Abstract
Traditional crop landraces play dynamic roles in the expression of native biological and cultural diversity via their central position in the genetic resource base, agroecosystems and social heritage of indigenous peoples. Farmer varieties provide farmers with an “agricultural survival kit” for household welfare and for adaptation to changing conditions. These varieties meet local cultural practices and environmental constraints, and play an intrinsic role in cultural survival by constituting a living repository of ancestral customs including cultivar-specific recipes, songs, handicrafts, stories of origin, and unique planting, harvesting, processing, and storage rituals and techniques. The centrality of rice in Southeast Asian agricultural and social systems, contrasted with the significant erosion of rice-based biological and cultural diversity in native communities, calls for increased attention to the links between traditional rice varieties and indigenous rice-based customs. This study represents the research efforts of rice farmers pertaining to the Tado clan, a Kempo Manggarai community on Flores␣Island, in association with USA academicians. Research results demonstrate: (i) a complex suite of upland rice-based ethnobotanical traditions; (ii) significant and␣dynamic regional flux and dissemination of “old” and “new” landraces; (iii)␣community-level maintenance of distinct genotypes across a range of microenvironments; (iv) localized “extinctions” of ancestral landraces within 1–2 generations and a concomitant loss of related traditions; and (v) the contributions of a collaborative (indigenous and academic) approach to ethnographic and agronomic research.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Bellon, M. T., Pham, J.-L., & Jackson, M. T. (1997). Genetic conservation: A role for rice farmers. In N. Maxted, B. V. Ford-Lloyd, & J. G. Hawkes (Eds.), Plant genetic conservation: The in situ approach (pp. 263–289). London and New York: Chapman & Hall.
Bernard, H. K. (2002). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd ed. 753 pp). Walnut Creek: Altamira Press.
Brush, S. B.(Ed.). (1999). Genes in the field: On-farm conservation of crop diversity. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers, 288 pp.
Capistrano-Baker, F. H., Bacdayan, A. S., Milgram, B. L., & Hamilton, R. W. (1998). Basketry of the Luzon Cordillera, Philippines. Los Angeles: UCLA Flower Museum of Cultural History, 135 pp.
Chapin, F. S., Zavaleta, E. S., & Eviner, V. T., et al. (2000). Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature, 405, 243–252.
Cleveland, D. A. & Soleri, D. (Eds.). (2002). Farmers, scientists and plant breeding: Integrating knowledge and practice. Wallingford: CAB International, 368 pp.
Cooper, D. Vellvé, R. & Hobbelink, H.(Eds.). (1992). Growing diversity: Genetic resources and local food security. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 166 pp.
Josselin de Jong, P. E. de. (1965). An interpretation of agricultural rites in Southeast Asia, with a demonstration of use of data from both continental and insular areas. The Journal of Asian Studies, 24, 283–291.
Erb, M. (1994). Cuddling the rice: Myth and ritual in the agricultural year of the Rembong of Northern Manggarai, Indonesia. In A. R. Walker (Ed.), Rice in southeast Asian myth and ritual. Contributions to southeast Asian Ethnography Number 10, (pp. 151–183). Columbus, OH, USA: Ohio State University.
Erb, M. (1999). The Manggaraians. Singapore: Times Editions, 168 pp.
Forth, G. (1994). The rice scattering ritual in Austronesia: Instances from the Nage of Central Flores (Eastern Indonesia. In A. R. Walker (Ed.), Rice in southeast Asian myth and ritual. Contributions to southeast Asian Ethnography Number 10 (pp. 185–213). Columbus, OH, USA: Ohio State University.
Fucillo, D., Sears, L., & Stapleton, P. (1997). Biodiversity in trust: Conservation and use of plant genetic resources in CGIAR Centres. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 371 pp.
Gao, L. Z. (2003). The conservation of Chinese rice biodiversity: Genetic erosion, ethnobotany and prospects. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 50, 17–32.
Goodell, G. P., et al. (1982). Rice insect pest management technology and its transfer to small-scale farmers in The Philippines. In The role of anthropologists and other social scientists in interdisciplinary teams developing improved food production technology. Manila: International Rice Research Institute, 101 pp.
GRAIN (1992). Why farmer-based conservation and improvement of plant genetic resources? In D. Cooper, R. Vellvé, & H. Hobbelink (Eds.), Growing diversity: Genetic resources and local food security (pp. 1–16). London: Intermediate Technology Publications.
Grubben, G. J. H. & Partohardjono, S. (Eds.). (1996). Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 10 Cereals (pp. 102–115). Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
Hamilton, R. W. (2003). The art of rice: Spirit and sustenance in Asia. Los Angeles, CA: University of California, 552 pp.
Hardjana, H. P. (2001). Asal Mula Padi (The History of Paddy). Jakarta: PT Gramedia Widiasarana Indonesia, 24 pp.
Harrison, B. (2001). Collaborative programs in indigenous communities: From fieldwork to practice. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, 265 pp.
Haverkort, B. van der Kamp, J. &Waters-Bayer, A. (Eds.). (1991). Joining farmers’ experiments: Experiences in participatory technology development. London, UK: Intermediate Technology Publications, 269 pp.
Holden, J., Peacock, J., & Williams, T. (1993). Genes, crops and the environment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 162 pp.
Iskandar, J., & Ellen, R. (1999). In situ conservation of rice landraces among the Baduy of West Java. Journal of Ethnobiology, 19, 97–125.
Janowski, M. R. H. (1993). The symbolic significance of food from the forest among the Kelabit of Sarawak, East Malaysia. In C. M. Hladik, A. Hladik, O. F. Linares, H. Pagezy, A. Semple, & M. Hadley (Eds.), Tropical forests, people and food: Biocultural interactions and applications to development (pp. 651–660). Paris: UNESCO and The Parthenon Publishing Group Limited.
Mabberly, D. J. (1997). The plant-book, 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 858 pp.
Maffi, L. (Ed.). (2001). On biocultural diversity: Linking language, knowledge, and the environment. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 578 pp.
Monk, K., de Fretes Y., & Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. (1997). The ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. Singapore: Periplus Editions, 966 pp.
Oakley, E. (2003). By their own hands: Women, seed management and agrobiodiversity in Bangladesh. Master’s Thesis, International Agricultural Development Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, USA, 220 pp.
Nabhan, G. P. (1989). Enduring seeds: Native American agriculture and wild plant conservation. New York: North Point Press, 225 pp.
Pfeiffer, J., & Uril, Y. (2003). The role of indigenous parataxonomists in botanical inventory: From Herbarium Amboinense to Herbarium Floresensis. Telopea, 10, 61–72.
Pfeiffer, J. M. (2004). The application of collaborative ethnobiological research towards the conservation of indigenous biocultural diversity. PhD Dissertation, Ecology Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, USA, 127 pp.
Phan Trieu, G. (2001). A study of rice landraces of the Mnong People in Daklak Province, Central Highlands, Vietnam. Master’s Thesis, Ecology Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, USA, 127 pp.
Piper, J. M. (1993). Rice in South-East Asia cultures and landscapes. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 80 pp.
Pontius, J., Dilts, R., & Bartlett, A. (2002). Ten Years of IPM Training in Asia – From Farmer Field School to Community IPM, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/AC834E/ac834e00.htm#Contents.
Posey, D. A. (Ed.). (1999). Cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity. London: Intermediate Technology, 731 pp.
Pound, B., Snapp, S., McDougall, C., & Braun A. (Eds.). (2003). Managing natural resources for sustainable livelihoods: Uniting science and participation. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 252 pp.
Prasetyo, Y. T. (2003). Bertanam Padi Gogo Tanpa Olah Tanah. Jakarta: Penebar Swadaya, 71 pp.
Russell, D., & Harshbarger, C. (2003). Groundwork for community-based conservation: Strategies for social research. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, 322 pp.
Sather, C. (1994). The one-sided one: Iban rice myths, agricultural ritual and notions of ancestry. In A. R. Walker, (Ed.), Rice in southeast Asian myth and ritual. Contributions to southeast Asian Ethnography Number 10 (pp. 119–150). Columbus, OH, USA: Ohio State University.
Setyawati, I. (1997). Knowledge and use of rice varieties in Apau Ping. In Kim Worm Sorenson & Belinda Morris (Eds.), People and plants of Kayan Mentarang (pp. 75–100). WWF Indonesia Program, Jakarta.
Soemarwoto, R. (2004). Changing perceptions of nature, in upland west Java: The Kasepuhan case. PhD Dissertation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK, 270 pp.
Soleri, D., & Cleveland, D. A. (2004). Farmer selection and conservation of crop varieties. In R. M. Goodman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of plant & crop science (pp. 433–438). New York: Marcel Dekker.
Soleri, D., & Smith, S. E. (1995). Morphological and phenological comparisons of two Hopi maize varieties conserved in situ and ex situ. Economic Botany, 49, 56–77.
Soleri, D., Cleveland, D. A., Smith, S. E., Ceccarelli, S., Grando, S., Rana, R. B., Rijal, D., & Ríos Labrada, H. (2002). Understanding farmers’ knowledge as the basis for collaboration with plant breeders: methodological development and examples from ongoing research in Mexico, Syria, Cuba, and Nepal. In D. A. Cleveland & D. Soleri (Eds.), Farmers, scientists and plant breeding: Integrating knowledge and practice (pp. 16–60). Wallingford: CAB International.
Sponsel, L. E. (Ed.). (2000). Endangered peoples of southeast and east Asia: Struggles to survive and thrive. Westport, USA: Greenwood Press, 282 pp.
Stepp, J. R., Wyndham, F. S., & Zarger, R. K. (Eds.). (2002). Ethnobiology and biocultural diversity. Athens (Georgia), USA: The International Society of Ethnobiology, 720 pp.
Sutlive, V. H. (1978). The Iban of Sarawak. Arlington Heights, IL: AHM, 198 pp.
Terwiel, B. J. (1994). Rice legends in mainland Southeast Asia: History and ethnography in the study of myths of origin. In A. R. Walker (Ed.), Rice in southeast Asian myth and ritual. Contributions to southeast Asian Ethnography Number 10 (pp. 5–36). Columbus, OH, USA: Ohio State University.
Tilman, D., & Downing, J. A. (1994). Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature, 367, 363–365.
van der Kroef, J. M. (1952). Rice legends of Indonesia. The Journal of American Folklore, 65, 49–55.
van Veldhuizen, L., Waters-Bayer, A., Ramírez, R., Johnson, D. A., & Thompson, J. (Eds.). (1997). Farmers’ research in practice: Lessons from the field. London, UK: Intermediate Technology Publications, 285 pp.
Verheijen, J. A. J. (1990). Dictionary of plant names in the lesser Sunda Islands. Pacific Linguistic Series D, no. 83. Canberra: Australian National University, 267 pp.
Walker, A. R. (Ed.). (1994). Rice in southeast Asian myth and ritual. Contributions to southeast Asian Ethnography Number 10. Columbus: Ohio State University, 213 pp.
Williams, N. M., & Baines, G. (Eds.). (1993). Traditional ecological knowledge: Wisdom for sustainable development. Canberra: Australian National University Press, 185 pp.
Yuxiang, Y. (1994). Tradition rituals of the rice cultivating cycle among selected ethnic minority peoples of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. In A. R. Walker (Ed.), Rice in southeast Asian myth and ritual. Contributions to southeast Asian Ethnography Number 10 (pp. 91–117). Columbus, OH, USA: Ohio State University.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the University of California Pacific Rim Research Grant No. 03T-PRRP-3-25 and the ECO-SEA Southeast Asian Indigenous Scholarship Fund, and conducted under the auspices of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). Our work was made possible by the participation of the Tado Clan Chief (Tua Golo Beo Tado), the Tado Council of Elders (tua batu ciok dan tua-tua mukang) and several hundred farming households in the Tado community. We acknowledge our institutional counterparts at the Herbarium Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI). Our research associates in the Tado Community Research and Education Center (Pusat Penelitian dan Pendidikan Masyarakat Tado): Andreas Ance, Agustinus Angkol, Aloysius Sta Belamo, Ermilinda Elvi, Bernadeta Erni, Raymunda Mia, Maria Fatima Nely, Martina Semian, Zakarias Sudirman, Anselmus Sumargani, and Yeremias Uril assisted with data collection and processing at critical junctures. Irene Wibawa and Bapak Matheus Hadip provided administrative and technical support. We are thankful to David Cleveland, Daniela Soleri, Himawan Hariyoga, Daniel Potter and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. The opinions expressed in this paper, and any errors or omissions, are the responsibility of the authors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pfeiffer, J.M., Dun, S., Mulawarman, B. et al. Biocultural diversity in traditional rice-based agroecosystems: indigenous research and conservation of mavo (Oryza sativa L.) upland rice landraces of eastern Indonesia. Environ Dev Sustain 8, 609–625 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-006-9047-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-006-9047-2