SEMINAR: The Sultans of Pasir: Local Land Claims in an East Kalimantan District

Since the implementation of administrative decentralisation, districts in Indonesia have considerable autonomy in deciding local. One of the results is the return to prominence of local customary law (often called adat) in the public debate in numerous districts. District governments are confronted with the dilemma whether to acknowledge such customary law or follow a course of action more inspired by the central government, and by their own local support, which often is not adat-minded. A central problem that arises almost everywhere, is what local adat is, and who the experts are. One of the interest groups are the former local rulers. According to descendants of former sultans throughout Indonesia, adat means a return of former royal possessions to the sultansí living relatives. Although national law does not recognize sultanís rights, various local governments have started negotiations with sultans. This paper is a case study of the developments regarding a land claim in Pasir district, East Kalimantan, where descendants of the former sultan have claimed a fourth of the districtís territory, causing social unrest and legal uncertainty in the population. It discusses the related court cases, the role of local politics and the influence of local NGOís. The paper will discuss various local versions of the history of Pasir, and the different ëlegalí approaches to the land. It will compare the interests of the various parties involved, in order to come to insights regarding ëlawí and ëjusticeí in this conflict, concepts used by all parties to sustain their own claim. The paper is based on field research carried out by the author in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, from June 2004 until January 2005, and very likely to be adapted as new fieldwork will be carried out in Pasir from 4 to 24 September 2005.

About Presenter:

Laurens Bakker is a cultural anthropologist and Ph.D. candidate at Radboud University, Nijmegen. His research is part of the Dutch-Indonesian Indira Project which focuses on land tenure and legal certainty in Indonesia since desentralisasi. He has written on the role of tourism in Mentawai, and published articles on material culture in Nias, the tribal art trade in Mentawai, and the role of adat as a regulating system in East Kalimantan villages.