ABSTRACT
A generation of literate, Indonesian-speaking citizens had grown up in the years since the Suharto takeover in 1966, a generation that had known nothing but government repression and the stifling of dissent. Sumba is a hot, dry island situated roughly at the midpoint between Bali and Timor in eastern Indonesia. In Indonesia, elaborate forms of dress and even face and body painting are common. The performance of unjuk rasa creates a situational focus defined in terms of civil society, which is populated by "citizens" who share interests, rights, and a sense of equality. Faced with mounting opposition from ordinary citizens who found their savings suddenly disappeared, the government confronted widespread protests beginning in the fall of 1997 after investigations revealed corruption to have been important cause of the bank collapses. The competition for government jobs was particularly intense that year because the currency devaluation and political instability in Jakarta had left the economy reeling, and unemployment was high.
