Autonomy and Dependence

This study examines the interplay of autonomy and dependence, on multiple levels of political structure, in the long term history of the Masihulan people, who today live near the northern coast of Seram in the central Moluccas, Indonesia. Across the last four centuries, the Masihulan have been involved in relations of subordination and dependence with a succession of sovereign powers near and far. They live in a landscape created by many waves of migration, economic change, and global or regional geopolitical upheaval. We examine how these processes are understood in Masihulan people’s own historical consciousness. In particular, we focus on how their internal leadership structures articulate geopolitical powers located at a distance. Present-day Masihulan adaptations to Indonesian state policies are directly informed by their historical consciousness of longer run geopolitical dynamics. The adaptations also reflect their continued application of longer term models of how to fashion a liveable synthesis of autonomy and dependence, in a context of state domination.