リオ語の「ドゥア」は「所有者」か?--「因果的支配」の概念について

Abstract

This article formulates the concept of 'causal domination' by analyzing the idiomatic and conventional usages of the Lionese word "du'a" in central Flores, eastern Indonesia. The local people explain the word as a Lionese equivalent for the Indonesian word "pemilik" (owner). A close examination of the usages, however, reveals that it is seriously misleading to take this explanation literally. "Du'a" is a general term for a broad range of beings in the position of life-giving source/cause referred to as "pu'u" (trunk), whose cognate terms denote significant social categories in Austronesian societies [Fox 1980:14]. Therefore, the domination exercised by "du'a" is founded on causality and differs entirely from the modern concept of possession based on self-ownership [Locke 1974 (1690); Macpherson 1962]. This article argues that it is necessary to focus on the process of entanglement of the two concepts in order to comprehend diverse aspects of 20th century history not only in central Flores, but in insular Southeast Asia as a whole.