Suchergebnisse

The master-python on Sumba (East Indonesia)

On Sumba in East Indonesia, the notion of « master of the land » (tuan tanah) is closely linked to the traditional activity of weaving. In the west of the island, among the Laboya, a python is said to have woven the earth. It is the ancestor of a clan that, considered to be the master of the land, is responsible for the fertility of the land and its inhabitants. This python-weaver serves as an intermediary. Through it, the transgressions committed by the community can be evacuated during yearly celebrations. This creator-intermediary's status is starting to come under question as the Laboya are converting to Christianity.

IV. 1. Ian C. Glover (Institute of Archaeology, London) supplies a detailed, illustrated, report on the excavations which he undertook in 1969 and 1973 in a cave near to Maros (South Sulawesi), bringing to light a lithic tool complex, fragments of pottery and bones emanating roughtly from a period stretching from 8000 to 3000 B.C. It is a site important for the study of the prehistory of Sulawesi and, in a wider sense, for the prehistory of the whole of Eastern Indonesia.

Examines the East Timorese as victims of collective irresponsibility, errors in judgement, and indifference of various political leaders, and argues for the need to support dialog among the Timorese, and to settle the sovereignty issue internationally; since the 1970s. Summary in English.

Examines human rights violations and opposition to Indonesian occupation in East Timor. Summaries in English and Spanish p. 397 and 411.

Discusses economic and political developments in Indonesia since the fall of Suharto. Summaries in English p. 489-90 and Spanish p. 503-4.