Dress and Ethnic Identity in Irian Jaya

Bibliographic Data

ID6087039
AuthorsMariah Howard (0000-0002-6793-3134, corresponding author), Michael C Howard
Year2000
Volume15
Issue1
Pages1-29
Publication date2000-04-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0217-9520 • E-ISSN: 1793-2858
PublisherISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1355/sj15-1a
OpenAlexW1965845497
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

While there has been a growing interest in studies of dress in Southeast Asia among academics in recent years, analysis of the relationship between dress and ethnic identity has been largely neglected. The present article examines this relationship in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. The article begins with a brief survey of writing on dress and ethnic identity in Southeast Asia, with a focus on Indonesia. This is followed by an overview of traditional Irianese societies and dress. The next section examines acculturative influences during the period of Dutch rule and under the early years of Indonesian rule. The final section looks at developments over the past few years in regard to acculturative pressures and the contemporary use of items of dress associated with Irianese identity. After decades of neglect, studies of dress have come back into vogue among academics in recent years. While past (largely pre- World War II) studies were largely concerned with technical aspects of textiles (sometimes in relation to evolutionary or diffusionist questions), current studies are more interested in the cultural context of dress, especially in relation to rapid change and the contemporary forces of globalization. Most of the recent literature on dress, however, has been decidedly inward-looking, relating dress to such things as hierarchy and gender within particular societies. To the extent that a broader context is addressed, this has tended to entail a look at perceived negative aspects

Aesthetics · Art · Ethnic group · Identity (music · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Asian Studies and History · Fashion and Cultural Textiles · Gender Studies

Tools

Open DOI