Changing perceptions of nature in upland West Java: the Kasepuhan case

This thesis examines how uncertainty and risk are defined and managed by Kasepuhan in Mt. Halimun, West Java, Indonesia, in relation to their conception of nature. Kasepuhan accounts of their settlement arrangements, cosmology and agricultural management all suggest that they perceive the greatest dangers as coming from ‘within’ (the self, or the community), and that risk management should therefore move from microcosm to the macrocosm. In the face of modernization and globalisation, including participation in gold-mining and the tourist industry, Kasepuhan face new risks and uncertainties, and increasingly the causes of these are seen to be exogenous as much as endogenous.

In contrast to the neighbouring Baduy, Kasepuhan adopt a strategy of risk management which reflects a willingness to compromise, to seek the advantages of both modern and traditional practices. Government bureaucratic and literate models of representation are adopted which both maintain their separate cultural identity, and which enable them to better control subsistence risks. Unlike the Baduy, Kasepuhan are more prepared for change and their institutions and practices have a greater resilience in the face of change.