyle are formidable and its future uncertain. This research, undertaken in 1991 to document the nature of hunting, focused on Penan Benalui of Long Peliran, Lurah River Valley, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. A 26-month survey of hunting practices, incorporating ethnographic and ethnobiological research methods focused on the Penan category ka:n 'mammals', provided data for analysis of hunting knowledge. The primary prey, bearded pig (Sus barbarus), comprises 80 percent of all catches for a daily average of 366 grams of meat per person. Penan Benalui have no linguistic category for 'hunting'--only terms for specific capture techniques, 24 of which were observed. Each hunting episode, composed of various tasks--preparation, search, pursuit, dispatch, butchering, transport, distribution, consumption and communication, involves knowledge acquisition, transmission, assessment, application or some combination thereof. Declarative, behavioral, and performance knowledge, each complex in content and form, are distinguished. Hunting, eminent (prominent) in terms of its contribution to the Penan diet and daily activity, is immanent (inherent) in daily life, given its role in transmitting knowledge important for economic activities and Penan identity. Indeed, survival skills are the first lessons of hunting. Finally, hunting is imminent (impending): occurring in myriad social and ecological contexts, and at any moment. For these several reasons, hunting persists and remains central in Penan life. Reduced participation in hunting, especially by young people, outmigration, reduced capture rates due to habitat alteration and destruction, and possible legal restrictions from impending change of land-use status are some of the threats to hunting and thus the continuity of Penan culture and well-being. This study, the first Bornean hunting ethnography, is one of the few studies of hunting knowledge and practices in tropical societies. An integrated, multidisciplinary approach to the study of human-environment relations based on active participant-observation will better illuminate the causes and consequences of change and persistence in traditional hunting societies, especially where local communities are required, or requested, to participate in development and conservation programs.
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