This paper examines the variation in subsistence pattern and food
use among the households of a coastal community of Seram Island, Indonesia,
which subsists mainly on shifting cultivation, exploitation of
sago palms, fishing, and the collection and sale of such cash-crop trees as
clove, coconut palm, and cacao.
The data was gathered from 50 households by the questionnaire
method during a 2-month stay in 1996. With respect to subsistence activities,
the questionnaire to each household enquired about: (1) kinds
of subsistence activities the household engages in, (2) the approximate
monthly income from each activity, (3) kinds of food crop and cashcrop
trees, (4) ownership or usufruct of sago palms, (5) the number
of sago palms exploited in a month, (6) methods and monthly frequency
of fishing.
The questionnaire for food use was conducted on seven successive
days. The kinds of food consumed in the three meals of the day were
recorded, separating staple food and side dishes. The monthly amount
of money expended on the purchase of food was also asked.
On the basis of subsistence patterns, which are defined as different
combinations of the three subsistence activities (agriculture, including
silviculture of cash-crop trees, exploitation of sago palms, and fishing) ,
the households are classified into four types: (A) engaging only in
agriculture (22.0%) , (B) agriculture and exploitation of sago palms
(18.0%) , (C) agriculture and fishing (26.0%) , (D) all the kinds of subsistence
activity (34.0%) . The monthly income from agriculture, exploitation
of sago palms, and fishing averages 21,800 Rp (Rupiah),
42,900 Rp, and 15,400 Rp, respectively. There is a great variation in
monthly income among the households, averaging 55,900 Rp. The
average monthly income of the B-type households is the highest (80,900
Rp) among the four types of the households, and about four times as
much as that of the A-type households.
In order to analyze the variation of subsistence pattern, the
households are divided into three types: the "indigenous" households (Itype)
whose heads belong to the nine patri-clans which are indigenous to
the village territory, and the "immigrant" households whose heads (IIItype)
or forefathers (II-type) migrated from other areas of Indonesia.
The most conspicuous difference is found in the exploitation of sago
palms. The I-type households engage in the activity with a four times
higher percentage than III-type households (80% vs. 20%) . This is
because only the I-type households have ownership or usufruct of
naturally-growing sago palms. About 55% of the III-type households
belong to the C-type subsistence pattern, which is not found in the I-type
households. The average monthly income is the highest in the I-type
households (64,400 Rp/month) , and the lowest in the III-type
households (41,500 Rp/month) . The percentage of households owning
clove trees is significantly higher in the "indigenous households" than in
the "immigrant households", although there is no difference in the ownership
of cacao trees that have been recently introduced to the village.
From the data on 483 meals, the most important staple food is sago
starch, accounting for 29.2% of the total number of instances. Other
staple foods are ordered in importance: rice (23.2%) , banana (19.1%) ,
cassava (18.5%) , and others (10.0%) . Vegetables account for 49.5%
of the total instances of side dishes, and fish species are second in importance,
accounting for 39.9%. Meat, beef, pork or chicken, and eggs occupy
the remainder, together accounting for 10.6%. There is also a considerable
variation in food use among the types of subsistence pattern.
移住と生業戦略 : インドネシア，セラム島の農村における生業活動と食物利用
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