From Thailand to Indonesia, indigenous people who have lived off the land for centuries are struggling to preserve their forest homes and customs. But as states create national parks and forcibly evict forest-dwellers, their ties to ancestral land are cut.
Tag: Indigenous Culture
Posted inFeature
In North Sumatra, Pulp Firm Threatens Indigenous Rituals
A conflict over land granted to a eucalyptus pulp manufacturer by the Indonesian state threatens not only the livelihoods of the indigenous people who claim the forests, but also their ability to perform traditional rituals passed down across generations.
Posted inFeature
An Absence of Adat
In North Sumatra, Indonesia, Batak culture has strong, distinct rituals around death known as adat. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, these customs have had to be adapted. Is Batak adat in the midst of a cultural sea change?
Posted inResearch
The Citizens’ Agenda: The Parties Respond
Nearly a year ago, we embarked on the Citizens’ Agenda: our quest to find out what our Singaporean community thinks are the most important issues facing Singapore, and then to write and commission articles on those subjects. Now, with Singapore’s General Election looming, we complete our journey by telling you how the political parties responded to the issues.
Posted inFeature
Fighting for Their Land
Massive deforestation is decimating wildlife and biodiversity in Malaysia. For the Orang Asli who live on ancestral land in the rainforest, the daily struggle to protect their rights has been made even more challenging by the recent Covid-19 outbreak.
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Posted inResearch
Bridging the Race Barrier: “Sakai” and “Malay” in the British Malaya Census
In the 19th century, European colonial powers routinely tried to make sense of their colonial subjects by classifying them according to “race”. In British Malaya, the most overt tool in this exercise was the census.
Posted inResearch
The Citizens’ Agenda: The Top 5 Issues by GE 2015 Constituencies
678 members of New Naratif’s community responded to stage 2 of The Citizens’ Agenda, and this is how they responded based on their constituency.
Posted inFeature
Love in the Time of State Engineering
Decades of trade, migration, and state policies intertwine to shape people’s families and histories. In the Aru Islands, Dhesly Salay goes on a journey to learn more about her genealogy, and try to understand why her parents are so keen to exercise control over who she marries.
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Posted inResearch
The Citizens’ Agenda: The Top 5 Issues and Results Analysis
678 members of New Naratif’s community responded to stage 2 of The Citizens’ Agenda, and they were very clear about the biggest issues facing Singapore and what they want politicians to talk about at the next election.
Posted inResearch
The 28 Most Important Issues Facing Singapore
In Stage 1 of The Citizens’ Agenda, New Naratif asked Singaporeans readers what they think are the most important issues facing Singapore, and what they’d like political candidates to talk about in the next general election. Here’s what our readers said (and didn’t say).