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"Sellato, Bernard"
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Do Anthropogenic Dark Earths Occur in the Interior of Borneo? Some Initial Observations from East Kalimantan
Anthropogenic soils of the Amazon Basin (Terra Preta, Terra Mulata) reveal that pre-Colombian peoples made lasting improvements in the agricultural potential of nutrient-poor soils. Some have argued that applying similar techniques could improve agriculture over much of the humid tropics, enhancing local livelihoods and food security, while also sequestering large quantities of carbon to mitigate climate change. Here, we present preliminary evidence for Anthropogenic Dark Earths (ADEs) in tropical Asia. Our surveys in East Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) identified several sites where soils possess an anthropogenic development and context similar in several respects to the Amazon’s ADEs. Similarities include riverside locations, presence of useful fruit trees, spatial extent as well as soil characteristics such as dark color, high carbon content (in some cases), high phosphorus levels, and improved apparent fertility in comparison to neighboring soils. Local people value these soils for cultivation but are unaware of their origins. We discuss these soils in the context of local history and land-use and identify numerous unknowns. Incomplete biomass burning appears key to these modified soils. More study is required to clarify soil transformations in Borneo and to determine under what circumstances such soil improvements might remain ongoing.
Journal Article
Myth, History and Modern Cultural Identity Among Hunter-Gatherers: A Borneo Case
The island of Borneo has maintained until fairly recently a number of tropical rainforest hunting-gathering groups, generally referred to as Punan or Penan (though other local ethnonyms are found). Today, a large proportion of them have switched to a partly settled way of life and some form of agriculture, but even these groups still rely heavily on the forest, collecting jungle products for trade and, often, processing the wild sago palms for their subsistence while collecting. The Bukat, one of these partly settled groups, are found (see Map 1) in Indonesia's West Kalimantan (three hamlets, totalling 300 persons) and East Kalimantan (one hamlet of 150), and in Malaysia's Sarawak (one hamlet of 150).
Journal Article
Astrology: A Human Science?
A review essay on a book by Didier Betourne & Zoe Fachan, Traite d'astrologie contemporaine. Langage du zodiaque fondamental ([A Treatise on Contemporary Astrology. The Language of the Basic Zodiac] Paris: PUF, 1990 [see listing in IRPS No. 62]). The introduction & conclusion of this text affirm, it is maintained, the pertinence of astrology to ethnology. Betourne & Fachan conceive astrology & the fundamental zodiac as human constructions that represent human laws, & therefore, are a cognitive system. The zodiac symbols, their morphology, & their syntactic relations are explained, along with the relations between astrology & individual life, collective fictions & texts, & scientific theories. The proposals to use astrology for constructing a global approach to all genres of texts, as well as the collective identity of social groups, are considered worthy of examination. Social sciences, it is concluded, should explore the usages of this tool of analysis. Adapted from the source document as translated by I. Shagrir.
Journal Article
Rituel, politique, organisation sociale et ethnogenèse : les Aoheng de Bornéo
Through a study the history of the Aoheng of Borneo, this paper attempts first to elucidate the connection between ritual - or, rather, traditional religion as expressed in ritual - and ethnic identity. It shows that ritual, the basis for the emergence of the Aoheng as a new composite ethnic entity, is a major factor in ethnogenesis. Through a study of social organization, it shows how a major ritual, pengosang, has been utilized by an ethnic fraction of the Aoheng as a political tool to counterbalance the formal political prominence achieved by another ethnic fraction through social stratification and maintain control of all aspects of the village's political life, in domestic affairs as well as in foreign relations.
Journal Article