Migration and Its Alternatives among the Iban of Sarawak

Abstract

The Iban of Sarawak, who are largely a population of shifting cultivators of hill rice, have previously been presented as exploiters of their environment, with wasteful agricultural methods necessitating continual territorial expansion or migration. This dissertation broadens this usual description of resource use by documenting changes that appear in agricultural methods and other behavioural patterns as Iban communities are faced with decreased opportunities for expansion. A changing and flexible system is shown, suggesting that migration is not the Ibans' sole response to changes in resource availability. Other responses include shifts in agricultural practices, particularly to the use of more conservative cropping-fallow systems, more labour intensive farming patterns, temporary wage labour migrations, and lower rates of human fertility.