Modernity and Malaysia: Settling the Menraq Forest Nomads (The Modern Anthropology of Southeast Asia)

Bringing together over thirty years of detailed ethnographic research on the Menraq of Malaysia, this fascinating book analyzes and documents the experience of development and modernization in tribal communities. Descendents of hunter-gatherers who have inhabited Southeast Asia for about 40,000 years, the Menraq (also known as Semang or Negritos) were nomadic foragers until they were resettled in a Malaysian government-mandated settlement in 1972. Modernity and Malaysia begins with the ‘Jeli Incident’ in which several Menraq were alleged to have killed three Malays, members of the dominant ethnic group in the country. Alberto Gomes links this uncharacteristic violence to Menraq experiences of Malaysian-style modernity that have left them displaced, depressed, discontented, and disillusioned. Tracing the transformation of the lives of Menraq resulting from resettlement, development, and various ‘civilizing projects’, this book examines how the encounter with modernity has led the subsistence-oriented, relatively autonomous Menraq into a life of dependence on the state and the market. Challenging conventional social scientific understanding of concepts such as modernity and marginalization, and providing empirical material for comparison with the experience of modernity for indigenous peoples around the world, Modernity and Malaysia is a valuable resource for students and scholars of anthropology, development studies and indigenous studies, as well as those with a more general interest in asian studies. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Illustrations......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 Abbreviations......Page 14 1 Introduction......Page 16 2 Social and cultural milieu......Page 25 3 Modernity, development, and tribal communities......Page 56 4 Rual Resettlement......Page 78 5 Menraq as foragers......Page 108 6 From foragers to commodity producers......Page 130 7 Social and cultural change......Page 155 8 Conclusion......Page 180 Glossary......Page 187 Notes......Page 190 Bibliography......Page 197 Index......Page 210 Introduction -- Social And Cultural Milieu -- Modernity, Development, And Tribal Communities -- Rural Resettlement -- Menraq As Foragers From Foragers To Commodity Producers -- Social And Cultural Change -- Conclusion. Alberto G. Gomes. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [182]-194) And Index. Bringing together the results of over twenty-five years of research on the indigenous peoples of Malaysia, this fascinating book illustrates the experiences of modernity in indigenous communities through a detailed case study of the Rual Menraq of Malaysia