La migration circulaire transnationale de travail au Nord-Est de Bornéo - article ; n°1 ; vol.16, pg 127-149

Yves Charbit, Laurence Husson, Reed Reedl.Wadley

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Revue européenne de migrations internationales - Année 2000 - Volume 16 - Numéro 1 - Pages 127-149
La migration circulaire transnationale de travail au Nord-Est de Bornéo.
Reed L. Wadley.
La migration circulaire de main-d'œuvre chez les Iban de Ouest Kalimantan en Indonésie est historiquement liée aux pratiques indigènes de chasseurs de têtes, à leur engagement précoce dans la collecte des produits forestiers commerciaux et aux valeurs qui sous-tendent ces activités. Cependant, à cause de leur localisation à cheval sur la frontière entre la partie indonésienne et la partie malaysienne de Bornéo, ces Iban occupent une position marginale dans les deux pays. De plus, du fait des liens sociaux et culturels existant entre les communautés iban de part et d'autre de la frontière et de la relative faiblesse de l'économie indonésienne, la circulation de main-d'œuvre, à la recherche de travail salarié est surtout transnationale, vers le Bornéo malaysien et Brunei. Cet article décrit les antécédents historiques de la migration circulaire de main-d'œuvre iban, son caractère transnational, le travail des hommes qui s'y adonnent et les conséquences de cette migration pour la société iban.
Transnational Circular Labour Migration in Northwestern Borneo.
Reed L. Wadley.
Circular labour migration among the Iban of West Kalimantan, Indonesia has historical links to indigenous practices of headhunting, early market involvement with forest product collection, and Iban values that have fuelled these activities. Yet because of their location on the border between Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo, these Iban occupy a marginal position in both countries. Additionally, given their strong social and cultural ties across the border and the weaker Indonesian economy, labour circulation is largely transnational, to jobs in Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. This article describes the historical antecedents of current Iban circular labour migration, the transnational nature of Iban labour circulation, the work experience of men who engage in it, and its domestic consequences.
La migración circular transnactional de trabajadores en el noroeste de Borneo.
Reed L. Wadley.
La migración circular de los trabajadores iban del oeste de Kalimantan, en Indonesia, tiene vinculos históricos con las practicas indigenas de los cazadores de cabezas, su participación precoz al la colecta de productos comerciales de la selva, y a los valores de los Iban que han promovido estas actividades. Pero a causa de su ubicación en la frontera entre la parte indonesia y la parte malaysia de Borneo, estos Iban ocupan una posición marginal en ambos países. Los lazos sociales y culturales fuertes entre los iban de los dos lados de la frontera, y la debilidad de la economía indonesia explican que la circulación de trabajadores sea en su mayor parte transnacional, dirigida hacia el Borneo malaysiano y Brunei. Este artículo describe los antecedentes historicos del migración circular actual, su carácter transnacional, la experiencia laboral de los hombres quien la realizan, y las consecuencias de esta migración sobre la sociedad iban.
23 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Informations

• Publié par: REVUE_EUROPEENNE_DE_MIGRATIONS_INTERNATIONALES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2000
• Nombre de lectures: 21
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Reed L. Wadley
La migration circulaire transnationale de travail au Nord-Est de
Bornéo
In: Revue européenne de migrations internationales. Vol. 16 N°1. Dynamiques migratoires en Asie orientale. pp.
127-149.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Wadley Reed L. La migration circulaire transnationale de travail au Nord-Est de Bornéo. In: Revue européenne de migrations
internationales. Vol. 16 N°1. Dynamiques migratoires en Asie orientale. pp. 127-149.
doi : 10.3406/remi.2000.1711
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/remi_0765-0752_2000_num_16_1_1711Résumé
La migration circulaire transnationale de travail au Nord-Est de Bornéo.
Reed L. Wadley.
La migration circulaire de main-d'œuvre chez les Iban de Ouest Kalimantan en Indonésie est
historiquement liée aux pratiques indigènes de chasseurs de têtes, à leur engagement précoce dans la
collecte des produits forestiers commerciaux et aux valeurs qui sous-tendent ces activités. Cependant,
à cause de leur localisation à cheval sur la frontière entre la partie indonésienne et la partie
malaysienne de Bornéo, ces Iban occupent une position marginale dans les deux pays. De plus, du fait
des liens sociaux et culturels existant entre les communautés iban de part et d'autre de la frontière et de
la relative faiblesse de l'économie indonésienne, la circulation de main-d'œuvre, à la recherche de
travail salarié est surtout transnationale, vers le Bornéo malaysien et Brunei. Cet article décrit les
antécédents historiques de la migration circulaire de main-d'œuvre iban, son caractère transnational, le
travail des hommes qui s'y adonnent et les conséquences de cette migration pour la société iban.
Abstract
Transnational Circular Labour Migration in Northwestern Borneo.
Reed L. Wadley.
Circular labour migration among the Iban of West Kalimantan, Indonesia has historical links to
indigenous practices of headhunting, early market involvement with forest product collection, and Iban
values that have fuelled these activities. Yet because of their location on the border between Indonesian
and Malaysian Borneo, these Iban occupy a marginal position in both countries. Additionally, given their
strong social and cultural ties across the border and the weaker Indonesian economy, labour circulation
is largely transnational, to jobs in Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. This article describes the historical
antecedents of current Iban circular labour migration, the transnational nature of Iban labour circulation,
the work experience of men who engage in it, and its domestic consequences.
Resumen
La migración circular transnactional de trabajadores en el noroeste de Borneo.
Reed L. Wadley.
La migración circular de los trabajadores iban del oeste de Kalimantan, en Indonesia, tiene vinculos
históricos con las practicas indigenas de los cazadores de cabezas, su participación precoz al la
colecta de productos comerciales de la selva, y a los valores de los Iban que han promovido estas
actividades. Pero a causa de su ubicación en la frontera entre la parte indonesia y la parte malaysia de
Borneo, estos Iban ocupan una posición marginal en ambos países. Los lazos sociales y culturales
fuertes entre los iban de los dos lados de la frontera, y la debilidad de la economía indonesia explican
que la circulación de trabajadores sea en su mayor parte transnacional, dirigida hacia el Borneo
malaysiano y Brunei. Este artículo describe los antecedentes historicos del migración circular actual, su
carácter transnacional, la experiencia laboral de los hombres quien la realizan, y las consecuencias de
esta migración sobre la sociedad iban.Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 2000(16) 1 pp. 127-149 127
Transnational circular labour migration
in northwestern Borneo
Reed L. WADLEY*
CIRCULAR LABOUR MIGRATION
Circular labour migration on the island of Borneo is part of the worldwide
flow of labour and capital that has accelerated since the end of the Second World War.
This global phenomenon ties people together in a system in which rural poverty, urban
consumerism, and industrial and service sector capital fuel the flow of labourers to jobs
and back home again. In the past, indigenous patterns of mobility tended to revolve
around trade networks and seasonal subsistence, but with the expansion of European
colonialism and global capitalism, mobility has shifted to accommodate and deal with
these changes. In many cases, externally generated changes reinforced traditional
forms of mobility and added new ones. Circular labour migration, "far from being
transitional or ephemeral, is a time-honoured and enduring mode of behaviour, deeply
rooted in a great variety of cultures and found at all stages of socioeconomic change"
(Chapman and Prothero, 1985 : 6).
* International Institute for Asian Studies. P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
E.mail : [e-mail]
The author wishes to thank Oona Paredes, Stephen Perkins, and Bernard Sellato for their
invaluable help with this paper. This paper is based in part on field research (1992-94) funded
by the National Science Foundation (Grant BNS-91 14652), Wenner-Gren Foundation for
Anthropological Research, Sigma Xi, and Arizona State University, sponsored in Indonesia by
the Balai Kajian Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan with
permits from the Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia. Additional field study (June 1996)
was done during a project with the Center for International Forestry Research in cooperation
with Wetlands International and the Indonesian Directorate of Forest Protection and Nature
Conservation. Archival research in the Netherlands is being supported by the International
Institute for Asian Studies. The above funding agencies do not necessarily share the
conclusions and opinions here, for which the author alone is responsible. 128 Reed L. WADLEY
In many instances throughout the world, flexibility in the indigenous social
organization has made the incidence and durability of circulation possible. Male
absence on wage-labour migration is not necessarily disruptive because women have
often been dominant in the traditional domestic economy, although male absence may
lead to added work for women (Thadani, 1985 : 197-204 ; Watson, 1958). In other
cases, although circular migration occurred in both pre-colonial and colonial contexts
and was positive in allowing people to take advantage of resources not available
locally, it does have negative effects on the indigenous social structure and economy
(Richards, 1961 ; Standing, 1985 ; Gordon, 1981 ; Cleveland, 1991).
The reasons for leaving a natal community and engaging in labour migration,
whether short or long term, are as varied as the situations and societies in which such
activity occurs. These are part of the centrifugal and centripetal forces of labour
migration — the attractions and demands for commercial, social, and governmental
services and wage labour that pull people away from their home communities, and the
kin ties and other social obligations that bring people back. In some cases, labour
circulation may serve as a means to preserve the social relations of production in rural
areas under conditions where the mode of production is under stress (Piori, 1979 :
127-33 ; Standing, 1985 : 7). Although the need for money has been a necessary but not
sufficient reason for such migration to occur (Mitchell, 1961), the lack of adequate or
remunerative work locally leads in many cases to labour migration (Lwoga, 1985).
Equally important is the opportunity to gain status, particularly in the home community
upon return (Douglas, 1985 ; Nairn, 1976).
In both short and long term migration, ties to natal communities are not
severed. This continuing interest and commitment to home, regardless of the length of
time absent, is demonstrated through the flow of letters, goods, gifts, and remittances
sent home, as well as through investment in local development and return of the people
themselves periodically or even after retirement (Chapman and Prothero, 1985).
Improved transportation has helped in these connections between workers and home
(Prothero, 1985 : 423-424).
Within insular Southeast Asia, circular labour migration is often international.
For example, Malaysia has been a principal importer of labour due to its rapid
economic development since the 1970s ; the same may also be said of Singapore
(Vredenbregt, 1964). Conversely, Indonesia has been a principle exporter of labour
(Stahl, 1985 : 109 ; Hugo, 1993 : 52-56 ; Goldstein, 1985). In Malaysia, the largest
number of Indonesian immigrant workers, legal and illegal, are involved in low skilled,
manual work in estate agriculture, construction, and timber (Hugo, 1993 : 48-50). The
primary attractions of work there are the greater availability of jobs and the higher
wages earned than in Indonesia (Hugo, 1993 : 54-55 ; Vatikiotis, 1992). Remittances
and goods from migrant workers are important to the home communities and can be
quite substantial (Hugo, 1985, 1993 : 54, 61 ; Hetler, 1989), which