Arisan

Abstract

Arisan is an Indonesian economic practice which has been in existence for hundreds of years, and is believed to have been brought to Indonesia by Chinese merchants interacting with the Orang Asli Indigenous people. It has primarily been a financing and social activity for women. The rules of the practice are that each member of the group puts in the same amount of money each at meeting, and each member gets one turn “winning” the collective sum. The round is finished when everyone has received the money. As a part of a set of traditional practices of helping each other (gotong royong), the Arisan member may ask the round winner to swap their turn in any emergency situation, so he/she can access the money without any interest paid. While anthropologist Clifford Geertz describes Arisan as a middle rung in an economy moving from traditional to capitalist, we argue it continues to provide valuable financial support to women in contemporary times. It is also a platform for women in the community to meet, to share concerns and thoughts, and to care for each other. This chapter, through interviews with women in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, aims to show women’s continuing contributions to an economy of care through Arisan, and the contribution of Arisan to alternative economies beyond capitalist markets and development programs. Arisan does this by enabling and preserving different forms of economic subjectivity beyond that of the “rational economic man,” performing caring, relational, and collective economic subjects.