Summary: | This thesis discusses the reasons why the nomadic sea tribe, Orang Laut, in
Riau Islands Province, Indonesia, accepted state governmentality (Foucault
1991) by choosing to live in a land settlement offered by a Resettlement Program
in the mid-1980s. In the age of nation-states, the Indonesian government
characterised the Orang Laut as an 'isolated and impoverished community', and
took it upon itself to improve the community's welfare.
The Resettlement Program has had many negative repercussions for the Sea
Nomads' everyday lives. Considering these, it only becomes natural to ask why
the nomads chose life as land dwellers instead of returning to boat-dwelling and
retaining their sea tribe identities. In which ways did their perceptions of the
space of boat-dwellers transform so as to adapt to the life of land dwellers? In
this Indonesian case study, the answer lies in the implications of the community's
political choices to acquire \"new identities\": as Orang Bertam.
This identities redefinition demonstrated how in relation to their clan association,
transformation of the Sea nomads' perception of space as boat-dwellers to one of
land-dwellers is quite different from the original government design. They no
longer maintain Batin as their traditional leader based on his inherent advantages. Furthermore, to live on land means that they will continue to gain benefits
from their \"new identity\" as poor fishermen in the form of Resettlement Program
aids.
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