Monsoon Asia was the first venue of global trade, a zone of encounters, exchanges, and cultural diffusion. This book demonstrates the continuing fertility of the Monsoon Asia perspective as an aid... Show moreMonsoon Asia was the first venue of global trade, a zone of encounters, exchanges, and cultural diffusion. This book demonstrates the continuing fertility of the Monsoon Asia perspective as an aid to understanding what South/Southeast Asia, as a connected space, has been in the past and is today. Sixteen tightly knit chapters, written by experts from perspectives ranging from Indology and philology to postcolonial and transnational studies, offer a captivating view of the region, with its rich and variegated history shaped by commonalities in human ecology, cultural forms, and religious practices. The contributions draw upon extensive research and a thorough command of the most recent scholarship. This volume will be an invaluable text for anyone interested in South and Southeast Asia, and for more specialized students in the fields of global and Indian Ocean history, transcultural studies, archaeology, linguistics, and politics. Show less
Dissochaeta Blume (Melastomataceae, tribe Dissochaeteae) is well-known as a scrambling plant genus found in Southeast Asia, where it is an inhabitant of the tropical rainforests or evergreen... Show moreDissochaeta Blume (Melastomataceae, tribe Dissochaeteae) is well-known as a scrambling plant genus found in Southeast Asia, where it is an inhabitant of the tropical rainforests or evergreen forests.The main objectives of this thesis are to clarify the relationships among species and genera within the Dissochaeta alliance and to provide a new classification, which reflects the evolutionary and biogeographic traits of this plant group. The study focuses on three aspects of the Dissochaetaalliance: the taxonomy, molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography. Show less
Intermediate metrics of translocation success are useful for long-lived, slow to mature species where survival and reproduction happen over decades. With fewer than 150 individuals in the wild, the... Show moreIntermediate metrics of translocation success are useful for long-lived, slow to mature species where survival and reproduction happen over decades. With fewer than 150 individuals in the wild, the Critically Endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is one of the most threatened species on Earth. This study presents the first analysis of diet and body condition of wild Philippine crocodiles and headstarted (i.e. captive-reared) individuals released into the wild over the last decade, and uses these results to show how diet and body condition can be pertinent intermediate metrics of translocation success. Analyses of stomach contents revealed 17 different aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate and vertebrate prey species. Interestingly, 70% of Philippine crocodiles showed snails to be the predominent prey type, followed by fish (36.7%), birds (33.3%) and reptiles (33.3%). More than 50% of crocodiles consumed the invasive golden apple snail, a leading agricultural pest. Regardless of crocodile history (wild vs. headstarted) or size class (juvenile vs. adult), no evidence was found for dietary differences in percentage occurrence, percentage composition or prey diversity. Body condition was significantly higher in wild compared with headstarted individuals when analysed together in a pooled group, although neither group differed significantly from the standardized expectation, and headstarted individuals were not significantly different when body condition was derived independently for the two groups. This study provides a working example of how assessing the convergence of diet and body condition between translocated and wild individuals can provide complementary monitoring parameters to demonstrate post-release establishment of translocated crocodylians. The congruent dietary composition and comparable body condition observed in this study suggest that headstarted crocodiles adapt well following release. Crocodylus mindorensis survives in an agricultural landscape and is likely to play an ecologically important role by exploiting invasive species, reinforcing the importance of this species to local communities. Show less
Yearly, development-induced displacement affects some 20 million people, a disproportionate share of whom are indigenous. Within the diverse category of indigenous peoples, hunter-gatherers are... Show moreYearly, development-induced displacement affects some 20 million people, a disproportionate share of whom are indigenous. Within the diverse category of indigenous peoples, hunter-gatherers are especially vulnerable to displacement as they form the least powerful sectors of society. While displacement poses a major threat to the few remaining hunter-gatherer peoples, case studies of how this process unfolds are scarce. This ethnographic study details how two decades of indigenous land rights legislation have been ineffective in preventing displacement of indigenous communities in the Philippines, through the case of Agta hunter-gatherers of Dimasalansan. The paper demonstrates how procedural inconsistencies, institutional competition and a development paradigm focused on commodification of land have undermined the legal titling process. We argue that the ensuing land-rush that currently displaces Agta is symptomatic for how the implementation of indigenous land rights legislation is undermined by business interests, thereby creating more uncertainty than certainty for the least powerful. Show less
Balsaminaceae is a diverse plant family characterized by a huge floral morphological diversity. Its classification has changed many times throughout the taxonomic history of the group, owing to... Show moreBalsaminaceae is a diverse plant family characterized by a huge floral morphological diversity. Its classification has changed many times throughout the taxonomic history of the group, owing to the emphasis on particular diagnostic characters. This suggests that patterns of character evolution are labile and do not contain much phylogenetic signal. This appears particularly prevalent among floral characters, suggesting that floral evolution and pollination ecology may be important drivers of diversification in the family. Further complications in taxonomy arise from the fact that one of the two genera of the family, Impatiens, has a very large number of species, and that it is distributed across several continents. This has led to a lack of taxonomic effort, especially those regions where very few studies have been done, despite large species diversity. In this thesis, I filled particular gaps in knowledge of Balsaminaceae, focusing on issues related to the Southeast Asian region, including the taxonomic revision of this family in Myanmar (Chapter 2-4), molecular phylogeny and morphological character evolution of Impatiens sect. Semeiocardium (Chapter 5), comparative pollination biology of 7 sympatric Impatiens species in Thailand (Chapter 6), and evolution of corolla symmetry and pollination system of this family (Chapter 7). Show less
The Third Avant-garde investigates radical art manifestations in Southeast Asia, which took place around the mid-1980s, when postmodernism started to gain force in the region. It proposes that... Show moreThe Third Avant-garde investigates radical art manifestations in Southeast Asia, which took place around the mid-1980s, when postmodernism started to gain force in the region. It proposes that the advent of postmodernism in Southeast Asia is anchored in the materiality of traditional arts, an aspect that renders it different from its Western equivalent. The dissertation distinguishes two sets of postmodern manifestations: first, practices that use traditions in a celebratory way, and second, a set of works which use traditional arts radically. This study proposes that the second possibility manifests a double dismantle—first, against local patronizing forces that were enforcing artists to practice academic art and Western media (such as painting and sculpture), and second, a distancing attitude from Western art intelligentsia, who acted as ‘owners of the discourse’, and regarded ‘non-Western’ practitioners as followers rather than as trendsetters. For this investigation, the discipline of anthropology was called in, as was the art historical category of the avant-garde. The two approaches combined reveal how contemporary art from Southeast Asia that reprocesses traditional arts can be regarded as avant-garde. These gestures are novel, and result from practicing art in a certain location, and which is bound to a specific socio-political context. Show less
This article introduces the special issue ‘Online Publics in Muslim Southeast Asia: In Between Religious Politics and Popular Pious Practices’ by discussing prominent ap- proaches in the study... Show moreThis article introduces the special issue ‘Online Publics in Muslim Southeast Asia: In Between Religious Politics and Popular Pious Practices’ by discussing prominent ap- proaches in the study of media and the public sphere in light of the specific history of digital media’s rise in Muslim Southeast Asia. It focuses on earlier and current expres- sions of mobile and Islamic modernity as well as on changing moralities and forms of Islamic authority. Referencing the other contributions to this special issue, it particu- larly emphasizes the (discursive and visual) contestations and social dramas that take place in the region’s media spaces providing for a variety of Islamic forms, practices, and socialities that can best be grasped, the authors argue, by considering politics, the pious, and the popular not as separate, but as mutually constitutive domains. Show less
In September 2017, Leiden University opened the Asian Library to house its world renowned and extensive Asian collections. This includes the largest collection on Indonesia worldwide and some of... Show moreIn September 2017, Leiden University opened the Asian Library to house its world renowned and extensive Asian collections. This includes the largest collection on Indonesia worldwide and some of the foremost collections on South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and Korea. "Voyage of Discovery" contains more than twenty essays by academics, curators, and authors on their experiences with the Leiden collections. Richly illustrated and showcasing twenty-five treasures from the Asian Library, such as unique manuscripts and rare maps, this book offers a beautiful look inside the Asian Library. Show less
Janssens, Steven B.; Vandelook, Filip; De langhe, Edmond; Verstraete, Brecht; Smets, Erik; Vandenhouwe, Ines; Swennen, Rony 2016
This study discusses the transformation from a colonial into a national economy in Indonesia and Vietnam. It focuses on two intertwined processes of economic decolonization and reconstruction in... Show moreThis study discusses the transformation from a colonial into a national economy in Indonesia and Vietnam. It focuses on two intertwined processes of economic decolonization and reconstruction in the two countries after the Second World War, paying special attention to political and institutional factors involved in these processes. The study demonstrates that, although differences in the political situations resulted in the adoption of divergent strategies, Indonesia and Vietnam were in fact pursuing similar long-term goals, namely: attaining a national independent economy. The Indonesian government was determined to get rid of the economic legacy of Dutch colonialism by placing the whole economy under the strong state control and ownership, in accordance with the spirit of Guided Democracy and Guided Economy in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. This effort resembled much the socialist transformation of North Vietnam in the 1950s and the various means by which the government of South Vietnam concentrated economic power in its hands during the late 1950s and the early 1960s. Show less
Forest damselflies (family Platystictidae) are widespread in southeast Asia from Sri Lanka to New Guinea, and are also known from Central America and the northern part of South America. The larvae... Show moreForest damselflies (family Platystictidae) are widespread in southeast Asia from Sri Lanka to New Guinea, and are also known from Central America and the northern part of South America. The larvae of most species live in small streams or seepages under forest canopy. Adults are found hanging from the tips of leaves or twigs along streams. The family is thought to have evolved more than 100 million years ago. Only 213 species are known worldwide, of which the author described 46 as new to science. Although most species are remarkably similar in general appearance, they show significant variation in structural details such as wing venation, pronotum, and secondary genitalia of the male. The group is ideal for biogeographical studies, since most species have small distributional ranges. A reconstruction of the phylogeny shows that several ancient lineages occur along the margin of the Indian Plate. Although Platystictidae are not known from Africa, it is hypothesized that the family evolved on that continent. The ancestors of the subfamilies Platystictinae and Sinostictinae drifted with India to Asia between 100 and 45 Ma. A scenario of the historical biogeography of the Platystictinae is described in relation to the palaeogeography of southeast Asia since the Eocene. The subfamily Palaemnematinae most likely dispersed from Africa to the New World via Europe and the ‘North Atlantic Land Bridge’. Show less
Since the early 1990s nasyid music has become widely popular among the Islamic youth of Indonesia and Malaysia. Imported from the Middle East, the verbal art attracts proponents particularly in... Show moreSince the early 1990s nasyid music has become widely popular among the Islamic youth of Indonesia and Malaysia. Imported from the Middle East, the verbal art attracts proponents particularly in universities, above all among student activists. However, the Middle East is not the sole role model; present-day nasyid music reveals the careful and often delicate mix of religion and pop that is currently so much debated throughout the Islamic world. Show less
The thesis focuses on the tropical plant genus Mallotus. This genus belongs to the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family), and comprises c. 110 species. These species are mainly found in (sub)tropical Asia... Show moreThe thesis focuses on the tropical plant genus Mallotus. This genus belongs to the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family), and comprises c. 110 species. These species are mainly found in (sub)tropical Asia and the West Pacific, with only two species in Africa and Madagascar. Mallotus and its sister genus Macaranga are important components of the forest vegetation of Southeast Asia and show a large variety of life-history strategies (both pioneer and climax). Most Mallotus species are shrubs or trees, seldom climbers. The variable morphology of these species has resulted in three main subgeneric classifications, of which the latest recognizes eight sections. The study presented here was part of a large project involving ecological, revisional and phylogenetic work on Mallotus. Five of the eight sections of the genus Mallotus were revised in the framework of the Flora Malesiana project, hereby provisionally accepting the sectional division of Airy Shaw (1968). The remaining three sections were already revised in a previous study. The monophyly of all eight sections and their evolutionary relationships were analyzed using morphological and molecular data (the chloropast gene matK and the nuclear gene gpd). Finally, the phylogenetic significance of the morphological characters used in the classification by Airy Shaw was evaluated. Show less
Focus of the study is the potential role of local institutions in fisheries management. As world-wide marine resources deteriorate, the call for better management urges national governments to... Show moreFocus of the study is the potential role of local institutions in fisheries management. As world-wide marine resources deteriorate, the call for better management urges national governments to decentralise management authority to local and lower government levels. Ownership and long-term access to resources are important incentives to manage resources for sustainability, while proximity to the resource, relevant local knowledge and local management institutions allow for effective and more equitable management that is both adaptive and resilient. Sasi in Maluku, Indonesia, is such an institution and has often been heralded as an example of successful local resource management. The extent to which it was still active and functional, however, was not known. This thesis contains an inventory of sasi and an analysis of its performance in terms of equity, efficiency, biological and social sustainability, and is illustrated by an elaborate description of sasi in Nolloth village. The study of sasi has been put in the wider context of decentralisation in Indonesia which is compared to the process in the Philippines. The results have also been used to identify the factors that enhance success of co-management in Southeast Asia. Finally a methodology is proposed to measure this success in an appropriate way. Show less
Religion, more often than not, equates the arts of seduction - whether in traditional performances or popular music - with immoral behaviour. The status of music and dance in the Islamic world,... Show moreReligion, more often than not, equates the arts of seduction - whether in traditional performances or popular music - with immoral behaviour. The status of music and dance in the Islamic world, especially the fear of its sensuous powers, has been heatedly discussed in religious treatises; with its clean-cut performers and moral messages, nasyid, the Islamic boy-band music of Southeast Asia, seems to epitomise the art of no-seduction. Reality, however, is more complex, as Muslim pop music struggles to combine two competing powers - the eroticism of pop music and the persuasive power of religion. And especially when the female voice comes into play.... Show less
Human rights are a source of friction between Southeast Asian and European governments. Southeast Asian politicians generally emphasise principles of sovereignty and non-interference in internal... Show moreHuman rights are a source of friction between Southeast Asian and European governments. Southeast Asian politicians generally emphasise principles of sovereignty and non-interference in internal matters, while their European counterparts tend to champion democracy, human rights and good governance beyond their borders. The differences in approach, however, do not seem as daunting today as they once did. Show less
Wildman refers to a widespread image whose ontological status is unclear. We don't really know what wildmen are, whether or not they exist, or in what sense they could exist. Are they purely... Show moreWildman refers to a widespread image whose ontological status is unclear. We don't really know what wildmen are, whether or not they exist, or in what sense they could exist. Are they purely imaginary categories (as cultural anthropologists, historians and other practitioners of the humanities have usually supposed) or do they have a substantial grounding in empirical, or zoological, reality? What is their relation to beings that anthropologists usually call spirits, which have typically been conceived as the very opposite of the empirical? This is the abridged introductory lecture to the IIAS masterclass 'Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia'. Show less
The ISIM project 'Rights at Home: A n Approach to the Internalization of Human Rights in Family Relations in Islamic Communities' convened its third Sounding Board Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia... Show moreThe ISIM project 'Rights at Home: A n Approach to the Internalization of Human Rights in Family Relations in Islamic Communities' convened its third Sounding Board Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 15 to 17 January 2003. This meeting was organized in close collaboration with its Malaysian counterparts: the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) and Sisters in Islam (SIS), an NGO committed to promoting the rights of women in the framework of Islam. Earlier sounding boards were convened in Yemen and Tanzania ( See ISIM Newsletter 10, pg.4, and 11, pg.4). Show less
