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A Borneo Childhood: Enculturation in Dusun Society
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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August 7, 2023
detailed study from over half a century ago
The Dusuns of North Borneo became the Kadazans of Sabah without moving an inch. Later, their name changed again. They are the most numerous of the aboriginal peoples of the area, a Malaysian state since 1963. Williams wrote an ethnography about them in the 1960s, based on field work he did in the years between 1959 and 1963. I haven't read that one. This is a slender work, one of the later very numerous "Case Studies in Education" series put out by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. In it you can find in earnest, painstaking detail a great amount about how Dusun kids learn to be who they are. You can find out what parents expect from their children, about toilet training, about reward and punishment, and what behavior is considered normal or abnormal. It is called "enculturation" in the trade. The research methods and style of presentation are of a distant era now, perhaps outmoded, but still worthy of consideration. Not much jargon here, no "problematized hermeneutic resistance" to stagger your brain, but an enormous wealth of tiny details and minute-by-minute recorded observations. Children's songs and poems, incidents of child rage and how it was dealt with, sex education, the 12 stages of infant development as seen by Dusuns, and some good black and white photos of the era are only a few of the things you will find.
Change was on the way, even then. I don't know if many people want to know how Dusuns brought up their kids over half a century ago, but if anyone out there does, this is definitely your book. Anthropology turns into social history, as I've often said. Five stars for research and clear presentation, three stars for relevance today.
The Dusuns of North Borneo became the Kadazans of Sabah without moving an inch. Later, their name changed again. They are the most numerous of the aboriginal peoples of the area, a Malaysian state since 1963. Williams wrote an ethnography about them in the 1960s, based on field work he did in the years between 1959 and 1963. I haven't read that one. This is a slender work, one of the later very numerous "Case Studies in Education" series put out by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. In it you can find in earnest, painstaking detail a great amount about how Dusun kids learn to be who they are. You can find out what parents expect from their children, about toilet training, about reward and punishment, and what behavior is considered normal or abnormal. It is called "enculturation" in the trade. The research methods and style of presentation are of a distant era now, perhaps outmoded, but still worthy of consideration. Not much jargon here, no "problematized hermeneutic resistance" to stagger your brain, but an enormous wealth of tiny details and minute-by-minute recorded observations. Children's songs and poems, incidents of child rage and how it was dealt with, sex education, the 12 stages of infant development as seen by Dusuns, and some good black and white photos of the era are only a few of the things you will find.
Change was on the way, even then. I don't know if many people want to know how Dusuns brought up their kids over half a century ago, but if anyone out there does, this is definitely your book. Anthropology turns into social history, as I've often said. Five stars for research and clear presentation, three stars for relevance today.
Displaying 1 of 1 review