Description
Book SynopsisThis is an ethnographic study of the small mountain village of Huta Ginjang in the Samosir area of northern Sumatra. The author explores the themes of the role of rice in the Batak economy of feasting, and the cultural ecology of dry and flooded-field rice growing.
Table of ContentsA note on pronunciation and orthography Introduction Part I. Environment and History: 1. Deceptive appearances 2. History and change Part II. Sociocultural Effects of Colonial Penetration: 3. Ethnohistory, inequality, and contemporary village politics 4. Bius: religious conflict and accommodation 5. Ritual expressions of values and the feasting system Part III. Agriculture and Trade: 6. The agricultural cycle and the cycle of wants 7. The ecology and ethnology of Batak grassland farming 8. Marketing, credit, and investment Part IV. Access to Resources: Labour and Land in Interpreting the Economy: 9. Age and gender differentials in the work force 10. Modes of labor mobilization 11. Ownership, care, and values of livestock 12. landholding and transference Part V. Modeling Samosir Batak Economy: 13. Reciprocity and spheres of exchange in Batak economy 14. Change and persistence in the worldview of Samosir villagers Appendixes Index.
