Cambridge Studies in Social Anthropology GENERAL EDITOR: JACK GOODY 30 Minangkabau social formations Minangkabau social formations Indonesian peasants and the world-economy JOEL S. KAHN Lecturer in Anthropology University College London CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE LONDON NEW YORK NEW ROCHELLE MELBOURNE SYDNEY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www. Cambridge. org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521229937 © Cambridge University Press 1980 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1980 This digitally printed version 2007 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-521-22993-7 hardback ISBN 978-0-521-04029-7 paperback To my parents Contents Lists of maps, figures and tables ix Preface xi 1 Introduction 1 2 The internal and the external in a Minangkabau village: an introduction to the world of the concrete 18 3 Adat, kinship and marriage: the constitution of the subsistence community 39 4 Agriculture and subsistence: the reproduction of the subsistence community 58 5 Commodity production in the village economy: the case of blacksmithing 75 6 Occupation, class and the peasant economy 103 7 The structure of petty commodity production 130 8 Mercantilism and the evolution of 'traditional' society 151 9 The emergence of petty commodity production 172 10 Conclusions: The concept of a neo-colonial social formation 200 Bibliography 215 Glossary of Minangkabau terms 222 Index 225 Maps,f igures and tables Tables 1.1 Agricultural production in West Sumatra, 1971 13 2.1 Population of Sungai Puar 29 2.2 Population of village sample (residents and migrants) by age 30 2.3 Village residents by age and sex 31 2.4 Migrants by age and sex 32 2.5 Migrants from Limo Suku by place of migration 34 4.1 Categories of rice land in Limo Suku 64 4.2 Rice production in Limo Suku 65 4.3 The subsistence ratio in West Sumatra by 'Kabupaten' (district) 66 4.4 The distribution of rice land in Limo Suku 68 4.5 Arrangements for rice cultivation in Limo Suku 70 4.6 Access to rice and rice land in Limo Suku for working men (residents and migrants) 73 5.1 One step in the forging of hoes 80 5.2 Composition of work groups according to product 81 5.3 Inventory of tools in several apa 83 5.4 Average earnings of smiths 92 5.5 Economic relations in blacksmithing 93 5.6 Production survey of 11 apa for one-month period 96 6.1 Occupations of working residents 104 6.2 Occupations of working migrants 105 6.3 Breakdown by class of six major occupations 119 6.4 Cross-tabulation of harvest by place of residence 123 6.5 Cross-tabulation of class by harvest 124 7.1 The changing organic composition of capital: community of producers 145 ix Maps, figures and tables 7.2 The changing composition of capital: single producer 146 7.3 Prices of production: single producer 147 9.1 Per cent change in total output of seven cash crops in two periods 192 9.2 Import of steel tools and related products 194 9.3 Rice prices in Jakarta and Padang 197 Maps 1 First-level administrative regions of Indonesia, 1960 (after J. D. Legge, Central Authority and Regional Autonomy in Indonesia. Copyright © 1961 by Cornell University. Used by permission of the publisher, Cornell University Press) xiv 2 Major towns and roads of West Sumatra xv 3 The main areas of Limo Suku xvi Figures 3.1 Levels of kinship organisation in Minangkabau 42 3.2 Segmentation of Koto Clan in Sungai Puar (both from J. S. Kahn, "Tradition", matriliny and change among the Minangkabau of Indonesia', Bijdragen Koninklijk Instituut, 132, reproduced by permission of the publisher) 42 5.1 Forging hoes (seen from above) 79