| Abstract: |
This dissertation analyzes the symbolic and material culture of the Kodi people on Sumba (Indonesia) for the purpose of reconstructing a history of identity, politics, and agriculture. It examines contemporary myths about the origins of people and plants as a means for demonstrating the ways that local culture interprets foreign customs. Descriptions of the management and meanings of tuber crops highlight the multiple, overlapping roles of native and exotic resources. Analyses of seed saving techniques reveal that sacred and mundane materials and activities are interwoven in contemporary agricultural rituals. Scrutinization of altar sequences and land redistribution illustrates the linkages between strategies for diversifying agriculture and for gaining control of resources. The concluding discussion argues that the production of tuber and grain crops is a strategy for inventing and re-inventing social status, political authority, and images of history. This dissertation makes significant contributions to studies on the evolution of agriculture in eastern Indonesia, the construction of social identity in colonized communities, and the renewal of the model of agrarian ecology. It is relevant to debates on the sustainability of local farming systems and the value of genetically engineered crops.
|
