How do swiddeners organize small groups and react to exogenous development? A case study of the Bahau in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

Although it is said that societies in Southeast Asian countries are loosely structured, every area has its own attributes. In such vastly differing societies, the mode of organizing themselves differs between ethnic groups, as well as geographic location. The objective of this study is to understand how local people respond to exogenous development by focusing on their mode of organizing themselves, through dyadic relationships or individual ties between peoples, groups, and development organizations. One of the Dayak ethnic groups, which can be found in the central region of Borneo, the Bahau, make swiddens along rivers. They call a complex of these swiddens “daleh”. The Bahau people organize a reciprocal labor exchange known as pelaʼdo with the people who have swiddens in the same daleh, but recently their method of organizing pelaʼdo has undergone changes. The people have adapted themselves to the introduction of tight development organizations (farming groups), in such a way as to allow for coexistence with customary loose organizations (pelaʼdo).