ABSTRACT
This chapter examines masculinities in the lowland tropical forests of West Sumatra. I begin by setting the stage, in terms of the particular farming systems project and the environmental setting. I emphasize the differences and resulting conflicts between masculinities as practised by each of three ethnic groups: the Minangkabau (the longstanding inhabitants of Sitiung) and the Javanese and Sundanese in-migrants, based on data collected between 1983 and 1986. These groups are less forest-dependent than those in Chapters 3 and 4; they would have been classified as ‘peasants’ in earlier times within anthropology.
