Strategies for Recognition Conserving forest and livelihood among the Ibans of West Kalimantan, Indonesia Henrik Jarholm Master’s thesis submitted to the Department of Social Anthropology University of Oslo 17.11.2016 II Strategies for Recognition Conserving forest and livelihood among the Ibans of West Kalimantan, Indonesia III Henrik Jarholm 2016 Strategies for Recognition: Conserving forest and livelihood among the Ibans of West Kalimantan, Indonesia Henrik Jarholm http://www.duo.uio.no Print: MailBoxes Ect. Oslo IV Abstract This dissertation examines how the Ibans in Sungai Utik are using their self-perceived cultural distinctiveness and forest resources to protect their customary land, and develop their community in the absence of formalized land ownership. The Ibans, a rice- cultivating, longhouse-residing group in the interior of Indonesian Borneo, have been subject to massive transformations in the landscape due to exploitive activities, largely caused by logging and palm oil plantations. The Indonesian state has also been instrumental in changing Iban life in terms of socio-politics, religion and agro-forestry. In order to understand Iban resilience, their success in expressing autonomy and how they have managed to stand up against external hegemonic powers, it is crucial to grasp what the forest means for the Ibans. The forest is linked to a wide range of aspects in the Iban society, such as sociality and values, economy, cosmology and religious practice. On the other hand, their awareness for the forest is also an expression of pragmatism. Instead of selling away land to companies, as many other forest-dwelling communities have done, the Ibans in Sungai Utik consider their forest to be more valuable as a resource for the future. As part of this pragmatic attitude, villagers in Sungai Utik have allied themselves with a wide range of NGOs up through the years. However, actors, ideas, projects and beliefs must resonate with local customs and perceptions to be considered as legitimate by the villagers. Keywords: Iban, Forest conservation, deforestation, house-based societies, sociality, autonomy, cosmology, perceptions, religion, state, modernity, NGOs. V VI Acknowledgments I am grateful to the many people that have helped me to complete this thesis. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor Signe Howell for your guidance, support and conversations. Your passion for anthropology and stories from the field have been of great inspiration from start to end. Secondly, I thank the people of Sungai Utik that welcomed me and took me in as one of their own. You gave me more than I could ever imagine, and more than I can give back. I thank you for your care and friendship, trips deep into the jungle, vast amount of palm beer under the stars, and for letting me into your life. I thank “REDD in comparative Perspective: Local and National Governance issues” through Signe Howell and Desmond McNeill, in collaboration with UGM (Universitas Gadjah Mada) in Yogyakarta. I thank for the workshops, seminars and sharing of experiences with Indonesian students and scholars in the Department of Anthropology at UGM. I also thank the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta for funding. The list of helpers before, in and after my fieldwork is too long to mention. You have all been absolutely essential underway. Special thanks goes to Nick Hogarth and Maarit Kallio, Magnus Godvik Ekeland, Gard Ringen Høibjerg, Tord Austdalen, Aura Cubanimita, Silje Eriksen, and Catharina Pancer Istiyani. I thank my friends and family for encouraging me and supporting my choices. Finally, to all my fellow students at SAI and UGM, thank you for sharing of worries, stories from the field, and numerous cups of coffees. Henrik Jarholm Oslo, November 2016 VII VIII List of Figures Figure 1 Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan ..................................................................... 3 Figure 2 Part of the longhouse................................................................................................. 20 Figure 3 Family heirlooms in the bilik ...................................................................................... 26 Figure 4 Architectural divisions in the longhouse .................................................................... 27 Figure 5 Top of a staircase after the initiation ceremony)....................................................... 38 Figure 6 Directions and locations for the longhouse ............................................................... 46 Figure 7 Nebas, cutting of undergrowth in the swidden ......................................................... 53 Figure 8 Making offerings for the ancestors ............................................................................ 59 IX Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................... V Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... VII List of Figures ................................................................................................................. IX 1. Introduction, Background and Methods.................................................................... 1 The Ibans of Borneo ............................................................................................................... 1 Background ............................................................................................................................ 4 Multiculturalism in the Indonesian nation................................................................. 5 Forest degradation and deforestation trends in Indonesia..................................... 6 REDD+ ............................................................................................................................... 7 Into the field ........................................................................................................................... 8 Yogyakarta, Java ............................................................................................................. 8 West Kalimantan, Borneo.............................................................................................. 9 Kapuas Hulu .................................................................................................................. 10 Methodological considerations ........................................................................................... 12 Participant observation ............................................................................................... 12 Positioning ..................................................................................................................... 14 Limitations and challenges ......................................................................................... 16 Ethics ............................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter layout ..................................................................................................................... 19 2. The Longhouse Community as a Social Structure .........................................................20 Encountering the Ibans ........................................................................................................ 20 The house as a “moral person”............................................................................................ 22 The bilik-family ..................................................................................................................... 24 Architectural divisions in the longhouse ............................................................................. 26 Going bejalai ........................................................................................................................ 31 Sources of sociality............................................................................................................... 33 Sharing of food and drinks .......................................................................................... 33 Collectivism and solidarity in labor ........................................................................... 35 The staircase.................................................................................................................. 36 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 38 3. Forests within the Forest .............................................................................................40 Multiple meanings of forests ............................................................................................... 40 State forest classifications ................................................................................................... 40 Conceptualizing “nature” ..................................................................................................... 42 Forest symbolism in the longhouse ..................................................................................... 44 Forest taxonomy .................................................................................................................. 46 Primary forests: ............................................................................................................ 47 Pulau (“islands”): .........................................................................................................