(Agricultural Archaeology 1996(1):107-112. Japanese>Chinese transl. by Lin Guangxin & Peng Shijiang, History Lab. Researcher, S China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, PR CHINA. OCR - Caddy; format - G.Leir; trans/ed. - Jiwu Wang, J. Liang, B. Gordon)
Two. Essential Factors of Malayan Cultivation
To identify how Malayan rice spread to SE Asian islands, I reviewed its traits in Part One. Here, I detail Malayan rice cultivation technology by introducing methods of field tilling.
1. Methods of field tilling
Although plowing is atypical in Malayan rice cultivation, some people retain it, often with spade or hoe and animal or human feet. Some also use a brushhooklike tool to prepare the field without plowing. I begin with hoof plowing (cattle tramping) and spading typical of Malayan rice cultivation.
(1) Hoof (cattle trampling)
To separate hoof and foot plowing, I use the term "hoof plow" like my research in Indonesia where it persists (Tanaka 1982). I now summarize SE Asian island hoof plow technology in three regions: mountain basin, lower wetland and karst. Mountain basin people mostly use slash & burn to clear fields, then hoof plows, spades and plowshares. Lower wetland people use water buffalo hoof plows in paddies and rotated fields, first to cut weeds and then turn them into the soil. Karst people use hoof plows to prevent water loss, as paddies depend on rain. For this reason it supplements regular plowsharing.
While hoof plow function differs regionally, methods are the same; e.g., walking several to >10 buffalo across the field, according to soil conditions.
The Limboto kept the hoof plow into the 1920's, a method called parudu or momaruda, usually with 2-3 buffalo, but sometimes 20-30. As paddies have many weeds, buffalo were used in the morning as hoof plows to turn weeds into the soil, repeating after several days. After all weeds were turned, human hands and feet prepared the paddy and planted the rice. After Isimu locals began regular plowing in the 1930's, young villagers forgot the original meaning of paruda, only using their feet to pack soil around cassava.
Nepal Bay paruta hoof plows kept water in dry season paddies made from black sticky or limey soil. Tacipi people have two rice harvests, with traditional planting in rainy season (March-Sept.). In February, following dry season, dikes are made between fields, then 2 buffalo for double plowing, followed by 10 massed buffalo for continuous walking. Then buffalo pull a big wood block to level the paddy. As locals think poor paddies retain hoof plowing because it homogenizes soil and water, retaining the latter, it and regular plowing coexist.
From Malaya to W Ximentala Islands, hoof plowing thrives over SE Asia to the Philippines and beyond. It was in SE Asian mainland in Burma under the British (Utin Gyi 1931; Anon.1900), Thailand (Browing 1857:201; tribe unspec.) and Vietnam in Taiping Province lower Red Delta (Dumont 1935:156) and in other minorities (Dang et al.1984:18,52,71,227). For pan-SE Asia we find hoof plowing ubiquitous on the islands, which I will discuss.
The Philippines' Bangdu and adjoining Yifujiaduo States are famous for their terraced fields, prepared with dibbles and human trampling since early 20th century. Mountain people use hoof plows (Jenks l905:95), some 17 water buffalo trampling fields of dry season-planted sweet potato, turning the soil into mud for transplanting. Dikes in steep terraces prevent the use of water buffalo.
Hoof plowing was in S Sulawei State, which resembles small northern valleys. The rice staple is planted in mountain paddies, terraced fields and slash & burned fields. Mamasa field preparation is done by spade or hoof plow or both in three paddy types: big paddy or kondo in valleys (most important), small terraces or awa-awa, or between or uma. Hoof plowing is most common in kondo or uma, often with l0-20 water buffalo, repeated several days later and a month after by spading and a tool called luisan to prepare the field. The hoof plow is used in wet fields, with tools for paddies. The Makale also use hoof plows (palulu), then spades. Instead of hoof plows, Shanxia (1982:385) found the Mengkendek spading and using hands to pulverize soil. Hose & McDougall (1912:97) said early 20th century Kelabit used buffalo to trample their paddies. Locals were ignorant of plowing except for the Dusun who got it from the Chinese, Philipinos and Indians. Schneeberger (1979:52) said the Kelabit planted dry rice in slash & burned fields or paddies, directing water from rivers and streams. After early October seeding, dikes, ditches and weeds were cut, water and massed water buffalo directed to paddy, followed by people levelling it. Buffalo were returned after harvest. They were important property used in tribal trade and as sacrifices
The above describes mountain hoof plowing. Lower wetland hoof plowing is common in Malaya. On lower Tursan River, the Murut (Roth 1896:406) ran water buffalo in the paddy to cut weeds into the soil. In 1970, Fukui said some hoof plow buffalo in Sarawak's 4th and 5th districts were wild. Before seeding, they and domestic buffalo ate weeds or cut them into the soil. People also used brushhooklike weeders. He said Sarawak people fallowed, dibbled and transplanted, rather than hoof plowed, when paddy had inorganic turf (empalan) or soil (paya).
Hoof plow records abound in coastal and inner wetland Malaya. Hooves plowed when rainwater was a foot deep in coastal Malaccan paddies, fertilizing new seeding by cutting rice stubble and weeds into soil. Cameron's mid-19th century travel report (1865:383) said "soil stubble rotted so fast dibbles were used to transplant rice seedlings after next year's rainy season". As rice is transplanted in dry season, Cameron must have been in the lower paya wetland where hoof plowing began in rainy season. For a century, the mid-Pahang River wetland Temerloh cut weeds with knives, then buffalo for hoof plowing (Ho 1967:54). Hoof plowing prevailed, except on Malayan Maracca and Negeri Sembilan riverland and Perak's Telok Anson and Kangsar Jual floodplain. The former used the spade or knife to mix soil before hoof plowing, a method brought by the Minankai from Sumatra in 16th and 17th centuries. Others say this was already widespread (Jacson 1972:86-90).
If wetland is ignored, Sumatran hoof plows are widespread from Asqi to S Sumatra in floodplain and damp field. Elsewhere, knives and spades prepare the field. The hoof plow is on Haicai and Java, where Yuye (1944:90) said it "is mostly in Banduo region." Thus, the hoof plow was in colonial W Java, without specific locale, and was used with the spade from ancient times. Hoof plows are more common from Longmu Island E to other islands.
Except deep paddies, the Xinbalun Bumbung hoof plow at least half the paddy after 5 cm flooding. Weeding is by 10-20 buffalo under 3-4 people (up to 40 buffalo with more), one person leading, the rest driving. After 1st hoof plowing (ngerak), water remains 1-2 weeks while dikes are fixed, then 2nd hoof plowing (remasak), with floating weeds collected and raked, the whole procedure called nggaro, a name relating to buffalo (Poniman 1988:66-67). Almost all Longmu Island paddies are on terraced volcano piedmont. While most people plow and transplant, some isolated hill people still hoof plow.
In the drier far E Xiaogenta Islands, rice cultivation is mainly slash & burn/short-term fallow, but hoof plowing and paddy rice introduced by the Bima in the 1920's to the Lishe region persist (Kepas l990:12), with preparation as follows: weed cutting, spading (tambi), irrigation and human (seto) or hoof plowing (ndewu)[Shandao 1990:641). Hoof plowing was likely introduced from a nearby island with known paddy rice cultivation.
Hoof plowing is on other islands (Fox 1977:36; Kepas l986:29), but common on Xiaozhenta and ubiquitous on Timor. Metzner (1977:127-141) said rain and underground water were used to flood paddy, then 30-40 buffalo and sometimes horses and 3 people per hectare over 2-2.5 days to prepare it. Different soil may need 2-3 hoof plowings, whereupon dikes are repaired and rice seedlings transplanted.
E & W Timor hoof plowing for cultivating rice is also common (Poniman 1988:133-167), many villages once, others 2-3 times. People usually use 20-30 buffalo for hoof plowing, sometimes 100. Kepas (1990:24, 44, 63, 84) thought every village used the hoof plow to prevent water leakage, although the walking plow was present. As stated, people also used the hoof plow in karst regions.
Now replaced by normal plowing, the above shows SE Asian island hoof plowing was common, but locales remain unidentified.
(2) Foot (human trampling)
In November, 1980, I first noted S Indonesia's Runbia Villagers trampling after spading to level the field and mix weeds into soil. Later careful observation show its common adoption, even in NE Sulawesi. Trampling was followed by sticks and feet, then rice transplanting, but they also knew hoof preparation. Was trampling an ancient practice? We know it was traditional from examples. Luzon people had hoof and human trampling (Jenks 1905:94) and dibbles: women and children use 0.9-1.8 m sticks or kay-kay to upturn soil blocks, then soak them while singing "although this is hard work, you will enjoy your rice later", until finishing the field. They trample and use sticks to flatten the field, then transplant rice seedlings. The Yifujiaduo also trample (Conklin 1980:21).
The Sheli (Shandao 1990:641) and Kalabite (Schneerberger l979:52) also trample along with hoof plowing. Malayans use knives to cut weeds and hoof or human trampling to prepare paddy (Jackson 1972:87).
Where hoof and human trampling co-occur over Sumatra, other tools like the spade exist, but Poniman finds few examples; e.g., the Lhok Sukon use only human trampling and long knives (tajak) or brushhooklike knives (parang) to cut weeds, but soft weeds are cut into soil, followed by a dibble (kuku kambing) for transplanting (Poniman 1988:6). Yaqi County people also use dibbles, work called memerjak or meregak (Poniman 1988:10-13). The Kototuo trample after 2-3 hoof plowings, then dibble to flatten field (Poniman 1988:71).
The above shows we understand human trampling is not only simple paddy preparation, but needed for transplanting. It is also used to level the field, the final preparation. But wetland trampling might be done with hooves.(to be cont'd.)