The Dialectics of Adat: Colonialism, the State, and Indigeneity in Indonesia

ABSTRACT In the wake of weakening leftist identities, indigeneity has become a promising political identity for economically marginalised people in rural areas worldwide. This is especially true for Indonesia with its anti-communist state ideology, but the roots of the Indonesian concept of indigeneity reach back at least into the late colonial era. The Dutch shaped the modern ideology of indigeneity in Indonesia through their conceptualisation of adat (custom), which is now deployed by indigenous activists to distinguish their indigeneity from other parts of society. Additionally, indigenous activists and communities in Indonesia have to distinguish themselves from other, also autochthonous parts of society due to the absence of settlers’ descendants. This contribution sheds light on how indigeneity is understood by indigenous activists in Indonesia. It draws on two cases, namely Dayakness as indigeneity in Kalimantan and the concept of masyarakat adat as the Indonesian translation of ‘indigenous peoples’ as it is used today by Indonesia’s largest indigenous organisation. Contrary to many contributions on indigeneity that stress relationality and post-structural approaches, this contribution suggests analysing indigeneity in a dialectical way and as a part of a social totality. This social totality, however, is not self-identical as it emerges through contradictions, for instance in the opposition of the state – indigenous peoples. Indigeneity thus appears to be an ideology that represents people’s relations to socio-economic conditions but also takes into account the relative autonomy of non-economic issues such as religion and culture.