Cultural Values and Human Ecology in Southeast Asia by Karl L. Hutterer & A. Terry Rambo & George Lovelace

Author:Karl L. Hutterer & A. Terry Rambo & George Lovelace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Michigan Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Fig. 9.1. The evolution of agroecosystems in Indonesia.

As shown in figure 9.1, agroecosystems are not constant. They have evolved from one form into others and continue to change, although change today tends to occur at more rapid rates.

Wet-Rice Agriculture

Wet-rice fields are a prominent feature in Indonesian life. Not only are they a source of food and income, but they are also an important social symbol. The possession of a rice field confers a certain social status upon the owner. Closely connected with this is the fact that rice itself is also a symbol of high status. To eat rice means to belong to a higher social class. Nonrice staple foods such as corn and cassava are considered suitable only for the poor.

Because rice needs a layer of water for its growth, its cultivation requires flat land with a very slight slope so that water can slowly and evenly flow through it. In practice such land is divided into plots surrounded by dikes. In mountain areas, this technique results in beautifully terraced mountain slopes, a field configuration that is completely in accordance with the prescription of contour planting. The Javanese call it nyabuk gunung, “like belts around a mountain,” and the Sundanese ngais gunung, “like carrying the mountain with a batik cloth.” From the environmental point of view, wet-rice cultivation entails an excellent technique of soil conservation, particularly in the tropical wet climate of Indonesia with its high rainfall and high rain intensity. Consequently, we may consider it as an adaptation related to subsistence, the abundance of water, and the need to protect the soil from erosion. Can we deduce, then, that our forefathers had the wisdom to place a high social value on rice, and hence on rice fields, in order to motivate the people to grow rice and by doing so protect the soil from potential erosion caused by the high rainfall and high rain intensity of the humid tropics? An alternative ecological explanation would be that the high social value of rice is based on its excellent nutritional qualities, which were discovered empirically by the people, while the effect of its cultivation on soil conservation constitutes an accidental by-product.

The social value of rice is not only an asset, however; in certain ways and under certain conditions it is also a liability. In the monsoonal climate of Indonesia, rice is traditionally grown in the wet season. During the dry season, the land is planted with second crops such as corn, cassava, or peanuts if enough soil moisture is available, or is left fallow if it is too dry. This pattern of crop rotation or fallowing has a beneficial effect on pest control in that the long interval between plantings of the same crop makes it difficult for many pests to maintain large populations. The people do not seem to be aware of this ecological benefit, however, and when water becomes available, for example, through development of irrigation facilities, they invariably grow a second crop of rice in order to enhance their social and economic status.

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