Beyond the Green Myth: Borneo's HunterGatherers in the Twenty-First Century (review)

Recent research on the Penan, Punan, and other indigenous communities (Dayak) have been sporadic at best; much more was written and researched on such communities in the 1970s to late 1990s by noted anthropologists, with some very noteworthy publications to be found in The Sarawak Museum Journal. In that respect, the present publication fills a very important gap, serving both policy-makers and academics with a comprehensive collection of works related to the impact of economic development and modernization on the subsistence economic needs of indigenous communities.

I will situate the analysis of this book within the context of analysing the sustainability of forest use by indigenous communities, and the violation of their forest property rights in the context of modernization.

In this respect, a clear definition and enforcement of property rights is essential for apportioning forest benefits and for concurrently addressing the needs of indigenous community groups, timber and business communities, and nature conservationists in the quest for modernization and development. If rights to one group has been overlooked or ignored at the expense of another, it is likely that the "distressed" group will express dissent.

For instance, the native blockades occurring in Sarawak because of illegal encroachments by timber companies into their subsistence areas and burial grounds in the mid-1980s serves as a very good example of the impact of modernization on the "violation" of property rights of indigenous communities. It was with the assistance of the Friends of the Earth (Malaysia) or Sahabat Alam Malaysia that brought this to the wider attention of the public, civil organizations, and concerned individuals, which subsequently gave rise to a better understanding of the subsistence needs of native communities and the need to correct such anomalies.

In recent years, negative impacts have continued to affect the livelihood of indigenous communities because their concerns have still not been adequately addressed by the state: their communal rights to forest and the use of resources within such areas (hunting wild animals, gathering of wild plant foods like sago palms and non-food items, and fishing) have been continually undermined by the more powerful interests of timber groups, business groups constructing dams and also oil palm plantations, and the state in deriving revenues and profits from dam construction, agricultural, and logging endeavours. The present publication details some of these issues in a very comprehensive, critical, and systematic manner.

On an important level, this book covers the nomadic and semi-nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers of Borneo's tropical forests that include communities in three countries, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Written by scholars currently involved in this field, most of whom have spent substantial time with indigenous communities, it comes as no surprise that the present volume would be an invaluable source for students, policy-makers and researchers who would like to update their knowledge about the plight of indigenous communities, and to also corroborate their research with more recent evidence.

The writers have focused on ethnography of hunter-gatherers in various parts of Borneo, taking full account of the distinctive histories of individual groups. Various aspects are covered on the impact of modernization on the cultural-social, economic, and political facets of hunter-gatherers.

B. Sellato and P. G. Sercombe, who are the editors, provide a detailed and apt introductory chapter defining the study of hunter-gatherer groups, by covering earlier written literature on such groups, and examining specific patterns pertaining to the culture and outlook of Borneo's hunter-gatherer groups across the island (environment and subsistence, society and way of life, forest and trade, material and spiritual culture, economy and politics, and identity and ideology) with a special discussion on nomads and change. A springboard is then provided for the reader to understand later discussions of the various aspects of hunter-gatherer groups in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 2 by Rodney Needham provides a short but comprehensive introduction to the hunter-gatherer groups...