Book

A share of the harvest: kinship, property, and social history among the Malays of Rembau

University of California PressBerkeleyPublished In 1988 • Pages:

By: Peletz, Michael G..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This book is concerned with kinship, property and social history among farmers living in the Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Rembau district, the book argues that norms and values keyed to matrilineal descent were far less pervasive in pre-colonial property system and social relations than other observers assumed, and that principles and idioms of siblingship were of comparable if not greater significance in myriad domains of society and culture. It also suggest that many of these later domains were simultaneously structured in accordance with other principles (such as patrifiliation, matrilineal descent, and alliance), some of which were inconsistent with the entailments of siblingship- and with one another as well- in that they enjoined mutually incompatible behaviors. The author argues that the co-occurrence and mutual relevance of such potentially contradictory principles helped determine the direction, scope, and cultural realization of social change both throughout the British colonial period and during the independence era. As a consequence, Rembaus land tenure and inheritance system over the past century have involved realignment and reweighting of various elements of the pre-colonial system, rather than the creation ex nihilo of new principles or constructs.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Community structure
Cultural identity and pride
Rule of descent
Kin relationships
Gender status
Family relationships
Real property
Inheritance
Property system
Incorporeal property
Renting and leasing
Cereal agriculture
Special crops
External relations
Community heads
Social relationships and groups
Ingroup antagonisms
Status, role, and prestige
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Malays
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Asia
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southeast Asia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Anthropologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem; 2009
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1978-1980
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1830-1980
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Rembau district, State of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
NotesAdditional notes
Michael Gates Peletz
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1983
Includes bibliographical references (p. 363-374) and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
88002466
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Malays (Asian people)--Kinship
Malays (Asian people)--Land tenure
Clans--Malaysia--Rembau (Negeri Sembilan)
Inheritance and succession--Malaysia--Rembau (Negeri Sembilan)
Inheritance and succession (Adat law)
Rembau (Negeri Sembilan)--Economic conditions
Rembau (Negeri Sembilan)--Social conditions