Contested time and place: Constructions of history in Todo, Manggarai (Western Flores, Indonesia)

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies

Volumn 28, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 47-77

  Erb, Maribeth ^a  

^a NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE   (Singapore)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0005174594     PISSN: 00224634     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0022463400015174     Document Type: Article

References (130)

1. Charles S. Maier, The Unmasterable Past: History, Holocaust, and German Identity (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988), pp. 160-66.
2. For example Polish and Jewish interpretations of World War II Holocausts vary fundamentally, are tied up with their own particular histories, and are involved in recent contestations over claims to Auschwitz as a place. See S. Lukas, The Forgotten Holocaust: The History of Poland under German Occupation 1939-1944 (The University of Kentucky Press, 1986); Iwona Irwin-Zarecka, Neutralizing Memory: The Jew in Contemporary Poland (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1989), pp. 155-58.
3. For example Polish and Jewish interpretations of World War II Holocausts vary fundamentally, are tied up with their own particular histories, and are involved in recent contestations over claims to Auschwitz as a place. See S. Lukas, The Forgotten Holocaust: The History of Poland under German Occupation 1939-1944 (The University of Kentucky Press, 1986); Iwona Irwin-Zarecka, Neutralizing Memory: The Jew in Contemporary Poland (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1989), pp. 155-58.
4. Mary Fulbrook, A Concise History of Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 2. See also the papers in History and Ethnicity, ed. E. Tonkin, M. McDonald and M. Chapman (London: Routledge), addressing the issues of "how history is used, experienced, remember or created", and "How does the present create the past?", p. 1.
5. Mary Fulbrook, A Concise History of Germany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 2. See also the papers in History and Ethnicity, ed. E. Tonkin, M. McDonald and M. Chapman (London: Routledge), addressing the issues of "how history is used, experienced, remember or created", and "How does the present create the past?", p. 1.
6. Janet Abu-Lughod, "On the Remaking of History: How to Reinvent the Past", in Remaking History, ed. Barbara Kinger and Phil Mariani (Seattle: Bay Press, 1989), p. 112, italics in original.
7. P. Sareng Orin Bao, Nusa Nipa: Nama Pribumi Nusa Flores (Ende, Flores: Pertjetakan Arnoldus, Penerbitan Nusa Indah, 1969), pp. 231-32.
8. J.A.J. Verheijen, Manggarai dan Wujud Tertinggi (Jakarta: LIPI-RUL, 1991), p. 24. Verheijen points out the wide range of vocabulary in present day Manggarai languages that is borrowed from Makassarese. Particularly words associated with power and differentiation of status, most notably the word keraeng- "noble", as well as words associated with the technologies of weaving and horse-back riding are derived from this language. In the early seventeenth century the Goanese King converted to Islam, and based on the lack of Islamic vocabulary in Manggarai usage, Verheijen suggests this may indicate that Goanese influence in Manggarai preceded conversion. However it might also indicate the lack of depth of Goanese Islam at the time.
9. J. Noorduyn, "Makasar and the Islamization of Bima", Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land en Volkenkunde 143 (1987): 314-19; Leonard Y. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka: A History of South Sulawesi (Celebes) in the Seventeenth Century (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981), p. 35.
10. J. Noorduyn, "Makasar and the Islamization of Bima", Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land en Volkenkunde 143 (1987): 314-19; Leonard Y. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka: A History of South Sulawesi (Celebes) in the Seventeenth Century (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981), p. 35.
11. The records, which tell of the Bimanese Sultanate, written in Arabic script, but in the Malay language, were kept by Bp. H. Ahmad in Bima. A transcription is kept in the KITLV library in Leiden, no. Or. 506. Reference to Manggarai being given as a gift from the Sultan of Goa to the Sultan of Bima can be found on page 23 of this transcription.
12. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka, p. 101; W.P. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk (West Flores)", Tijdscrift van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig 59 (1942): 163; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar-Manggarai Flores Barat" (Ph.D. diss., Universitas Indonesia, 1989), p. 137.
13. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka, p. 101; W.P. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk (West Flores)", Tijdscrift van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig 59 (1942): 163; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar-Manggarai Flores Barat" (Ph.D. diss., Universitas Indonesia, 1989), p. 137.
14. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka, p. 101; W.P. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk (West Flores)", Tijdscrift van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig 59 (1942): 163; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar-Manggarai Flores Barat" (Ph.D. diss., Universitas Indonesia, 1989), p. 137.
15. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka, p. 217; W. van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores). Todo en Pongkor", Cultereel Indie 8 (1946): 68; H.B. Stapel, "Het Manggaraische Volk", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 56 (1914): 150.
16. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka, p. 217; W. van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores). Todo en Pongkor", Cultereel Indie 8 (1946): 68; H.B. Stapel, "Het Manggaraische Volk", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 56 (1914): 150.
17. Andaya, The Heritage of Arung Palakka, p. 217; W. van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores). Todo en Pongkor", Cultereel Indie 8 (1946): 68; H.B. Stapel, "Het Manggaraische Volk", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 56 (1914): 150.
18. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 163-65; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 137-40; C. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores)", Bingkasan Budi (Leiden, 1950), pp. 207-214.
19. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 163-65; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 137-40; C. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores)", Bingkasan Budi (Leiden, 1950), pp. 207-214.
20. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 163-65; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 137-40; C. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores)", Bingkasan Budi (Leiden, 1950), pp. 207-214.
21. J.A.J. Verheijen, Kamus Manggarai II: Indonesia-Manggarai (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1967), p. 311; J.A.J. Verheijen, "Berberapa Ciri-Khas Bahasa-Bahasa Di Manggarai" (stensil, Ruteng, 1991), p. 1.
22. J.A.J. Verheijen, Kamus Manggarai II: Indonesia-Manggarai (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1967), p. 311; J.A.J. Verheijen, "Berberapa Ciri-Khas Bahasa-Bahasa Di Manggarai" (stensil, Ruteng, 1991), p. 1.
23. Doroteus Hemo, Analisa Sejarah Tentang Bentuk Rumah Adat di Kabupaten Daerah Tingkat II Manggarai (B.A. Thesis, Kupang: Fakultas Keguruan Universitas Negeri Nusa Cendana, 1978), pp. 5-6. The royal clan of Todo have a different version of the naming of Manggarai which will be related below.
24. Only a few years back, in approximately 1985, the border between the regencies (kabupaten) of Manggarai and Ngada was finally settled by the representatives from the federal government and those of the local kabupaten governments.
25. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", p. 138; J.W. Meerburg, "Proeve eener beschriving van land en volk van Midden - Manggarai", Tijdschrifi voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 34 (1891): 435; Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 172.
26. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", p. 138; J.W. Meerburg, "Proeve eener beschriving van land en volk van Midden - Manggarai", Tijdschrifi voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 34 (1891): 435; Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 172.
27. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", p. 138; J.W. Meerburg, "Proeve eener beschriving van land en volk van Midden - Manggarai", Tijdschrifi voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 34 (1891): 435; Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 172.
28. This is especially so in northeastern Manggarai and northwestern Ngada where people who speak the same language, that Verheijen has named "Rembong", straddle the border. J.A.J. Verheijen, Bahasa Rembong di Flores Barat, vol. I (Ruteng: Regio S.V.D., 1977), p. v. There are also speakers of other Manggarai dialects in Ngada who were possibly refugees there from past centuries. J.A.J. Verheijen, "Berberapa Ciri-Khas Bahasa-Bahasa Di Manggarai", pp. 6-7.
29. This is especially so in northeastern Manggarai and northwestern Ngada where people who speak the same language, that Verheijen has named "Rembong", straddle the border. J.A.J. Verheijen, Bahasa Rembong di Flores Barat, vol. I (Ruteng: Regio S.V.D., 1977), p. v. There are also speakers of other Manggarai dialects in Ngada who were possibly refugees there from past centuries. J.A.J. Verheijen, "Berberapa Ciri-Khas Bahasa-Bahasa Di Manggarai", pp. 6-7.
30. H. Sutherland, "Slavery and the Slave Trade in South Sulawesi, 1660's-1800's", in Slavery, Bondage and Dependency in Southeast Asia, ed. A. Reid (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1983), pp. 263-85.
31. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 163.
32. Ibid., pp. 162-63.
33. van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 69.
34. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 174. Following the convention of those who have done research in this regency, I use the spelling "Ngada" for the regency, and "Ngadha", for one of the several cultural/linguistic groups found within this regency. A. Molnar, "The Grandchildren of the Ga'e Ancestors: The Hoga Sara of Ngada in West-Central Flores" (Ph.D. diss., Australian National University, 1994), p. 1; Gregory Forth, "Considerations of 'Keo' as an Ethnographic Category", Oceania 64 (1994): 314.
35. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 174. Following the convention of those who have done research in this regency, I use the spelling "Ngada" for the regency, and "Ngadha", for one of the several cultural/linguistic groups found within this regency. A. Molnar, "The Grandchildren of the Ga'e Ancestors: The Hoga Sara of Ngada in West-Central Flores" (Ph.D. diss., Australian National University, 1994), p. 1; Gregory Forth, "Considerations of 'Keo' as an Ethnographic Category", Oceania 64 (1994): 314.
36. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 174. Following the convention of those who have done research in this regency, I use the spelling "Ngada" for the regency, and "Ngadha", for one of the several cultural/linguistic groups found within this regency. A. Molnar, "The Grandchildren of the Ga'e Ancestors: The Hoga Sara of Ngada in West-Central Flores" (Ph.D. diss., Australian National University, 1994), p. 1; Gregory Forth, "Considerations of 'Keo' as an Ethnographic Category", Oceania 64 (1994): 314.
37. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 174; J.A.J. Verheijen, Manggarai dan Wujud Tertinggi, p. 23.
38. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 174; J.A.J. Verheijen, Manggarai dan Wujud Tertinggi, p. 23.
39. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 174.
40. Ibid., pp. 165-66.
41. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 210.
42. J.A.J. Verheijen, Manggarai dan Wujud Tertinggi, p. 31.
43. Since it is a Bimanese word it was presumably Bima who introduced this system of leadership; ibid., p. 24. There is, though, by no means a consensus on this point.
44. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 208.
45. Though this is perhaps unlikely if it is true that Todo villagers invited Bimanese to help them, as people say, in the battle against Cibal.
46. It is unlikely that in earlier times the certainty of origin was as fixed as it is now. The earliest mention I can find of Todo peoples' origin from Minangkabau is Stapel, a first lieutenant in the Dutch infantry based in Manggarai, who in the early twentieth century wrote a paper published in 1914 (H.B. Stapel, "Het Manggaraische Volk", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 56 [1914]: 149-87). Monsignor Van Bekkum, who is still alive and living in Manggarai, did research among peoples of Todo and its sister village Pongkor and was inclined to favor the name "Bonengkabao", as the likely origin of Todo and Pongkor villagers, though it is unclear how often he heard people using this name or where its location was. He suggests that the increasingly popular use of the name "Minangkabau" had to do with the learning of this name from school and from people of other regions. See van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", Cultereel Indië 6 (1944): 147, 152.
47. It is unlikely that in earlier times the certainty of origin was as fixed as it is now. The earliest mention I can find of Todo peoples' origin from Minangkabau is Stapel, a first lieutenant in the Dutch infantry based in Manggarai, who in the early twentieth century wrote a paper published in 1914 (H.B. Stapel, "Het Manggaraische Volk", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 56 [1914]: 149-87). Monsignor Van Bekkum, who is still alive and living in Manggarai, did research among peoples of Todo and its sister village Pongkor and was inclined to favor the name "Bonengkabao", as the likely origin of Todo and Pongkor villagers, though it is unclear how often he heard people using this name or where its location was. He suggests that the increasingly popular use of the name "Minangkabau" had to do with the learning of this name from school and from people of other regions. See van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", Cultereel Indië 6 (1944): 147, 152.
48. Some accounts even say that it was after the victory over the Cibalese that Todo villagers asked Bima to remain and rule Manggarai. See van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 69. This seems unlikely to me however, since their successful battle of revenge probably didn't occur until the eighteenth century. Besides, it is unlikely that the Todonese had very much to do with the decision making about who was to have control over Manggarai, since these decisions seemed to have been made entirely by outsiders.
49. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores)", Bingkasan Budi (Leiden, 1950), pp. 207-214; see also van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores), Todo en Pongkor", Cultereel Indie 8 (1946): 65-69 for an account of these battles.
50. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores)", Bingkasan Budi (Leiden, 1950), pp. 207-214; see also van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai (West Flores), Todo en Pongkor", Cultereel Indie 8 (1946): 65-69 for an account of these battles.
51. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 146-48.
52. Peter Goethals writes dramatically of the loss of life on the island of Sumbawa due to this volcanic explosion. Direct deaths in Bima due to the eruption, seem to have been negligible, (though in other areas it was high), but the resulting starvation and illness seems to have claimed one quarter of the population; another quarter fled to Java, Sulawesi and a number of other islands. Bima actually suffered less than some other more western regions of Sumbawa, which lost up to 70 per cent of their population in these ways (Peter R. Goethals, Aspects of Local Government in a Sumbawan Village [Eastern Indonesia], Ithaca: Cornell University, Modern Indonesia Project, 1961, pp. 17-19).
53. Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 211.
54. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 172, 174.
55. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", p. 169.
56. Ibid., pp. 161, 205.
57. IbId., pp. 161-70.
58. Kapten Cristoffel, "Dagboek van de Commandant der ageerenda troepen in Flores van 9 October tot en met 30 November" (typescript, 1908), pp. 2-5.
59. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 199-205.
60. Ibid., pp. 206, 220, 222-28. Cornelius Ngambut only recently passed away in 1994, and many people still referred to him as Raja Ngambut, even though he was never officially coronated.
61. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 335.
62. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (rev. ed.) (London: Verso 1991), pp. 164-78; G. Benjamin, "The Unseen Presence: A Theory of the Nation-State and its Mystifications" (Department of Sociology Working Papers, no. 91, 1988), p. 3; C. Navari, "The Origins of the Nation-State", in The Nation State, ed. Leonard Tivy (New York: St. Martins, 1981), pp. 35-36.
63. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (rev. ed.) (London: Verso 1991), pp. 164-78; G. Benjamin, "The Unseen Presence: A Theory of the Nation-State and its Mystifications" (Department of Sociology Working Papers, no. 91, 1988), p. 3; C. Navari, "The Origins of the Nation-State", in The Nation State, ed. Leonard Tivy (New York: St. Martins, 1981), pp. 35-36.
64. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (rev. ed.) (London: Verso 1991), pp. 164-78; G. Benjamin, "The Unseen Presence: A Theory of the Nation-State and its Mystifications" (Department of Sociology Working Papers, no. 91, 1988), p. 3; C. Navari, "The Origins of the Nation-State", in The Nation State, ed. Leonard Tivy (New York: St. Martins, 1981), pp. 35-36.
65. See for example J.P. Freijss, "Reizen naar Mangarai en Lombok in 1854-1856", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 9 (1860): 443-530, and documents from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries referred to in Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 207-214, where it is clear that dalu always refer to people.
66. See for example J.P. Freijss, "Reizen naar Mangarai en Lombok in 1854-1856", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 9 (1860): 443-530, and documents from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries referred to in Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 207-214, where it is clear that dalu always refer to people.
67. See for example Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 148-77, 328-60, and van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75, and W. van Bekkum, "Vier Moko's in Noord-Oost-Manggarai (West Flores)", Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 84 (1950-51): 1-9, where reference is frequently made to "daluschap" ("dalu-dom"), dalu as territory.
68. See for example Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 148-77, 328-60, and van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75, and W. van Bekkum, "Vier Moko's in Noord-Oost-Manggarai (West Flores)", Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 84 (1950-51): 1-9, where reference is frequently made to "daluschap" ("dalu-dom"), dalu as territory.
69. See for example Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 148-77, 328-60, and van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75, and W. van Bekkum, "Vier Moko's in Noord-Oost-Manggarai (West Flores)", Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 84 (1950-51): 1-9, where reference is frequently made to "daluschap" ("dalu-dom"), dalu as territory.
70. E. Gellner, Nations and Nationalism (Oxford: Blackwell, 1983), pp. 1-6.
71. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 159-60.
72. Nooteboom, "Versieringen van Manggaraische huizen", Tijdschrift voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde 79 (1939): 222-24.
73. It was as a result of these measurements being found in the fieldnotes of Dorothy Pelzer, kept in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, that the Todo house could be rebuilt in 1992-93, following the exact measurements of the old house.
74. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 335; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", p. 210.
75. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", p. 335; Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", p. 210.
76. The region of Cancar is particularly suited to wet rice cultivation because of the abundant flat land nestled in between the mountains. It is also directly on the Trans-Manggarai/Flores road, which means transportation facilities are readily available.
77. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 220-21, 265.
78. Ibid., pp. 235-38.
79. Ibid., pp. 331-32.
80. Ibid., pp. 309-310.
81. Ibid., pp. 326-36.
82. A road to Todo was only finished in 1991. It was built by a priest who had worked in Todo for many years and aspired to see the village opened up to communication with the rest of Manggarai. However it took many years to build and much foreign capital. It was expensive and complicated to build because of the need to dynamite a mountainside before the road could connect with Todo.
83. J.A.J. Verheijen, Kamus Manggarai II: Indonesla-Manggarai, p. 732.
84. See also W. van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai (West Flores), tengevolge van de Goaneesche en Bimaneesche invloeden", Cultereel Indie 7 (1946): 126-28, and Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 61-69, for features of Manggarai villages and their organization.
85. See also W. van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai (West Flores), tengevolge van de Goaneesche en Bimaneesche invloeden", Cultereel Indie 7 (1946): 126-28, and Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 61-69, for features of Manggarai villages and their organization.
86. Nooteboom, "Versieringen van Manggaraische huizen", pp. 221-38.
87. See M. Erb, "Gushing Forth from the House: Niang Wowang and the History and Social Organization of Todo, Manggarai, Western Flores", manuscript.
88. See Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van net Manggaraische volk", pp. 328-31, and van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai", pp. 125-29.
89. See Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van net Manggaraische volk", pp. 328-31, and van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai", pp. 125-29.
90. James J. Fox, "Comparative Perspectives on Austronesian Houses: An Introductory Essay", in Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for Living, ed. James J. Fox (Canberra: Australian National University, 1993); James J. Fox, "Origin Structures and Systems of Precedence in the Comparative Study of Austronesian Societies", in Austronesian Studies Relating to Taiwan, ed. Paul Li, Dah-an Ho, Cheng-hwa Tsang and Ying-kuei Huang (Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, 1995).
91. James J. Fox, "Comparative Perspectives on Austronesian Houses: An Introductory Essay", in Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for Living, ed. James J. Fox (Canberra: Australian National University, 1993); James J. Fox, "Origin Structures and Systems of Precedence in the Comparative Study of Austronesian Societies", in Austronesian Studies Relating to Taiwan, ed. Paul Li, Dah-an Ho, Cheng-hwa Tsang and Ying-kuei Huang (Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, 1995).
92. Inpres, an abbreviation for "Instruksi Presiden" - "by order of the President" is used to refer to projects funded by the federal government to erect buildings such as schools and hospitals. These buildings have a fairly poor reputation in Manggarai, because the money is allocated to a contractor, who tries to use as little of it as possible to get the job done. I have heard tales of school buildings, in particular, which have been built in a hurry and fall down shortly after a photograph has been sent to the government office in charge. By referring to the Todo house as an inpres there is potentially more than just the claim that it is a "contracted" project, that ignores social relationships, there is also a hint of an accusation of corruption. Indeed there are those who openly suggest this, especially since the amount of money allotted for nine houses turned out to be enough for just one.
93. van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", pp. 144-52; van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75 but note the aboriginal interpretations mentioned on p. 67; van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai", pp. 122-30.
94. van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", pp. 144-52; van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75 but note the aboriginal interpretations mentioned on p. 67; van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai", pp. 122-30.
95. van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", pp. 144-52; van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75 but note the aboriginal interpretations mentioned on p. 67; van Bekkum, "De machtsverschuivingen in Manggarai", pp. 122-30.
96. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 148-77, 328-60; Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 207-214.
97. Coolhaas, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Manggaraische volk", pp. 148-77, 328-60; Nooteboom, "Enkele feiten uit de geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 207-214.
98. The motif of the "stranger king" is a common one in Oceania and Southeast Asia. See Marshall Sahlins, "The Stranger King, or Dumezil among the Fijians", The Journal of Pacific History 16 (1981): 112; James J. Fox, "Austronesian Societies and their Transformations", in The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (Canberra: Australian National University, 1995), pp. 217-19. Apart from those mentioned in Fox, other Indonesian societies try to resolve a conflict between the ideas of indigenous origin and powerful outsiders. See, for example, Vivienne Wee, "Material Dependence and Symbolic Independence: Constructions of Melayu Ethnicity in Island Riau, Indonesia", in Ethnic Diversity and the Control of Natural Resources, ed. A. Terry Rambo, Kathleen Gillogly and Karl L. Hutterer (Ann Arbor: Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia No. 32, 1988), pp. 197-222 on how peoples of Riau construct their ideas of indigenous and foreign, superiority and inferiority, submission and domination in different types of "symbolic economy"; and J. Bowen, Sumatran Politics and Poetics: Gayo History 1890-1989 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), pp. 225-30, where indigenous populations try to resolve the idea of the superior status of foreigners by claiming that they are both foreign and indigenous.
99. The motif of the "stranger king" is a common one in Oceania and Southeast Asia. See Marshall Sahlins, "The Stranger King, or Dumezil among the Fijians", The Journal of Pacific History 16 (1981): 112; James J. Fox, "Austronesian Societies and their Transformations", in The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (Canberra: Australian National University, 1995), pp. 217-19. Apart from those mentioned in Fox, other Indonesian societies try to resolve a conflict between the ideas of indigenous origin and powerful outsiders. See, for example, Vivienne Wee, "Material Dependence and Symbolic Independence: Constructions of Melayu Ethnicity in Island Riau, Indonesia", in Ethnic Diversity and the Control of Natural Resources, ed. A. Terry Rambo, Kathleen Gillogly and Karl L. Hutterer (Ann Arbor: Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia No. 32, 1988), pp. 197-222 on how peoples of Riau construct their ideas of indigenous and foreign, superiority and inferiority, submission and domination in different types of "symbolic economy"; and J. Bowen, Sumatran Politics and Poetics: Gayo History 1890-1989 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), pp. 225-30, where indigenous populations try to resolve the idea of the superior status of foreigners by claiming that they are both foreign and indigenous.
100. The motif of the "stranger king" is a common one in Oceania and Southeast Asia. See Marshall Sahlins, "The Stranger King, or Dumezil among the Fijians", The Journal of Pacific History 16 (1981): 112; James J. Fox, "Austronesian Societies and their Transformations", in The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (Canberra: Australian National University, 1995), pp. 217-19. Apart from those mentioned in Fox, other Indonesian societies try to resolve a conflict between the ideas of indigenous origin and powerful outsiders. See, for example, Vivienne Wee, "Material Dependence and Symbolic Independence: Constructions of Melayu Ethnicity in Island Riau, Indonesia", in Ethnic Diversity and the Control of Natural Resources, ed. A. Terry Rambo, Kathleen Gillogly and Karl L. Hutterer (Ann Arbor: Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia No. 32, 1988), pp. 197-222 on how peoples of Riau construct their ideas of indigenous and foreign, superiority and inferiority, submission and domination in different types of "symbolic economy"; and J. Bowen, Sumatran Politics and Poetics: Gayo History 1890-1989 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), pp. 225-30, where indigenous populations try to resolve the idea of the superior status of foreigners by claiming that they are both foreign and indigenous.
101. The motif of the "stranger king" is a common one in Oceania and Southeast Asia. See Marshall Sahlins, "The Stranger King, or Dumezil among the Fijians", The Journal of Pacific History 16 (1981): 112; James J. Fox, "Austronesian Societies and their Transformations", in The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (Canberra: Australian National University, 1995), pp. 217-19. Apart from those mentioned in Fox, other Indonesian societies try to resolve a conflict between the ideas of indigenous origin and powerful outsiders. See, for example, Vivienne Wee, "Material Dependence and Symbolic Independence: Constructions of Melayu Ethnicity in Island Riau, Indonesia", in Ethnic Diversity and the Control of Natural Resources, ed. A. Terry Rambo, Kathleen Gillogly and Karl L. Hutterer (Ann Arbor: Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia No. 32, 1988), pp. 197-222 on how peoples of Riau construct their ideas of indigenous and foreign, superiority and inferiority, submission and domination in different types of "symbolic economy"; and J. Bowen, Sumatran Politics and Poetics: Gayo History 1890-1989 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), pp. 225-30, where indigenous populations try to resolve the idea of the superior status of foreigners by claiming that they are both foreign and indigenous.
102. This is a very common myth told throughout Southeast Asia in various forms. One version found in the Rembong dalu in northeastern Manggarai is related in M. Erb, "Cuddling the Rice: Play, Myth and Ritual in the Agricultural Year, Rembong, Northern Manggarai", Contributions to Southeast Asian Ethnography 10 (1994): 151-83.
103. This is the white-headed mannikin, Lonchura pallida, according to J.A.J. Verheijen, "Bird-Names in Manggarai, Flores, Indonesia", Anthropos 58 (1963): 700; J.A.J. Verheijen, Kamus Manggarai H: Indonesia-Manggarai, p. 500.
104. This is the white-headed mannikin, Lonchura pallida, according to J.A.J. Verheijen, "Bird-Names in Manggarai, Flores, Indonesia", Anthropos 58 (1963): 700; J.A.J. Verheijen, Kamus Manggarai H: Indonesia-Manggarai, p. 500.
105. They did not bring cloth or the knowledge of weaving, however, and hence in Manggarai they continued to use the bark of trees for clothing. An example of this kind of clothing had been given by my informant's father to Monsignor Van Bekkum many years ago. The origin of weaving in Todo is indeed a very controversial point, since they weave cloth very different from the typical Manggarai "black cloth" woven in the northern dalu. One elder told me that weaving was taken up by Todo women only at the beginning of this century. It was learned from Muslim populations originating from Endeh (further east on Flores). For a discussion of weaving in other parts of Manggarai see M. Erb, "The Curse of the Cooked People: Weaving among the Rembong, Northeastern Manggarai", in Gift of the Cotton Maiden: Textiles of Flores and the Solor Islands, ed. Roy Hamilton (Los Angeles: The Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1994), pp. 195-209, and Roy Hamilton, "Regional Survey: Manggarai Regency", in ibid., pp. 81-97.
106. They did not bring cloth or the knowledge of weaving, however, and hence in Manggarai they continued to use the bark of trees for clothing. An example of this kind of clothing had been given by my informant's father to Monsignor Van Bekkum many years ago. The origin of weaving in Todo is indeed a very controversial point, since they weave cloth very different from the typical Manggarai "black cloth" woven in the northern dalu. One elder told me that weaving was taken up by Todo women only at the beginning of this century. It was learned from Muslim populations originating from Endeh (further east on Flores). For a discussion of weaving in other parts of Manggarai see M. Erb, "The Curse of the Cooked People: Weaving among the Rembong, Northeastern Manggarai", in Gift of the Cotton Maiden: Textiles of Flores and the Solor Islands, ed. Roy Hamilton (Los Angeles: The Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 1994), pp. 195-209, and Roy Hamilton, "Regional Survey: Manggarai Regency", in ibid., pp. 81-97.
107. Though there is no space to discuss this here, the marital alliance relationship is of an almost sacred quality in Manggarai as in many places in eastern Indonesia. The anak rona, that is the clan from which one takes wives has an almost diety-like power over their anak wina, being seen to have both cursing and blessing powers over them. This is because they are the "source" of life. See for example John Gordon, "The Marriage Nexus among the Manggarai", in The Flow of Life: Essays on Eastern Indonesia, ed. J.J. Fox (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980), pp. 48-67, and other chapters in the same volume. See also M. Erb, "Stealing Women and Living in Sin: Adaptation and Conflict in Morals and Customary Law in Rembong, Northeastern Manggarai", Anthropos 86 (1991): 59-73 for a description of the process of marriage in another part of Manggarai.
108. Though there is no space to discuss this here, the marital alliance relationship is of an almost sacred quality in Manggarai as in many places in eastern Indonesia. The anak rona, that is the clan from which one takes wives has an almost diety-like power over their anak wina, being seen to have both cursing and blessing powers over them. This is because they are the "source" of life. See for example John Gordon, "The Marriage Nexus among the Manggarai", in The Flow of Life: Essays on Eastern Indonesia, ed. J.J. Fox (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980), pp. 48-67, and other chapters in the same volume. See also M. Erb, "Stealing Women and Living in Sin: Adaptation and Conflict in Morals and Customary Law in Rembong, Northeastern Manggarai", Anthropos 86 (1991): 59-73 for a description of the process of marriage in another part of Manggarai.
109. See M. Erb, "Stealing Women and Living in Sin", pp. 59-73.
110. Robert Wessing, "A Change in the Forest: Myth and History in West Java", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 24 (1993): 2.
111. This is a sign that it was an adult. Manggarai reckon the age of buffaloes according to the number of molars they have. A buffalo with eight molars, called in Manggarai kaba ngis alo(kerbau gigi delapan in Indonesian) - "a bull of eight teeth", would be fully grown.
112. See, for example, the explanation of different views concerning the derivation of the name Minangkabau on pp. 20-25 of Pelajaran Adat Minangkabau (Sejarah dan Budaya), published by the Lembaga Kerapatan Adat Alam Minangkabau (LKAAM) Sumatera Barat. The date on the title page is 1987, but the first printing was in 1989. The story of the buffalo calf is also related by Edwin M. Loeb in Sumatra: Its History and People (Kuala Lumpur and Medan: Oxford University Press/Toko Buku Deli, 1972, a reprint of the 1935 edition). It is quite possible that people in Manggarai learned of this story and adapted it to their own purposes.
113. See also van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", pp. 144-52.
114. Ibid., p. 148.
115. Similar pillars are found in far eastern Manggarai, in the dalu territory of Rembong, and I was told the same formations can be found in the Rajong dalu territory as well. To the people in eastern Manggarai, these pillars also represented the superior ability of their ancestors, who had magical ability to carve stone. The stone "pillars" are probably a geological formation connected with volcanic activity.
116. See also van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", pp. 147-48; van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 65.
117. See also van Bekkum, "Warloka-Todo-Pongkor, Een brok gescheidenis van Manggarai", pp. 147-48; van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 65.
118. Lawang suggests that traditionally this was a common reason for the moving of villages traditionally in Manggarai, which in any case was not an uncommon occurence. Pigs were never penned, and if they went somewhere far away to give birth this was a sign to the villagers that they should move their village site. He suggests it would not be too difficult to move a small village given an excuse like this, since taking care of the pigs would be made easier. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 75-76. I have never heard this used as an explanation for moving a village except in the case of this origin story of the Todo royal clan, so he may be generalizing from the one story in saying that this was a common occurrence.
119. Minangkabau houses are characterized by a saddle-backed roof with outward sloping gableends, creating an effect like buffalo horns. See Roxana Waterson, The Living House: An Anthropology of Architecture in Southeast Asia (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1990), p. 4.
120. See also van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 67, and Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 155-57, for other versions of this tale.
121. See also van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", p. 67, and Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 155-57, for other versions of this tale.
122. Lawang, "Stratifikasi Sosial Di Cancar", pp. 223-24.
123. van Bekkum, "Geschiedenis van Manggarai", pp. 65-75.
124. James J. Fox, "Reflections on 'Hierarchy' and "Precedence"', History and Anthropology 7 (1994): 98.
125. Keith Basso, '"Stalking with Stories': Names, Places, and Moral Narratives among the Western Apache", in Text, Play and Story, ed. E. Bruner (Washington, D.C.: American Ethnological Society, 1984), pp. 44-45; M. Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays, ed. M. Holquist (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981).
126. Keith Basso, '"Stalking with Stories': Names, Places, and Moral Narratives among the Western Apache", in Text, Play and Story, ed. E. Bruner (Washington, D.C.: American Ethnological Society, 1984), pp. 44-45; M. Bakhtin, The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays, ed. M. Holquist (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1981).
127. G. Benjamin, "The Sociology of Indigeny" (paper presented at the ASEAN Inter-University Seminars on Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Cebu, Philippines, 1995), p. 2.
128. James J. Fox, "Austronesian Societies and their Transformations", p. 219.
129. G. Benjamin, "The Sociology of Indigeny", p. 2.
130. James J. Fox, "'Standing' in Time and Place: The Structure of Rotinese Historical Narratives", in Perceptions of the Past in Southeast Asia, ed. A. Reid and D. Marr (Singapore: Heinemann Education Books, 1979), pp. 10-25.