Living Rubber, Dead Land, and Persisting Systems in Borneo: Indigenous Representation of Sustainability

Bijdragen tot de Taal, Land-en Volkenkunde, Vol. 154, No. 1 (1998), pp. 20-54

36 Pages Posted: 29 Jan 2014

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

Kantu’ tribesmen in West Kalimantan say that when they plant rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) in their swiddens or swidden fallows, the land thenceforth becomes tanah mati [dead land], in implicit contrast to the remaining ‘living land’ contained in the swidden agricultural cycle. It is argued here that the Kantu’ characterization of rubber lands as ‘dead’ has to do with a pervasive ideology of exchange involving both society and environment. Rubber is not part of this system and, accordingly, it ‘kills’ exchange and thus the land. ‘Exchange’ cannot, however, be equated with ‘sustainability’, nor can we conclude that rubber cultivation is ‘destructive’ -- for in many respects it is just the opposite of this. An exegesis of Kantu’ beliefs about rubber and dead land reveals the inadequacy of existing Western concepts for discussing sustainable environmental relations cross culturally.

Keywords: Dayak, Kalimantan/Borneo, Indonesia, moral ecology, Para rubber, Hevea brasiliensis

Suggested Citation

Dove, Michael R, Living Rubber, Dead Land, and Persisting Systems in Borneo: Indigenous Representation of Sustainability (1998). Bijdragen tot de Taal, Land-en Volkenkunde, Vol. 154, No. 1 (1998), pp. 20-54 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2387164

Michael R Dove (Contact Author)

Yale University ( email )

Kroon Hall
195 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
United States
203-432-3463 (Phone)

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