Networking the pan-dayak

Author(s):

Maunati, Y.

Format:

Book section

Citation:

Questioning Modernity In Indonesia And Malaysia, Volume 9.79e+12, (2012). pp. 91-112.

Publisher:

Swallow Press, 2012.

Language:

English

Abstract:

For this reason, the more recent academic emphasis has been to view identity and identity construction as the result of a dynamic interplay between context (and history) and construct. Eriksen (1993) has demonstrated some of the processes involved in the historical construction of ethnic identity in the case of Indians who migrated to Mauritius and Trinidad. In each case, the subsequent identity was diff erent and thus works against the notion of an "essential" form of Indianness (Eriksen 1993: 84-5). Another example of how cultural identities need to be viewed as constructions is in the way identities may be strengthened when a group is under threat (Eriksen 1993). Hall (1992) in his discussion of the processes of globalisation concurs with this argument. He notes the rise of particular or local cultures as a response to processes of globalisation that, paradoxically, are seen to usher in cultural homogenisation. Th e interest in larger global or national processes has seen a large number of studies directed at "minorities" or otherwise "threatened" or "weak" groups, or in situations of "rapid social change" (Eriksen 1993: 113). King, for instance, notes that the Kajang tend to identify themselves in opposition to the Kayan as a "defence mechanism against the politically dominant and aggressive Kayan" (1982: 35). Th is, however, does not mean that dominant groups do not also have problems in "identity processes and the maintenance of identity" (Eriksen 1993: 113). Globalisation has widely aff ected various ethnic groups, including the dominant groups in some countries. In Indonesia, for instance, the state's attempt to reduce westernisation can be seen through TV programmes about provincial cultures, which it is hoped will generate pride in those cultures. Where scholars tend to differison the degree to which the construction of cultural identity is linked to particular processes (for example, economic, political, nation state-building, etc.) and diff erent historical experiences (such as migration, conflict, civil war, etc.). In reality, such distinctions are not easily separated as in the example of the Hmong from Southeast Asia who have created transnational networks in order to further Hmong socio-economic, political and cultural advancement (see Culas and Michaud 2004). Various "Dayak" groups have in a similar vein attempted to establish translocal and transnational Dayak networks across Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak in response to their social, economic and political marginalisation. Th is chapter considers three examples of pan-Dayak translocal and transnational networking, that of an East Kalimantan pan-Dayak organisation, the establishment a Dayak credit union in parts of East Kalimantan that developed out of Kalimantanwide pan-Dayak networking, and the emergence of a new transnational Dayak identity, that of the Ulu Padas. As discussed in this chapter, this new ethnic identity has emerged out of a concern over environmental protection and cultural preservation articulated on both sides of the border. Yet determining the specific cultural markers, those that consolidate their identity as Ulu Padas, is still under negotiation, as is the question of how social and cultural ties will bridge national borders and the diff erent economic positions amongst the Ulu Padas. © 2012 Wendy Mee and Joel S. Kahn. All rights reserved.

ISBN:

9789971696269 (ISBN); 9789971695637 (ISBN)

Identifier:

HmongStudies2038