Books on Savu & East Nusa
Tenggara
These original essays
study ritual language and parallelism (the strict
ordering of words and phrases in alternative,
duplicate form). The introduction puts the topic
in historical perspective and what was once
viewed as a composition form unique to ancient
Hebrew is now seen as a feature common to
literatures around the world. Here is the first
book to compare in detail living traditions of
parallel composition. Yet, despite the diversity
of languages discussed by the contributors, their
materials are drawn from a single cultural area
still unknown to most specialists: Eastern
Indonesia. All the essays contain original texts
with translations and with detailed commentary on
both content and context . . . .
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The
Ecology of Nusa
Tenggara and Maluku by
Kathryn A. Monk, Yance De Fretes, Gayatri
Reksodiharjo-Lilleyo.
The Ecology of Indonesia Series.
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it!
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This book profiles the
history of ecological work in Nusa tenggara and
Maluku and describes the physical features of the
region, its geological origins, marine, coastal
and terrestrial habitats, hydrology, climate,
soils and the propensity to environmental
hazards. It includes inventories of species
diversity with reference to biogeography and
selection of biological indicators for both
conservation and environmental impact
assessments. There is a section on the people of
Nusa Tenggara and Maluku and the structure of
their societies and their approach to ecological
management through traditional and modern laws is
discussed. Marine and land resource uses is
investigated and how the islands can develop in
an ecologically sustainable way. Reserve
management and species protection is also looked
at, with recommendations offered for future
action that will extend the protection of the
biodiversity. The book emphasises the need for
Indonesia's growing community of environmental
managers and lawyers to have the baseline
ecological data of this region to plan, assess
and manage its rapid development.
This book explores the
links between mythology and weavings on Savu,
examining how textiles have formed the fabric of
Savunese society throughout time. Ikat weavings
of Savu are exceptional in the sense that they
act as markers of historical events. They have a
heraldic significance and can be read like a
text. They also form a language expressing the
socio-political structure of Savunese society. In
this era of globalisation and the resulting
threat to small-scale societies, it is the
author`s hope that this book will contribute to
the protection of the work of traditional weavers
and to the recognition of their unique cultural
heritage.
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The
Flow of Life:
Essays on Eastern Indonesia James
J. Fox (Editor)
Harvard Studies in Cultural Anthropology,
No.2.
388 pages, 15 halftones, 11 line
illustrations, 3 maps, 3 tables.
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it!
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Indonesia east of Bali is
perhaps the least known of all major cultural
areas of Southeast Asia. Yet the anthropology of
the region has long held a prominent place in the
development of structuralist theories of marital
exchange and symbolic classification. Falling in
a distinguished lineage running from van Wouden
to Levi-Strauss to Rodney Needham, The Flow of
Life presents a comprehensive set of essays by a
distinguished group of international scholars,
which provides both a full picture of this
culturally rich area and an important extension
of earlier structuralist theory. This volume is
bound to become the standard source on the social
anthropology of eastern Indonesia. But it is a
work of more than regional significance,
providing a variety of empirical resources to
address the questions which lie at the bottom of
much structuralist thought about mind and
society: what is the nature of symbolic thought?
how does consciousness intertwine with society
and ecology? what is the difference between
"primitive" and "modern"
society?
This book compares the
ecologically balanced lifestyles of the native
ethnic groups living on Roti and Savu with the
swidden agricultural lifestyles of neighboring
Timor. The island of Timor has become an
ecological disaster with erosion,
over-cultivation, and primitive farming
techniques leading to increased mal-nutrition.
Yet on at least two neighboring islands the
environment is virtually pristine and there is a
surplus of starch production. At a time when the
world is looking for environmentally sound
answers to increased famine, Fox discovers that
perhaps we should be relying less on technology
and more on tradition. For anyone interested in
unique cultures, ecological anthropology or the
world hunger problem this is a must-read!
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