Borneo. Ancestors in Borneo societies: Death, transformation, and social immortality. Edited by Pascal Couderc and Kenneth Sillander. Copenhagen, NIAS Press2012. Pp. 390 pp. Maps, Figures, Index.

Abstract

Ancestors in Borneo societies: Death, transformation, and social immortality Edited by PASCAL COUDERC and KENNETH SILLANDER Copenhagen, NIAS Press 2012. Pp. 390 pp. Maps, Figures, Index. doi: 10.1017/S0022463413000441 This book explores the religious and social significance of ancestors in the western and southern regions of Borneo, where ancestorship is important. 'Ancestors are people who live on in the memory of individuals, groups, or entire societies through what they have transmitted to them' (p. 12). In this conceptualisation, ancestors need not be genealogical forebears, in contrast with the traditional view of ancestorship in unilineal societies. All the contributions are excellent; furthermore, the authors approach the topic in a coherent manner in providing detailed ethnographic information. Most of the chapters are illustrated with photographs. The excellent introduction by the editors places the issue in the broader context of Borneo and Southeast Asia, as well as the theoretical literature on ancestorship. Ancestors manifest themselves in different ways: as spirits in the spirit world or this world, as bodily remains and objects mediating contacts with ancestor spirits, and the idea of a heritage gained from forebears. There are two types of ancestors: spirits of the dead who emerge through mortuary rituals and ancestors who originate from outside the local social domain. Ancestor worship exists in the form of mortuary rituals with bone repositories, village shrines that mediate relations with community ancestors in a more indirect and anonymous manner, and the worship of ancestors who have become deities. Sillander shows how the Bentian of East Kalimantan perceive ancestors as sources of power and authority in rituals and discourse. They are considered capable of influencing events and they are regularly contacted. In the category of ancestors, Sillander includes 'dead people who have no, or an insufficiently known, genealogical connection to ego' (p. 63). Secondary burial is usually reserved for influential people. People need to have been important in life before they can become ancestors, but a secondary burial adds to their potency. Indeed, a domestic unit may covertly assert its importance by undertaking a secondary burial for someone who was unremarkable in life. In any case, ancestors represent 'society', thus it is appropriate that they be referred to in an anonymous fashion, except for ancestors who had achieved renown. Couderc shows how the Uut Danum of West Kalimantan contrast two forms of ancestorship, one that is generated through secondary burials, the other through the transformation of living people into spirit-animals. I learnt a lot from this important chapter, which operates at several registers. It is an ethnography and a contribution to grounded theory. Like Sillander's chapter, it makes extensive references with the literature on other Borneo societies and beyond. Clifford Sather and Veronique Beguet contribute two chapters on the Iban. Sather analyses how Saribas Iban mortuary rituals generate ancestors. The Gawai Antu is an exercise in remembering the dead so that they continue to have efficacy in the living world. …