PADDY FARMING AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN A MALAY VILLAGE —A Social Anthropological Smdy of ‘4 Community in Kedah — MASUO KUCHIBA YOSHIIIRO TSUBOUCHT This paper a elo of «ela antropolgial eady concerning the relasondip between peda farming apd socal ruc iow May pudyfarning ilage in Kolab, Malaya. To parioue the following {opi ae disused’ te iaflece of matural eine onthe past? elk and Inbour power: the djramie reloip of the Malay faa ‘nd ishetance patterns withthe nature of nding tod the tenancy ‘rte the changing aspera ofthe cooperative labour item; the Poe pro for frmatan of cooperative scion, ot cldy farming i the typical form of agriculture ia the alluvial plang of Malaya, Irrigated paddy ‘elds are_ particularly conceatrated in the plain extending from Tanjong Karang to Perlis on the west cram, and in Kelantan fn the east coast. In the paddy-farming arcas of mubiracial Malaya, the ‘Malay seguient of the population i predominant in mumber and paddy cultivation constitutes its principal form of economic activity. The present sticle summarizes the renuts of a study of the socal and anthropological fapects of the Malay population in this area by analysing the relations between paddy cultivation ina village in Kedah and the social structure of the Malay pessants in the willages 1, THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT ‘The village studied, Padang Lalang village, i¢ located about 8 kilometres to the northewest of Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah wate. This village is roughly in the centre of the Kedah plain a low-lying. area. only 2-3 metres fbove sea level In the area around the village the land rises only 1-2 Ietres® Consequently, at fll tide the sea flows inland up the rivers, on 2 The data ud in the pret arilo wee cleted by the authors in Sel wok ceodveted during Ju Desember, 1986 and JuneSepember 186, under the Malayan Sod Tedooein seiarch project of the Coer for Soule, Adan Stade, Kyoto Univer +" EH.G, Debby, “The North Kedah Plain?” Semone Gaga, Vol 21, 4 October 1951p. 257-288 and 23,468 ‘The Developing Economes ‘each of which lockgates are buile as a measure ‘or impeding this infow of fea water, ‘The lockgates by balancing the watzrleel in the paddy fields, fo serve the purpose of ization In the Kedah plain the amount of rainfall increases sharply from May Laecause of the southwest momsoon, and the rainy season extends to about October. In November a dry east wind begins to blow and. the dry season commences, ‘The rainy sean i characterized by high temperatures and high hunnidty, but the east wind of the dry season i very refveching, pro- ducing pleasant climate in the mornings and in the evenings Paddy farming i sarted atthe beginning of the rainy season, and the sedlings are ‘transplanted between July and September, If there is heavy rain when traneplanting is carried out, water will overflow from the rivers and spread Indseriminately over low-lying ewe 1 TRMRERATURE Aso RADA THE WERETY anean of paddy fields owe ‘ona convene ana 3-09 ‘las and Foade the leclegates 5» having heen closed at high tide, Te the water overflows, the | rece coms | fo fede will rot and it becomes ' |, g seedlings in their places 27 The oo, which has a high 3 $ umus content is of a black Ba E erey colour and very cohesive. € 7 © Inthe rainy season it becomes 2. PP | | LL, § sisky ‘and there are many 3 a & place in which one ean sink : y np to the knees In the dry : ae season, on the other hand, the Z ' sol dries out, becoming 9 hard i LC e that i imposible o we the tate land for winter crops. This Ind of clay soi is very effective Noses: Temperature at Staion Alo Stars Raifll for pecdy cultivation Beeatse ‘st Suton No. 18 Alor Jongg resting moisture for a long tine. However, from the point ‘of view of health the muddines of the river water, the brackish water of the ‘well the frequent focds (eer bar) during the rainy season and the shortage (of water during the dry season do not produce very desirable living conditions. Further, the vatistions in temperature from day to night are considerable. ‘After sunset tf not uncommon for the temperature to drop from 32-83°C. toaround 21°C during the rainy season, xpecialy if rain continues to fall, fand from 383°C to 18-19'G during the dry season. For thie reason the Malay peasants, who do not wear nightclothing apart from the sag and who live in drafty piledwelling, are prone te fall victims of respiratoryPaddy Farming and Social Structure ina Maley Village 468 complaints, Thos the land conditions present a number of ‘environmental problems for the inhabitants. Skin diseases, eespratory complaints, acute fonjunctivitis and other eye dveases, diarrhoea, and gatro-enteric duordes: teased by parasitic worms are the most common illness amang the peasants ‘Thee diseases exercie no small influence on the labour potentialities and cconomie lives of the peasants, 11, COMMUNITY, HOUSEHOLDS, AND COMPOUNDS Adiministratively the village (Kampong) of Padang Lalang comes under the sub-district (makin) of Padang Lalang in the dsriet Gaal) of Kota Setar in the eiate of Kedah. Kota Setar district comprises 40 subdistrict and Padang LLalang sub-district is made up of 10 villages, The éisriet offcer andthe Inead of the sub-district (ferglada) ate appointed by the Sultan, The village Ineadimen (tua Kampong) are virwally elected by the elders (orang tutua) of the villages and amet the peghula with their advice in regard to administrative ‘questions The officers of the meeque wmualy perform the functions of village cles The setlement form of the village ie similar to that found throughout Malaya in general—an agglomeration of Malay pile-dwelings, surrounded by coconut palme and dissibuted along the river running through the middle Of the village arca form the nucle of the village. Arvund this agglomera- tion the paddy fields extend in checkerboard fashion, and there are no land- marks demarcating the boundaries with neighbouring vilages. Tn the centre of the village there isan Islamic mosque (may), and che village is at the same time & parish (Lara) centred on this mosque. In the westem comer of the Padang Lalang village area is located « commercial centre for the agricultural villages around. Although situated in fone corner of the Padang Lalang village area ii a small rural township, falled Alor Janggos. As in other towne in Malaya, a number of Tadians Pakistanis and Malays ive here, but principally iti Chinese town consist ing of approximately 80 closely-packed singlestorey houses. A police station, Malay primary school, a Chinee primary school, a dispensary, and a private electrical generation plant which supplied electcity mainly to Alor Jeng, are also loeated here, andthe greater part of the articles of daly te required by the peasants can be obtained ia thi town. Administratively, ‘Alor Jenggus i included within Padang Lalang village, but the Chinese have ‘their own autonomous organization, and they are alo markedly diferent from the Malays in their customary mode of living.* we include Alor Janggws the total population ofthe village is 1,598; ‘the racial composition of thie population includes $78 Malays (36%), 546 For deals we K. Maeda, Aue Jon A Cnr Conmanty a Mais, Kyoto, the center for Soutien Asan Sti, Kyoto Univers, 107. Ia Mads work the Chine ving inthe teat ore of he vilge were aot wrveyed nd oequetiy Ii igre for Chine pplaton do so eicie with re466 The Developing Economies ‘Chinese (155%), and 14 Indians and Pakistanis (09%). Practically all the Chinese, Indians, and Pakistanis are engaged in commerce, rice-milling and related occupations while the greater part of the Malay, with the exception of temporary residents living in Alor Janggus, are engaged in agriulture and live along the river. Generally speaking, the houses of the Malay peatants are not constructed co as to permit the residence of a large number of family members. The ‘capacity of the average structure which conta of one oF two rooms sup= ported on ples about 15 mets high from the ground is Sve or six pemons ‘At the most Tt is therefore not surprising thatthe nvclear family consisting (Of the spouses and unmarried children is overwhelmingly predominant among ‘Tbe, OCCUPATIONS OF HEADS OF MALAY HOUSEHOLDS (css 196) Caspase Naar of Hoch 1 nwa landlord 6 ‘Agar labourer a Day laborer 3 Hisnonger ferent carpenter Shopkeeper ll asitant 1 Midie 1 Unemployed 8 ‘oul 206 Table 2 THE NUMBER OF MALAY HOUSEHOLDS ACCORDING TO Fan Pace ‘Naber of Heals = a aay ‘Conjugal 6 a) ‘Node fly me es, Extended Tara 38 aa) ‘Toul 1998 am Nees 1) Faaiima capond ovo more ons 2) This gue dee not oclade 10 hours of temporary eidnts ta Alor Jnggur and? hourelde which aud net be surveyed 4+ Such a the poianen, cil servants Hopital ain, mi te, who have beenPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 461 the Malay peasants® The fact that small families are inthe majority leads tu to expect that the labour avallable per household wil be comparatively tow. However, the number of hovecholds living i their own compound (anak ampong iano more than one-third ofthe total number of howeholde. The others are households in which the parents and married children or marved siblings ae independently see up in separate hows within the compounds, Such com- pounds usually include from 9 or $ households to about 10 households. Since the relationships among families within these compounés are important for san understandiag both of the tenancy system in operation among the Malay peasants in the village and of the social character of latour employment, we ‘hall fist touch on the subject of ow family relations evolve within” the compounds through the developmental cyele of the Family. ‘Usually, newly-marred couples live inthe howe of the “parents? fanily” (che family of procrention) on either the wifes or the husband's side, or migrate between the two “ parent’ familicy” providing amistance in che parent’ agricultural wor, When children are bor, if there is a spare room In the house of one of the “parents familie” the eouple will lve in the are hhouse with them, but if there is no room the “children’s family” (the family of orientation) will purchase or lease a suitable compound and set up howe fon their own. Ta recent years, however, setting up. heuse in this way has become very difficult becaute ofthe shortage of land. Even when a suitable compound & available, because of the lack of economic resources there is @ strong tendency forthe “children's family" to live together withthe “parent? Family.” building a separate pledwelling inside the parental compound, and cither to cultivate the parents Innd ar tenants or to be hired by the parents 8 agricultural labourers ‘Actually, the case in which two or more families live together in separate houses in a single compound, i.e, the case in which the "parent family” and the “childrens? family® live together, is the patter most generally fbverved in the village. Other intanots are developmeatal variants of thie pattern, For example, as shown ia Figure 2, when the parents die the family Felations in dhe compound can asume the form C, and from C develop further to D. However, relations are often more complicated than this. hie i= beenuse divorced women who have retuned to. their parent? houses lings? devoid of economic resources and other relatives are added to the basic family centred on the parents and children in the compound "These family relationships within the compound are by wo means a product of the necesity of cooperation in agricultural work, nor of the +The average number of members la Malay fen fa tbe wilage ie 47, which & rock lew tan the average numberof embers Cioese frie i Alor Jang, Th. CEM, Rochiba sod ¥. Tobouh, "Marys bokacibu 0 iataku-tios tana, ‘lon, Hass no takai tate” (A Malay Padbarning” Cacimanicy in the [Noriwesen Prt of Malaya—A Solo Aanl of Mariage, Divot, aod Fai, ‘Toner djs teak (The Soutbant Asis Ste) Vol 4 No. by 195468 ‘The Developing Economies ‘nlargement of the family in accordance with the princpies of a system of felationshipe bared on uniinesl desoent. They are prescribed. by such cco- homie factors at scarcity of land or the dificulty of obtaining a job with stable income, “Therelore family relations such ae those described would seem to adapt readily to changer in economic fators, Figure 2. 8 c D soared III. THE SCALE OF CULTIVATION OF the 195 Malay houscholds inthe village 88 hold ther own agricultural land, (CE. Table 3) Considering only the case of cultivating. peasant hove holds within the total number of farming households, 195, the number of farming hovscholds owning land is 75 (85636), while the remaining 60 house- holds (41%) are tenant peasants who own no land. (Ck: Table 4.) Further, the average scale of cultivation among the cultivating peasants ie 6.4 ralong (1.79 hectares). As we shall describe later in detail, our survey indicated that a culivated area of at least 7 relong (LS6 hectares) is necasary if a Malay peasant in the village isto obtain from agricltare the income required for maintaining a auinizoum standard of living. However, the peasant howe: holds eutivating agricultural land 7 relong or more in area amount to no more than 296 of the total Such emallacale exltivation ie due, on the one hand, to scarcity of land resulting from population increase; on the other, to the form of inheritance fmoag the Malays. These are two forms of the law of inheritance current famoag the Malay peasantry, the Islamie aw and the ewstomary law (hulu fiat) which ie said to have exited before the istroduction of lam. While the Islamic law of inheritance is complex and the dixpoxsl of property differs fccording to the citeuustances of the individual case, the principle of equal Givin of inheritance is emphasized among chidren of the same sex In + Bcaing temporary cesdente 1} Tindang (ann 0711 acre O98 bectares Wrie a cltatd area of 179 hectare cannot nectony be tobe mite wale of tivation by Japanee andar, eos the produces pice for tice it low ia Malas ope cane aban an neame ‘illent fr the purpon of Hvlond even with an tea of 179 heenPaddy Farming and Social Structure ina Malay Village 469 the case of customary law the inheritance is divided equally among all children. ‘The relatives of the deceased decide in accordance with which of ‘Tele 8. AREAS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND HELD BY TYPE OF CULTIVATOR (Ocoter, 1964) ‘Arca of Qulvaog Gulivating Culirating Sura srt, Guumiae Gubatee Gar Pap tae oa schiy Ee ape ER a ar mo bhrtitite Hinteewtt PPTL EE tte lett iweteel & PETTETEEIDTT TLE tet eee ee, ' a a ee eC) (2m) ciaz) 4m) G00 ‘Aveage (lon) ie regulon of te Mamie law of ineranee are toe complied to al 2 simple interpreaion. Inthe case ofthe alae fl, for exnnple if he Dusbund tiny the wile receives coeeight of bi ete aad the tenance vied among the ‘hilven, the daughters secivng shares which are al of the rcv by the soe However, tere equality of divon of inbestance among dhidren ofthe came ox Inthe ean ofeuomary ln, in prince the erste ened by the peat i inher yd disibuted among fhe eles equal segarcle of tei ex.40 ‘The Developing Economies the two lave of inheritance they are to dispose of the property. Although the daily life of the Malay peasants is strongly indluenced by Islam in general, ccstomary law still persists in case of inheritance and marriage Since, however, the tendency to equal division of inhevitance ia strong, no matter which of the two law of inheritance i followed, agricultural lend is generally ‘Tele 4, TOTAL NUMBER OF PEASANT HOUSEHOLDS BY CULTIVATED AREA AND BY CULTIVATING PROPRIETORS ANDJOR TENANTS (xb, 196) 5 ong Salat sa ‘Guivasing Cainating Calivaing Gubiatine Capit man optane Fag! ovat Teal oo a ‘Feat sot east iF Ler BSRSSSSERSEEESSS| 1 RILLD lesen eee ait elt STISTIT. 2 1 PITTD DE bee bbewee oe ook a geriid io 6 iiss Goniy ee ‘Neier! sade esr and east — ‘Average elated ens 4 relog. + Our survey indte tha the greater the ten of arial land owned by the parent the more common ix nhertance in accordance withthe ame Tay but at & Iv he Inances of iberance im accordance wit) amie lw and in acomedance vith clorary In ae oughty equal in number. See Kechib, Toul sod Maeda “'Maraya olteibe no iaiakiention~aiehiahoyo 20 reiatia af waite” (A Pd ‘Farming Comunity inthe Norbwentre Pst of Malya™the rguentton of La Felling) Tron A Aas, Val, Noy Jone, 1865, pp 4-3.Paddy Farming and Social Structure ina Malay Village 471 cquilly divided among the children with the result that the area of agei- culteral land owned beoomes smaller than that owned by the parents houwe- hold. “There are even some cases in which it becomer imposible for the inheritors to divide the inheritance of agricultural land’ beeause ofits small size. Tn fac, of the 899 householders andor their wives in Malay households 21496 have inherited agricultural land; 170% have net yet inherited. agri cultural land; and 602% have no posiblity of inheriting agricultural land because none was owned by their parent.20 Further, considering the pom Dilies of inheritance under customary or those who have not yet inherived land, we find that the greater part of them have the prospect of inheriting dew than 5 relong. ‘Consequently, if there is no room for expanding the cultivated area or no means of obtaining a stable non-agricultural income, the scale of cultivar tion among the Malay peasants wil become smaller withthe passage ofeach leneration, and if the present situation continues we may expect that there will be an increase in the number of peasant households selling their and.#2 Itis due to these economic crcumstanoes that there ate laege numbers of Jandles: agricultural labourers and tenants in the village and that we can discern the particular pattern of family relationships within the ‘compound ‘a we have described above IV, TENANCY RELATIONS IN RESPECT TO ‘AGRIGULTURAL LAND Several of the societal characteristics amsociated with the smallness of the cuikivated area and the forms of inheritance and marriage among the Malay peasants are also manifested in tenancy relations. ‘The peasant. households in the village can be divided into five categories from the pomt of view of tenancy relations in respect to agricultural land. (CL. Table 4) In addition to the “tenant” “cultivating proprietor" * part cultivating proprietor and part tenant,” and “part cultivating proprietor and part lew” there 1b the fifth category of the “part cultivating proprietor, part lesor and part tenant” who, after cultivating a part of his own land and leasing out the remainder, also cultivates other? lend as a tenant. Also included iz the ‘fh category are those who lease out all of their own land and cultivate other land st ‘Among these five categories the “tenants” (in pasticular the “part cultivate ing proprietor, part lewor and. part tenant”) are not necessarily tenants in the Sense that they must lete land because they do not posess any of their fown. Rather, there are quite a few amoag the Malay peasants who owa agricultural land acquired by inheritance which is located at some. distance from the places at which they are lving.2® Among them there isa tendency, 8 The semalnag 149 at known, Concerning the reue for ich eam, 269.409 tows Ta tenmeof the peuaat? ways Seterminy redenee after mavrage Gn pracilemn ‘The Developing Economies for convenience of cultivation, to lea ont the distant plots of land and to lindertake cultivation in. tenancy of nearby land owned by others. Selling ‘nant plots and purchasing land near at hand i: the ideal solution for such fnconvenience, but the searcity of suitable land for purchase in the neigh- ‘bourhood makes it dificult to effect such a colution. Thus, under the combined effects of scarcity of land, the question of the peasan’s place of Gnidenee after marriage, the lawe of ioheritance, et, the land owned by the Deausuts is geographivelly dispersed, and the result is a strong tendency to Fragment the cultivated land holdings. ‘Thus the tenancy relations in respect to agricultural land are made all the more compiated “The circumstances in this matter will become clearer if we analyse the kinship relations between the lewore and lesees of agricultural land. As is thovn in Table 5, we ean clasify tenancy relatiens into three patterns. First there are the cases in which lesor and lesee are related as parent and child {dS caus); second, the cases in which che parties are related as “siblings” oF fome other form of kinship (49 cases); and thid, the cases in which the Dparties are not related (51 cast) ‘Tee 5. RLATIONS RETWHEN PARTIES LEASING AGRICULTURAL LAND (October, a (ont Parent . wea Sing is [other Retiver Other Reaier 2 Tit Unread Uri ay Vaiows Tinkaows oo Tr the first patter instances in which the children are economic de- pendents of the parents and live ia the parent? compound are in the over- ‘helming majority. Since in these eases the parents lease agricultural land to the ehildren not to enable the children to enjoy an economic surplus but rather to amet the children economically, the area of the tenantholding in these cues is extraordinarily small. The greater part of the smallecale tenant peasants are enlivators of their parent and. "The special feature in the second. pattern is that the leone and less are dispersed both inside. and outrde the village. The greater part of the ‘Sues belonging to his pattern are ees in whieh the owner of the land has moved to live at some distance sway from the village became of marrige fF for some other reason and a “ebling” or other relative living inthe village fs cultivating the land in tenancy. Troe) and also of te Taw of inbesace the ehldren may rede anywhere ater ‘Sinvage ado matter where they teide they pos the right of inberkanee Sa ape 1 thee parent? property (prinspaly landPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 473 ‘The special feature inthe thd pattern, ia which che parties are unrelated, J that thee are many cates similar to those of the semnd pattern. More than 709% of the lewors live outside the village, ‘The absentee landlord owning a relatively large area of cultivated Innd in Padang Lalmng village is a Malay ‘who leases 62 relong (17.8 hectares) of ealtvated land to eight tenants. ‘This instance, however, is exceptional. On the whole, ie ie becoming dificult in the village to obtain the lease of agricultural land from others and the tendency to “mutual-sid tenancy relation between parents and children or between other related pensoas as we ave seen above i being strengthened. ‘Generally speakiag, there are two forms of tenancy found in this region. “The fing, in which a fied sum is paid yearly as rent, i ealed vous, and the ‘second, in which a fixed sum ie prepaid a2 rent in accordance with longterm contrac, is called fajaki® Tn amas tenancy, the rent can be paid in unbulled ce or saze fed, or i ean be paid in eath or smaa fai Tn Padang Lalang village snes fad ie overwhelmingly predominant. Jn Kedah the maximum reat per relong has been legally fixed at 6 lsh since 1958.0 If this sum is exceeded the consent of the tenant is required when drawing up the tenancy contract. However it ie provided that the reat shall not exceed onevthied of the harvest crop. The nomber of tenants in the village paying rent more than 6 nalch oF the corresponding sum in cash, M854, per relong amounts to 30536 of the total. Tn none of these cas, however, have writen tenancy contracts been made. This fact J not due’ to the peasants deliberately refraining from concluding. written contracts with the intention of evading the provisions of the law, but is due to the feeling that itis too much trouble to have such written contract in operation. In fact, approximately 80% of tenancies are aot governed by any legal written contract Tnstances in which rents are extremely high or exizemely low are cone spicuous amoog the lees of agricultural land between parents and children. Peshape because the rents paid to the great absentee landlords are more ‘able 6, FORM OF TENANCY AND RENT (Ocber, 1964) "xo Seva Fal a ‘Sea Tuna =) Ra 7 ooo mo 6 om “s 4 mu 1 2 1 25 6 4 1 4 oe koe 4B) 2 (281) 89) 08) (1.4) 03) 15) 6.0) 4.8 82 HED (LH) C8) (10) 1 The form called austin which the lndlord and tent die the have epely berwen then it fund on the as coy but note the wea cont, CET Wien, The Emam of Pad Paun i te Neth Mal, Minty ok Agere, Federation of Malay, 198, pM 4s For del we Kochi, Trou, and Mania, “Marya totus 20 lata nson—atehishoya no reba af tute? nee Aja Kays, 50-9.m ‘The Developing Economies liable to be aubject to the provisions of the lav, they are paid rather in socordance with the legal prescription, Both high and low extremes in the Tents paid ia the tenancy relation between parents and children are due to the following circumstances, When the parents have a sufficient surplus to permit them to charge a low rent, they can thin provide @ measure of EScstance to their children, In contrast in cates in which the parents have ho aurplis they alo lease agricultural land to ther children in order toast the economic life of the children; but the children pay a high level of rent to their parents in order to help the parents In both cases the element of ‘mutual aid is present in the tenancy felaton Tn the above says the scarcity of agricultural land and the smallness of the area of agricultural land ovmed by the peasants have on the one hand Iade it diffeult to obtain lesees of land from warelated persous and on the Other hand have had the saul of strengthening tenancy relations on a small ale between pacents and children and between other related persons. \V. AGRICULTURAL LABOUR AND LABOUR EMPLOYMENT Paddy cultivation requires intensive labour according to the changes of the seasons. Assuming, ar we havesaid above, thatthe small Malay peasant family has lite labour to spare, how does it deal with the question of labour supply? In Padang Lalang village there i a precisely defined sexual division ff labour under which the men undertake the tillage of the land and the threshing of the ree while the women are repocsible for transplanting and harvesting, Thus, ules each peasant howreold retains the labour of at Tet one man and one woman, even smallecale paddy cultivation will be Impouible. Approximately 0% of the peasant Koweholds full these con- tions, but in the remaining 2036 there is clear evidenoe of the lack of either Imale or female labour. ‘The bad conditions of health to which we have already referred have a strong tendency to reduce ail further the labour wailable in each peasant bovechold. Ia fact, the employment (wea) of labour is quite common. ‘table 1, LABOUR AVAILABLE IN PEASANT HOUSEHOLDS BY SCALE (OF CULTIVATION (Oetber, 1868) clitadia IR fie OG OEE EG & omPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 475 First let us give a brief account of the principal operations in paddy cultivation. ‘The preparations for the tillage proceses are carried out from about April a the end of the dry seaton approaches Firt the stubble. Gem’) remaining in the feld is bumed off and when the rainy season begine in May the bunds of the fields (btas up) are made wp. ‘This operation takes fone morning’ workt® per relong. When the bunds are finished water i let into the fields and the weeds which have grown up in the ficlde are cut away with « longshandled sickle tt). The labour required in cutting away these weeds varies according to the thicknem of the growth and the physi strength of the worker, ranging from 1 to 5 morning’ work per relong. ‘There are three distinct forms of the tillage operations which fellow the cutting away of the weeds” The most general ane inthe village is ploughing enggala) with the water buffalo. The labour requir in enggla is 23 mornings’ work by one person per relong. One week after crying out anggola the field is levelled with a large rake (sisr koro) pulled by a water buffalo. Levelling is caried out four times at intervals of three to four days ‘The labour required in each levelling is approximately one morning’. work per relong. Since about 1960 there have been people who have employed twacton in place of fnggla. From about July, By which time the tillage operstions are faisly well advanced, work i begun an the preparation of the nunery bed## manly by ‘women. ‘Transplanting is carried out in a communal operation which we thall escrbe later. A forked stick for planting seedlings called. hulu hambing i sed in the transplanting operation, and the general tendency is to plant the seedlings deep in the scl ‘Transplanting is finished by about September and the harvesting of the carly varieties of paddy begins from November. Paddy harvesting is mainly women's work, and like the tansplanting operation it is carried out com: ‘munally. “The women cut the paddy with » paddy-hervesting sickle (pau ‘gia andthe men thresh the sheaves of harvested paddy by beating the fears of the grain against a small Indderlike contrivasce (engge tong) set ‘upright in a tub (Weg) and enclosed on three sides by staw matting. There: after the unhulled rice is winnowed with the help of a winnowing-basket (avin) of plated bamboo. 10 Sioe It sot in the middle of the day the potas ve set from 1 lock to about 2 of 3 ok, andthe frenon' Inbour istered to at ‘ene toring’. work (sta a "For dota ee Kuchion and Tasbochl, "Maray bokussbu 20 aabunsoo—atey6 redo atte” (A Pay Farming Commun ia Norden Malay -Agrelurl Labo, ‘Toner Aa Reta, VoL 5, No.l Jl, 197, p11, ‘In adden tothe ordinary nuery bed (pot ama ba) thereby the “oaale® surery bed pat amar) the Inter beng made in laces where the water ie dee ‘The pens ebee that the fontag” surmay bed Se eter for the dovlopne! ef the seling, but heen tines good deal of Ibo few ake nile murery496 ‘The Developing Economies ‘Among the above operations in paddy cultivation it is the lage opers tion which constitutes the greatest problem from the point of view of the labour required. For this operation the water buffalo and a male worker fre required. Approximately 60% of peasant households carry out che tillage ‘operation themselves and in terme of scale of cultivation these households Ful motly within the group with holdings between $ and 10 relong in area. ‘This s because peasant otecholde which own » water buffalo and which have suficient male labour tend also to correspend to chose peasant hovse- holds with holdings of eis size se §, TILLAGE OPERATION SCALE OF CULTIVATION EE ms ow MM a ‘in Te, aan me map NE 2m aLCOD PERS asa! reg ums ime ang SE wan nen 2up 1G8 G9 mT Ca me COREE ree 188 168 fo SS a oa a “The peasant households which, although not owning a water bua, carry out the tillage operation themselves borrow a water buffalo from ite ‘owner during the tillage season in return for a fee of the order of MS60-120 or 1-12 funeha of unbulled ric. For example, among the thirty peasant Howieholds cultivating holdings of lew than 5 elong which cared out the ‘lage operation themselves, there were at many as 18 which did not own a ‘water buifalo. ‘able #. OWNERSHIP OF WATER BUFFALOES BY SCALE OF CULTIVATION —— ‘Under 8 5-1 rors More than opal temp 0 Mars gs se ee Rime of Wage Ran Oa DP meio mee oD Beas Vea SED Wo CIR 1 4 2 FS Berit 4¢ 84) oo 2 1 2 7 oy 0 sh 2 ag 18 cdo 149 8.085) : 1000 as e6H 1 219) ‘ 1 Hl 2t1, 2 t 03 Beco 107) “Foal GD) 036 Go GH) "The expenses involved ia. the cases in which both water buffaloes and ‘workers were hired for the tillage operation were M15-90 in cash, 25-35 nalehPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 47 in unhulled rice, per relong. Since, se we have noted above itis posible for household to carry out the lage operation by itself even if i does not town a water bufal, the frequent occurrence of hiring labour by households tulivating sninutescale holdings for the purpose of carrying out the tillage ‘operation due to the fact that male labour isnot presen: in sufcient quantity. "The principal operations in paddy cultivation which require coramunal labour are the waneplanting and harvesting operations. The following three forme of communal labour are found in these operation "The fist is the simplest form, consning of cooperative labour by members of the same family, and the villagers call this. uct Bending seni (Going the fild-work on one own). According «© the villages, iF the veale of eulivation is les than 3 relong in area transplanting can easly be carried fut with family labour, But when we actually lock into the matter we find that among 30 households cultivating lea than 5 relong only 8 completed the transplanting operation with the labour of thir families alone ‘The second is traditional form of co-operative tour (day) involving the exchange of labour between families. BY dieu is meant a form of labour bby which relatives sndjor frends living near to one another combine in a ‘group of 5-20 peasant Rowcholds on the bass of a eetain determined area ff eulvated land (9-10 relong) and carry out comminally and ina pre- ‘etermined order the transplanting or harvesting operations, Because trans- planting and harvesting sre considered in principle to be women's work, it ie fone. woman from each peasant howehold who takes part in draw labour. Tn the cave of the traneplanting operation one or two men take part in the role of transporter of eedlings (tor semai.®> ‘The thied i co-operative labour by a hired workyarty. This work-party is composed of women from the households of minutegcale peasant farmers for agricultural Inbourers ving in. the village, and beeawse the returns are fairly distributed among the members th villagers refer to such a work-party bby means of the English word “share” or the Chinesederived word "kngs? This share group ie a form of hired work-party which became conspicuous about 15 or 16 Year ago. "Whereos the normal wages for transplanting are stable at around MS7 per relong those for harvesting vary becween M$? ard MSIO because the Iabourequirement diflers according to whether the cop is easy rice of late Her and becawe there are diferenees inthe Inbour reulting from diferences fn the dryness of the all in the fields, Consequently, while deau labour i ‘more common in the ease of transplanting, co-operative labour in the form Of the share group i more common in harvesting. ‘Among the above three forms of co-operative labour the traditional dau hes in recent yeate been going out of we in its pure form. This i due to the fact that the formation of s draw party among a geoup of neighbours ‘who cultivate a certain qualifying area, e.g 10 relong has become dificult [Te ‘Thie form of cooperative bour i abo rele toa ‘Sie 1S Tn geno men conser ie useful engage ia auch work ang wi womenan ‘The Developing Economies In thin station av i shown in Figure 3, thaw of the peasants who take part in dows Ibour without pomesing the neconry area of eulvated land, eqire the lacking area of land by ‘Becoming employes = pe of cher pesants Ageia, pos GA aA fant who have no laboot may ~ tite someone, easing him #0 take part in draw labour Convent, she greater pat of the cnt ale dre Stony ined forms. compri ing draw and employed labour (oi). When this kind of dow fev cened, the poor pena ind labourer who tok part in‘ form ashore group and Nowe: Peat toured (gues ae fr elated look about for employes 10 ten rorg) five them work and thai he capt 3 general form ofthe share group. However there are alto some who organise share groupe from erat. Tn Tables 10 and It are shown the fort in whieh the various. peasant households emry out the tranaplaning and harvesting operations. The cases in which the work le earied out by famalylaboar alone dr) are more ‘uerous in deet peoportion tothe small sale of the holdings, and. the houseblde which parepae in das labour are found in great numben in the middle steam of pean, howe culvatng 5-10 relong, Employed Itbour (eo set common among the. peat howalde which have lange cativated area. What ito be noted, however, that labour exploy= ‘ent by minuteseale peasant slo occurs in no stall numberof eae, On the whl, the properton of labour employment extaordinaiy high Table 8, FORMS OF LADOUR IN TRANSPLANTING BY SCALS OF GULTIATION (Ove 186) SEA Gian aay gs To Under 88 Sl 10s MORRO Toad Forma of Eaboar 5 Bas SEs (9) 0(0) 00) 21456 > Baa) WG) 22 Go) 422 2085 2.CR4) Share 1(33) 0(0) 1(23 2a) 2¢0) 4(30) uv Baa) Ens) 14 GLB) WES) 5.c14 BES) si 9) 0¢0} 2(43 0¢0) 00) s(2m 1 stu (0) 00) 0(0) 1¢36 0(0) 1¢0y Deu 1(8) C0) 1(29 060) 00) 2C19) Not Known 9100) _0(0) 0(0} 1¢ 36) 0(0) 4(80) "Teal 30 (0H) Caw) “18 Gon) 7 06H) 135 Gon) Noes: Seine, DaDwas, and UUPaddy Farming and Social Structure in @ Maley Village 479 Table 11, FORMS OF LABOUR IN HARVESTING BY SCALE OF CULTIVATION (Oetber, 1060) Sek of Gants sary sot tos MG Toa 8 3009 wars 2(45) 1¢39 0¢0) 2. U69 > 4433) 78s) 19 G27) 1¢ 36 OC) m6) Shae 26) 1C2 Sl) 20M) 0¢0) CI ov ES) 707) BEAD G6 70H BEA 54D ¥(3H 0(@) 09) 0(0) o¢o) IC ay 540 00) OC0) 112 2un) oC) seam Deu OC) 1¢28) 0¢0) C0} oC) eon Stare 5(0) 00) 1025 (0) OC) con SeDssiae+0 00) Of) 1(2) 0(0) Can NocRsowm 4088) 0(0) 1(29 150) tus ea 3 (3 (6) 105 Nour Solin DeDoas, aad UsUna ‘Why is it that cass of labour employment are so mamerous in the tillage, transplanting, and harvesting operations? If we would point out the socio. cconomic conditions relevant to this matter, we may say the following. 1) As a resle of the fragmentation of agricultural land deriving from the lave of inheritance and population increare on the one hand, and on the other 2s a reult of the fairly frequent and widesanging movements of residence by the peasants deriving from the extensive cannibal sphere which extends beyond the village boundaries along the banks ofthe river and from poor peasants leaving the village altogether, sales and lessee of agricultural fand ‘are of frequent cecurrence and the seale of cultivation among the peasants i ina condition of flux. Consequently, the scale of culivation mong the peasantry has not been reduced to an average, and it ie dificult to organize a deau partyin its pure form among a groxp of neighbours and fix permanently the relations between the pariipating families, '2) In principle, family structure among the Malay peatants taken the form of the nuclear family and because a sexual division of labour in ell firmly adlaered to, there is rarely surplus labour within the family. Conse- ‘quently, even in the younger households with emalleeae. holdings situations Jn which the houschold is forced w rely on employed labour are apt to are, a when the wile cannot work because of pregnancy, or when either parent cannot work due to rearing of children, ‘linea, et. 5) Individval proprietorship ie often practised within a family, that i there is a pronounced tendency for the parents to ows and manage their agricultural Ind to the end of their lives Consequently, when the parents reach an advanced age they must either have their now independent children cultivate for them as tenants, or employ them in the capacity of agriculteral labourers. Again, there area number of cates of employment which are designed to asst relatives whoee incomes are iregulan,490 ‘The Developing Economies “The many instances of labour employment among the Malay peasantry cannot necemarily be considered to be due to the laziness generally aibuted to the Malays, nor can euch employment be taid to be due to the influence fof modem wage eaployment. It is due in np small part to economic Conditions such as these we have described above and to the character of the social structure of the Malay peasantry VI. THE INCOMES OF PEASANT HOUSEHOLDS AND ‘PEASANT INDEBTEDNESS ‘The minute sesle of cultivation and the high frequency of employed labour exert 2 direct influence on the domestic standard of living of the peasant households, We may then ask, what i= the range of income which the Malays of this village obtain from paddy cultivation? Table 12 showe the result of crleulations for average incomes of peasant households arranged in sx groupe with due consideration given to leases of land, scale of cultivar tion, ee. ‘eis frst necessary to explain briely the problems which arose in the ‘Tele 12, AGRICULTURAL INCOMES OF PEASANT HOUSEHOLDS (avenge of Stile Groups, Octoer, 864) Gakrtng Qaving GANS Tange Sega Sat Proper Proper 2g" rteare Tenant Prope Tenant ‘Gilad Ase Taaee w ene one Gree cate moon 0 ats Number o'Sampiee 2S oo bos [Number of Pern per ‘Wormald so 39 6680 wot Amaiale Labour wa) 1017 Ms Boo alale Labour wom OS 13 2 aon ‘ings Curated Ars ang ay ™ 90 ase ‘ArgingToel Hawes goo aa 0D 99 oat Land Held on Lease) 50 — ar 8D ae’) Rest a 6 = ow nd Lensed ng ig) 28058 = a Ret Iseme gay 1870216 So SoS Taboor Gore riage = 9 2 0 som ‘Trampling wo 4 wo 12 Harting mo no» cot ef Feilisenoy DK 26 ‘m8 ar Zest gener ea) 50S 2 8 NEASSSEEATE o1so_aimo on nam ronPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 481 process of ealelating dhe incomes of peasant hovwcholds, Aigures for which fre shown invTble 12 Fire. as regards yields che pesssute say in response to our questions that the usual yield ie $ kuncha (480 gantang) of unbulled vice per relong and that the minimum yield is abovt 1 kuncha (240 gantang). According to “crop culting tests” carried out by the Kedah state goverament the yield in dang Lalang district in 1962-69 war 27 kuncha (42 gantang) per reo, ‘but the method of calculation employed’! i not necessarily an accurate ont. ‘Which yield should be taken se the average value iva problem, but since sels difer considerably according to the amount of fertilizer applied and the variety of paddy in question we have chown to base our calculations on the yield which the peasant think of as che average, namely 3 kucha per relong® "Anoug agricsltural expenditures, we have already spoken about the costs ineured under the head of employed labour. Practically all the pensants we chemical fertilizers but the amounts paid for fetlizers do not necewarily vary in proportion to ce quantities applied. ‘This is beeauwe of the folowing cireumstance Chemical fertilizers began to be used from about 1958, and since 1953 the Agricultural Bureau of the Kedah sate governient has been supplying fertlizer at 2096 discount to fash purchasers only. But although the number of those who have availed ‘hemuclves ofthis service has teen rapidly from year to year it sill accounts for less than 25% of total peasant houscholds. ‘The letlizer which has been ia tase from former times is bat’ droppings (taki slows?) which ate obtained from a nearby bill and the peasants call this ‘aja bu? hill fertilizer. The fertilizer supplied by the government are *baje charporan’ (a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus, and pottrium feslizer) and “bajo wea" (urea) The fertilizer which can be bought in Chinese general stars is"haja gua (ammonium fulphate) The larger the size of holding the more numerous are the kinds fof Fevtlizes wed, but the wie of aj dub! is sill common among che small peasants “The smaller the size of the holding the greater is the proportion Of fevilizer: bought fom general stores. ‘The principal reason for the small peasants not purchasing the fertilizers supplied at a dicount by the govern iment i that this involves each expenditures. The greater part of the small tn this method of elation ive plot of paddy eld planted witha vay of pally withthe growing prod of se swt ae selected ‘a abby aod che ‘reageyie por rlng are elated from them a flows, Yd os 1x22 (yh rele) x120-10K (en of ay fom lng. 1 is manner the lel forthe Sve pce ze are at ado theres are added alae bono Fleas by the heads of subdiets (pa) and the average likens Toe yekieninaies by the Bene of aban bowery are raed by 20% tthe avenge yes of the Bie place bere acon in the elation. 2 Seong to he peasant the bigeye i the wiage a 95283 was 2 kuneha per relng im am ely variety pad ma482 ‘The Developing Bconomies peasants lack ready cath and must purchate their fertilizers from Chinese ‘hope on credit, even if they must do ao at a premium. "Among other agricultural expences the landovmers must pay to the Land Oc (pejatat tana) a land tax of M$0.75 per relong and an irrigation water sate of M8225 per relong. Ar an additional item which it eailar to a tax, the peasants must pay oneenth of their harvest at 2alat, thie being a religious duty required by Islam.* ‘Again, since the producer's price for unhulled rice varies over time we Ihave taken the average of thoze fluctuating prices ae our conversion rate for yields in our calculations for incomes, and. have weed the figure of MS for Taleh (16 gantang)2« "The figures given in Table 12 in respect <0 peasant households are the average values for incomes of each sample group, and are arrived at on the basis of the above points ‘According to our interviews the minimum expenditure required to maintain a family of five persons for one month & around MS50._ Since this amounts to M$600 in terms of annual expenditure the household most be ‘thae of a cultivating proprietor with 83 relong at the lest if tis to mect these expenses out of agricultural income. But in the ease of the small ‘peasants the agricultural incomes are in realy mich lower than the figures Jn Table 12 indicate, because of the methods of ealeulating yields and the conversion rates ued. Furthermore, the M840 per month is close to the minimum amount necexary, mainly for food. Thos the area of cultivation Which would allow them a sufficient amount of income would be, in fact, much langer. For example, among the 29 smallscale tenant houteholde with cultivated areas of between | and 6 relong only chee had an ample reserve of rice on hand throughout the year 1963 and contracted 0 debte at all ring that year. ‘These three howacholds consisted of two or three persons and were carrying on a fairly intensive form of agriculture, According to four surveys a cultivated area of at least 7 relong (196 hectare) ie required ‘fan income which will obviate the necesity of contracting debts is to be obtained from paddy cultivation. “a fact practically all the pessant households cultivating under 7 relong contract debts for their daly necessities, "There are a number of ways of ‘obiaining funds to meet emergencies but the vay most frequently resorted to among the peasants is called adi tinor. Pudi means wnhulled ree and 28 ‘There ae a umber of gucions whih we shoul di i connenon with he ‘thy, but the peat oo the whale found cnetenth of hei Barve a ett, abd Gori othe Duras of Reigns in the wate adeno, the religous teachers (Ge spams) in the village, and tothe poor 10 Tae range of Bucuaton inthe produce price fr unbile rce oe vilage eo ‘road one hs price beng MESS fr I tle inthe middle of December when the cary varies ae harvested, MSROO in January when the Ine varies are harvest, 26920 May whee tage bein, MSIOO0 in the mice of July when rniplantig fates place, and about MBI200 fa Spteter and OctherPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 483 Finor the east, and the expression refers to the method of paying in unbulled roe, at harvest time in the dry season when the east wind begine to blow, the price of articles purchased on credit from Chinese retail shops. ‘Thi method is alo twed in repaying loane of cath. The vlagers say that usually IMS# will be charged as interert on loans of sums under MSI00 for a period fof one month. However, the method of caleslaing the interest is by no {eats clear. Only a very small numberof the peatant gave precse answers ‘when asked how much interest would be charged on a loan of a certain sum. for a certain period, and in general they merely replied that at a certain time they had borrowed a certain sum and at harve time had repaid 0 such, including the interest. Actually, it may be supposed that the level of interet charged may vary more or les in proportion to the length of the period for which the loan is contracted, but since interest rates are also subject to variatione depending on the degree of asimacy obtaining between the creditor and debtor we cannot say ia general wat level of interest is charged. Considering the 29 cases in which we were able to confirm how many ‘pi timer debs had been contracted in 1963 by peasant howscholds cultivating funder 6 reloog, we find that in two cases the loans were for sums under DMSI00, in 18 eases for eum between M$100 and ME91, and in 9 case for sume between MES00 and M500. Among these there were only 10 peasant hhowseholds which had an ample reserve of rice on hend for that year, and fof the remaining 19 households 9 had caten all their rice on hand. between, ‘May and Aogust, and 10 had consumed all ter rice on hand by September ‘or November at the lates. Since pedi tinur debts ate repaid in unklled foe with interest added the quantity of rice on hand will decline from year fo year, asnuning that harvests are constant. If in adition to this there are focally neoesary expenditures for weddings or funeral, the indebtedness wil Tapidly increase and at last the agricultural land will have to be disposed of ‘There are alto not a few indebted peasant howechold in the 810 elong range, Among the sx cases, the sum of the loan was between MS300 and ‘MSS00 in f cates, MSOO0 in one case, and MBI,000 in one case. However, the object for which thee loane were contracted by these peasant households ‘were the purchae of fertilizers the employment of labour, and the purchase of radion and other articles, not the purchase of everyday food and clothing {sin the cae of the small peasants. In sum, i¢ would appear that a cult YYeted area of about 10 rlong is necessary if peatant howsehold isto obtain from agricaltural income enough spare economic resoures to make provision ‘agnnst emergency expenditures and to invest positively with a view to raising ‘agricultural production. "The number of peatant howseholds in the village Inaving a cultivated area of 10 rlong or more i only 25 (18436).496 ‘The Developing Economies VIL CO.OPERATIVE ORGANIZATIONS AND A NEW. ALIGNMENT OF THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE, In Padang Lalang village there are practicaly no co-operative peasant ‘organizations which could provide «postive solution to the condition of ‘economic impoverishment affcdiag the Malay peasants, Tn recent years there have indeed been a few moves to ereate some kind of co-operative ‘organisation, but it i inconcrivable that there exit any real demand for them, “The co-operative organizations which aim to cove the impoverishment of the peasantry, to some degree at least by mutuabaid methods, are, fst the mutual organizations siarittpinggan mangtok which purchase co-peratively the eating veses and other utensils used at the asemblic: held on the oveasion of weddings, funerals and other ceremonies, ad, second, the organ zation for the cooperative performance of funeral vitea(sarlat mat) which provide the costs of funerals on @ mutual-ad basis out of fonds laid by in Advance. These two Kinds of startet were originally co-operative organizations based on geographical affinity. Up to the time of the Second World War, Padang Lalang village was divided into north apd south sections, A and 3, and organizations of the abovementioned two types existed in both, But ‘concomitant with population increase end chang: of residence amoug the peasantry the organizations based on geographies affinity broke up, and in {015 a shariat pinggon mangkot was organized in section A, contsing of hhouscholds. In the case of this shrlat the members accumulated the aul scriptions of MSS to MSS over a period of thre years and bought the requisite ating ves, but by about 1950 it wae no Torger possible to replace the ‘wens, and the organization became more or lee inactive. Te was the governments encouragement of the formation of co-operative smociations (shaikat erja sama) which provided 2 nev incentive for the re organization of such traditional co-operative organizations, 22 co-operative associations for the purpose of allowing peasants to obtain the capital with Which to improve sgecultural production. “The associations were financed by collecting subscriptions from the members, paying them into a bank and receiving finance from the bank at low rates Of teres. It was influential Demons in section B who made the frst moves towards forming a sloiket Jara vena. But since the annual subscription of the swsociation was MSD it was natural that the number of peasants who covld become members of it was limited. Tt was begun in this village in 1661 with a membership of 20, but those who became members were practically peasants with holdings (of 7 relong or more. ‘Again, in 1962 a shovtot pinggan manghok of 21 persons and in 1964 2 sorikat mati of 48 persons were formed on the initiative of mone or les the fame membership. The membership in these slaritt is by now no longer limited to stction A or section By and they are organizations participated in only byPaddy Farming and Social Structure in a Malay Village 488 the relatively wealthy pearants in the village Ta I96¢ 4 certain section of influential pertons who experienced some Ieeling of reaction agsinst these moves organized. shariat pinggon mangkok ‘of 29 persone and a shartet mati of & persons, both asociations being parti ‘pated in by the comparatively poor elements ‘While the leaders of the two grovpe are all in luntial persons in the village, not only do the members of the two groupe differ as regards their Economie portion, but also, during the general election of 1964, they supported diferent candidates, and deepened the emotional conlet between them. The fgoup composed of the economically opulent stratum supported the Pan- Malayan Islamic Party and the rest supported the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the main party in tne present federal government. Because of the coming into being of these ewo contending groups a certain tection of enlightened village elder, by becoming members of two sharitat Ina atthe same line, have then their stand in a neucral position. However it i worthy of note that, ax we have shova above, the economic prestures deriving from population inerete and operating througls the inter- Inediacy of the socal custom of the Malay peasantry have been strengthening the intensification of enlivation and are about to cause radical changes in the social structure of the village. What is more, the govermment’s encour- fagement of the formation of co-operative asocations has had the contrary tlfect of acting as a factor promoting the differentiation of social strata in the village. Our surveys indicate that the Malay peasants who can stand fentiely on their own feet in economie terme with the income they earn from fgriculture amount to approximately 20% of the tora. number of peasant Toweholds in the village. Unless some measures are taken for the purpose fof enabling the remainder of the peasantry to stabilize economically it will be ilfcut to form co-operative organizations which will unite all the peasants in the village, end the tendency to the differentiation of socal strata among the peasantry may be expected to be further intensified.