Cultural vocabulary as an indicator of interethnic relations: Eastern Indonesian evidence

Abstract

Following a long interruption, Eastern Indonesian languages are once again attracting the attention of scholars, especially ethnolinguists and experts in comparative linguistics. This new wave of interest centres not only on the specific linguistic but also on the ethnographic and cultural position of Eastern Indonesia as a separate border area between Asia and Oceania. Among its many causes three principal factors should be singled out. First of all, in terms of linguistics, Eastern Indonesia is still the least studied among the major geographical zones into which the territory where Austronesian languages are found may be divided.1 Secondly, this area is particularly interesting because there is reason to believe that in the majority of languages on the Moluccan and Lesser Sunda Islands there is a large non-Austronesian substratum. It is known, for instance, that two non-Austronesian enclaves have survived to this day: the so-called North Halmahera languages and the languages of the Timor-Alor family. Recently, some convincing attempts have been made to place these two language groups within the framework of Papuan languages (Wurm 1977; Cowan 1965; Capell 1943-1945 and 1975). Thus it is possible to speak of a Papuan substratum in the languages of Eastern Indonesia. This view is corroborated by the existence of a large and insufficiently studied substratum of non-Austronesian lan guages in this region which can in some cases be related to Papuan languages (Capell 1975: 698-711; Chlenov 1978). A number of specific features of the culture, the economy and even the social organization