This paper provides data on the family, kinship and community
organizations of Limau Village, collected during the period
September 30—November 18, 1976, when the author was a member
of the Halmahera Expedition Team of National Museum of
Ethnology. A more detailed report in English will be published
later.
Limau Village is located on the northeast coast of Halmahera,
and consists of 41 households with 246 individuals. Most of the
population are Galela people except a few who married villagers or
migrated to the village from other areas of Halmahera.
A distinctive feature of the society is the frequent migration
into and out of the village. Migration seems not to be motivated
by economic factors although the abundance of sago palms and fish
resources may be a major attraction. Other factors that affect
the propensity to migrate still remain ambiguous.
The high social mobility affects the social organizations. The
nuclear family is dominant, and it often contains temporary residents
of kinsmen who have migrated from other villages but not yet
established their own residence. Bilateral kinship relations seems
to be a core functional social network of the people's lives. Bilaterally
related kinsmen who are recognized to be descendants from one
ancestoral pair are called bolu moi (one crowd). The village as an
administrative unit does not function as a cooperate group in any
sense. However, four core families splitting into 21 households
are indigenous to the village. These families form an important
cluster, absorbing immigrants through marriage, and providing
formal and informal leaders. A structural frame of the society seems
to be noninstitutionalized kinship bonds, but this must be substantiated
through further detailed investigation.
Limau 村の家族，親族，村落の構造 : ハルマヘラ調査ノート
KH_003_3_003.pdf
(2.84MB)
