Anthropos
102.2007: 455-477
A Sociohistorical Transition
Trade in Forest Products and Bride-Price
among the Punan Tubu of Eastern Kalimantan
Nicolas Césard
V**' " Most of the former nomadic Punan of Kalimantan
St a res 'de along the large rivers of the hinterland. For al-
111 forest entUf ^ ' n northeastern Kalimantan the increased trade
Se Ss P r °ducts along the Tubu River, as well as the settling
Sen,’ aad a significant impact on the Punan Tubu’s social
S and t h e interaction of the different groups with the out-
be tw ee ■ The article analyses and summarises the continuity
Se” le commercial trade of the past and the current “bride-
Nated eXern P^fi £ d by the Punan Tubu - at first glance two
°f the ev ^Pheres. A sociohistorical review highlights the effects
^'ghbo, 0 udon of trade and the emergence of new goods, of the
C , 0rr| Plex T>ayak groups’ influence, and of the adoption of
'Sge io marria ge payments. [Borneo, Punan, nomads, social
est products, trade, marriage, bride-price]
n'Sas £ -
,^ v el 0 p n esa rd is affiliated to the Institut de Recherche pour le
6^Pai le errient dRD) and to the Institut de Recherche Interdis-
s tü( ks e n p Ur * es Enjeux Sociaux (IRIS) at the École des Hautes
i nter Ciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, France. - His re-
Te n rCStS concem the sustainable use of natural resources
pi kr °t 0 (q 6ss °f social change. - His publications include:
”"8. Jav a ç^ eco Phylla smaragdina) dans la région de Maling-
a Ss 0Ur Ce UeSt ’ fohonésie: collecte et commercialisation d’une
20(T^ es épp 11111 * 6 non négligeable” (Anthropozoologica 2004)
PS) e uves d’insectes en Amazonie” (Anthropozoologica
,ntfod “«i« n
i hep Utlan
' £ rou ped into small bands of hunters ar
^ ^land'f ^ 0rest products, travelled in the past:
^ re arp |' rQ 0rests of Borneo. They usually lived u]
eVe ral st mt ^ e Dayak, a generic term used to nan
ra tified and nonstratihed farming groups
The band’s subsistence depended mostly upon the
consumption of sago palm flour, on hunting, and
on food gathering. The band was formed by an ex
tended family within which an elder, chosen among
the most experienced adults of the group, ensured
an informal authority. Punan groups traditionally
established trade relations with their slash-and-bum
farming neighbours. As time went on and gov
ernment pressure increased, these groups settled
in small hamlets and began basic farming activi
ties. Supported in their conversion by their seden
tary Dayak neighbours, some Punan groups became
farmers and began to identify with their farming
mentors, while some preferred to remain nomads.
In the 1940s, most Punan groups of the upper
and middle Tubu River settled along the main river
shores under the patronage of the Merap and Abai
(Dayak) groups. In the early 1970s, the groups of
the middle and lower Tubu River officially reset
tled downriver in village resettlement programmes
(Resetelmen Penduduk or Respen) under the aus
pices of the local administration and the Church.
The largest resettlement is still located in Sembuak
1 The term “Punan” or “Penan” (or the transcription “Pnan”
as suggested by Sercombe and Sellato [2007] to prevent
ambiguity) is used by Borneo’s settled peoples, Dayak and
Melayu, to refer to various nomadic groups of hunter-
gatherers. It stands in contrast to “Dayak,” a term generally
carrying the meaning of upriver people and used by coastal,
Islamised peoples to refer to settled or itinerant tribal farm
ing groups.
