^ Sn ■ 
° Cl °historical Transition 
lhei r 
; Prestige. Today, ordinary or prestigious ob- 
s ^e at the root of Punan’s wealth. Over gen- 
ex ;° ns suc ^ °flj ects have become essential to the 
nan ges before and after marriages. These things 
c j a aot necessar hy or directly grant power or so- 
t r Status ’ hut they are integrated into the assets 
ty n ^ er system which underpins family bonds. This 
a^d * s above all used to fulfil social obligations 
subsequently for further exchanges. 
dj r ais article starts with the economic and the in- 
lig^ s °cial role of forest products. It also high- 
s 0 . s l he function of objects in Punan society. The 
Hj ^historical overview yields some insight into 
Ujjd et fluctuations in forest products and helps to 
l n( j ersta nd why Punan people take part in the trade, 
tlw T while nomads are the principal providers of 
Part • ° rest resources, all ethnic groups do not take 
al SQ m ^is trade in an equal manner. This study 
kal airtls t° explain the influence of sociohistor- 
Vi^ents from the point of view of the Punan 
dr ess les - To do so, the first part of this article ad- 
th^ n es the analysis of trade mechanisms rather 
fegj 0 °Pics such as the organisation of trade or the 
Ol and international supply networks, better 
^ ( ^ letl ted in other publications. 2 As it will be 
tia tio nstrat ed, commercial exchange implies nego- 
io rtlle s forests products for other goods. Hence, 
v alu e e ^ u uan, resources which have a direct utility 
K v Sac h as rattan (for basketry) or dammar resin 
v % e ^ a ting or caulking canoes) gain an exchange 
s Pcb as We A as those which heretofore have none, 
C eaglewood - 
°bie 6r ° n ’ h is shown that the importance given 
\\\ cts Ay the Punan comes from both the trade 
% ^dividual motivation, particularly in the 
■ ’ s roi^ 0 * 1 t A ese objects are passed on and used. 
lf Ppo rt e °f objects is not new, but became more 
Pr es t j i 1 as A 16 * Punan became owners of more 
S. Th ° us §°ods through their trade in forest prod- 
¡Si a 6 rese arch and analysis of the evolution in 
b noC.^ents, from their first appearance up 
a ^ 8, * * * ^ ead t0 a va l ua fll e insight into the 
Nmi Self 'P ers P ec ti ve - Compared to their past 
j °ds tQ C s fluation, the Punan do not own enough 
s ^ ee d c ensure adequate marriage payments, and 
tk Pa Aon nS ^ er themselves poor. Realising that the 
c fut Ur ^ S c ° m plex, families are concerned about 
of a system that is seen by most as a 
f tl ° r ny > ’-heir individual advancement and au- 
Cts> a nd ti? Second P art °f this article takes these 
e Punan concept of wealth, as starting 
b c k . 
1 9 9 3 - t • ^ Brosius 1995; Chew 1990; Cleary 1995; King 
l9 8l ; ^dblad 1988; Peluso 1983; Rousseau 1989; Warren 
°Pos 
102. 
2007 
457 
points to understand the meaning of marriage pay 
ments and exchanges to Punan families. 3 
After looking at the generation of wealth and its 
redistribution in two closely related spheres, i.e., 
the commercial sphere and the social sphere, the 
concluding discussion will show how the transfer 
of objects sheds lights on their human and social 
context (according to Appadurai 1986). Both trade 
and matrimonial exchanges give a value to objects, 
and because that value is integrated into the ob 
jects exchanged, jars as well as other prestigious 
goods can no longer be considered as the simple 
basic currency for exchange, but rather as social 
forces driven by concepts such as honour, prestige, 
and authority. These forces explain the transfer of 
objects (Punan peliwai taan), for instance, the fact 
that they are given and returned on the occasion of 
a marriage. As it develops, the trade in forest prod 
ucts does not appear as a mere barter for merchan 
dise but rather as an exchange of goods associated 
with social, political, and cultural norms in which 
objects are tools used to conduct relations between 
people. 
Trade in Forest Products and Goods 
The historical sketch of the trade in forest products 
shows both the progression of an extraction front 
through rivers reaching from the coastal regions to 
the interior of Borneo between the 17th century 
and the end of the 20th century and its peak in 
the 1990s, which entailed an almost immediate 
depletion of the resources collected (Sellato 2001, 
2005). The evolution of trade on the Tubu River 
attests to the long-lasting influence of international 
trade on groups occupying isolated inland areas. 
The Punan nomads, as the main collectors of forest 
resources, are especially concerned. 
3 As Lars Kaskija mentioned (2007: 145) the Punan have no 
word for “rich” or “wealth.” Like the Punan Malinau, the 
Punan Tubu use the expression fi’ ubat (literally “many 
things”), or fi’ melat (literally “lot of iron”) to characterise 
someone who possesses many manufactured goods. The 
term melat refers at first to iron, the first and most valu 
able imported material upriver. It also used to refer to all 
outside goods, from metal to other material. We will con 
sider here Testart’s and his colleagues’ definition of “wealth” 
(Testart etal. 2002: 185). It identifies two main functions: 
the function of exchange and the function of payment. Like 
Testart, we understand “wealth” as “the material goods that 
are necessary for man for his survival, or that could only be 
desirable. They could be either kept, exchanged in order to 
obtain other goods, or complete certain social obligations by 
being considered as a payment” (my translation).