open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/77270

Wildlife Use and Fulfillment of Life : Socio-cultural Meanings of the Subsistence Use of Game Animals in a Mountain Village of Seram Island, Eastern Indonesia

日本語

生の充実

2008-12-31

京都大学東南アジア研究所

東南アジア研究

46(3)

377-419

This paper examines the social and cultural meanings of the subsistence consumption of game animals among mountain villagers in Seram Island, Eastern Indonesia. The community under study is highly dependent on sago (starch extracted from sago palm) as staple food. Sago is rich in carbohydrate but contains little protein. Game animals therefore provide an essential protein complement. Field research was carried out in a remote mountain village located in Manusela valley in central Seram where Cuscus (Phalanger orientalis, Spilocuscus maculates), Celebes wild boar (Sus celebensis) and Timor deer (Cervus timorensis) account for almost 90% of the protein resources consumed by villagers. The meat of these wild mammals is usually shared by close relatives and adjoining villages. The field data suggests that about 30% of cuscus and 60% of large mammals (Celebes wild boar and Timor deer) are often distributed to others. An "ethics of sharing" encourages villages to distribute wild meat since it enhances the enjoyment of consumption and brings about feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. This sense of contentment over having intimate and good inter-relationships is regarded by villagers as the ideal and desirable way of life. Moreover wild meat sharing also strengthens their collective identity as a mountain people that distinguishes them from those living in coastal areas. Failure to share leads to apprehensions of sorcery arising from jealousy and the fear of malahau, a kind of sanction given by ancestor spirits.

学術雑誌論文

Version of Record

0563-8682