Feeding an Ancient Harbour-City: Sago and Rice in the Palembang Hinterland

Abstract

Settled in the late seventh century as the capital of Srivijaya, Palembang has since then been a large settlement. This required her rulers to secure access to regular food crops to feed a large population. This essay considers the two plants that historical sources describe as the main staple crops: sago and rice, both typical of swamp forest edges. Sago starch production and consumption is well documented in Insular Southeast Asia and its prevalent usage in Palembang is attested until late in history. The cultivation of flood-recession rice, known to this day, is more difficult to document for past periods, but all the available evidence appears to indicate that it would have soon provided an efficient complement to sago production. This essay contributes to our knowledge of the urban ecology of Palembang and broadens the on-going debate on agricultural transitions and on the formation of early states.