ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide a critical overview of the ways in which the concept of masyarakat adat – literally, adat community or adat society – has been used (or abused) by Indonesian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGO understandings of masyarakat adat largely conform with internationally accepted interpretations (for instance, those used by the International Labour Organisation) of the English term ‘indigenous peoples’. Masyarakat adat is also employed partly as a positive alternative to the more or less pejorative terms suku terasing (‘marginalized/estranged tribe’) and masyarakat terkebelakang (‘backward community’) which were formerly used by the Indonesian government. Nevertheless its popularity must still be understood primarily in the context of the internalization of the indigenous peoples concept. Below I also investigate the ways in which NGOs have organized local communities which may or may not identify themselves as masyarakat adat. ‘Community-based mapping’ is among the methodologies used by NGOs – funded by international donor agencies – to translate their normative conceptions of adat community on to people’s practical experiences. The two, however, are not always in harmony.
