Table of Contents
This is the third in a series of volumes produced in the Departme of Anthropology from the work of the Comparative Austronesian Project.[1] The first of these volumes examined the comparative design of Austronesian houses and related these spatial forms to the social and ritual practices of their resident groups. The second volume provided a general survey of the Austronesians focusing on their common origins and historical transformations. This third volume explores indigenous Austronesian ideas of origin, ancestry and alliance and considers the comparative significance of these ideas in social practice. As a collection, these papers offer a variety of perspectives across a range of societies of the Austronesian-speaking world from insular Southeast Asia to the islands of the Pacific.
The Comparative Austronesian Project was originally prompted by a recognition that on virtually every area of the Austronesian-speaking world, there had been a considerable increase in significant research. As a consequence of the development of this research, there had also occurred a “localization” of interests and a proliferation of different modes of analysis to deal with what, from a comparative perspective, could reasonably be considered as similar questions.
Many regional specialists seemed no longer aware of important work being done by other Austronesian specialists. Thus researchers in Indonesia, in the Philippines, in Melanesia, in Micronesia and the Pacific islands had each developed their own research concerns. Many of these research concerns reflected the interests of previous research that had been based on established traditions of inquiry within each area. Moreover, for a large area such as Indonesia, there was even greater “localization” of interests with specialization tending to foster a focus on specific islands or subregions, with a deep bifurcation between the eastern and western halves of the archipelago.
Yet, at the same time, a great deal of comparative linguistic research had clarified internal relationships within the Austronesian language family and archaeologists had begun to trace the Austronesian expansion along lines indicated by the linguistic evidence. The possibilities for comparative research within an Austronesian framework had never been better.
It was the intention, therefore, of the Comparative Austronesian Project to bring together researchers from different parts of the Austronesian-speaking world to initiate discussions on comparative issues. The Project was conceived of as broadly interdisciplinary. It endeavoured to involve archaeologists, linguists, anthropologists and historians in this common discussion of related comparative concerns. For a period from 1989 to 1991, the Comparative Austronesian Project was given formal project status within the then Research School of Pacific Studies. Since this period and as a result of the Project, comparative Austronesian studies have been recognized as a continuing focus of research within the renamed Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies.