Patterns of local mobility in an Iban community of West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines the concept of mobility in relation to small-scale, subsistence-oriented societies, in which groups and individuals create complex resource networks in order to satisfy physical and social needs. Mobility is multi-dimensional and is defined as the capacity or ability to move over a landscape. The purpose of this study was to examine the mobility patterns of the West Kalimantan Iban community of Sungai Sedik, answering the following questions: (1) Where and how often did people travel? (2) At what time during the observed year did people travel? (3) Are there differences in travel patterns, dependent upon gender and age? (4) What are the relationships between the visited and the visitor, and how do the relationships affect the frequency and purpose of travel episodes? (5) How do social relationships affect travel for exchange? Dr. Reed Wadley of the University of Missouri-Columbia, detailed the movement of one Iban longhouse community by conducting a local mobility study among the thirteen households between April/May of 1993 and February/March of 1994. The observations in this study answer these questions and illustrate the importance of the interrelationship between the multi-dimensional mobility patterns of the Sungai Sedik community and their network of natural, economic, and social resources.