More than an Ethnic Marker: Toraja Art as Identity Negotiator

KATHLEEN M. ADAMS

41 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Ethnologist

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Cultural Identity and Heritage Cultural and Artistic Studies Cultural History and Identity Formation

Abstract

In this article I suggest that art can be more than a passive ethnic marker. Focusing on the architecturally based carvings of the Toraja of Indonesia, I argue that artistic forms are sites for the assertion, articulation, and negotiation of various hierarchical identities and relationships. I trace the contested transformation of Toraja architectural symbols of elite authority into generalized icons of Toraja ethnic identity. As I chronicle these shifts I also illustrate how Toraja architectural carvings serve as vehicles for the rearticulation of assorted sets of rank, ethnic, regional, and political relationships. A key objective in this article is to highlight the complicated and often ironic relations between material culture, identity negotiation, and human agency. Drawing on Scott (1985, 1990), I suggest that while art may serve as a weapon of the weak, it can also be a weak weapon, [identity, art, ethnicity, tourism, agency, Indonesia, Toraja]

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 41 citations exist upstream.

References

1998Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization.1991Domination and the arts of resistance: hidden transcripts 1986The Social Life of Things 1988The Predicament of Culture 1970Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference 1990History of Sexuality Vol. 2, Introduction 1990the romance of resistance: tracing transformations of power through Bedouin women 1995Resistance and the Problem of Ethnographic Refusal

Cited by

1999The State of Culture Theory in the Anthropology of Southeast Asia 2023‘Guru Rinpoche is Śivajī’: Ethnicity and ethnic boundary drift in Nepal’s ethnic art 2005Dynamics of Cultural Change among the Toraja of Sulawesi. The Commoditization of Tradition 2003Welcome to This House: A Century of Makah People Honoring Identity and Negotiating Cultural Tourism 2013Diasporic Identities—Reflections on Transnational Belonging 2004Ritual music and christianization in the Toraja's Highlands, Sulawesi

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.