Palu'e - Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The people of Palu'e are traditionally shifting horticulturalists growing various types of tuber, mung beans, and maize as well as a number of minor crops. Land shortages induced by population pressures have caused rotation cycles to be reduced from five years to one year. In many cases they have given way to permanent cultivation. An ancestral proscription against the growing of rice is strictly enforced throughout the island. The sale of surplus harvest goods—coconut, tamarind, candlenut, betel pepper, areca nut, fruits (mango, banana), bamboo, and palm-leaf products—in local markets and in markets on Flores is subject to ceremonial restrictions. Domestic animals include goats, sheep, dogs, and poultry. Pigs are kept for purposes of ceremonial exchange and sacrifice. Offshore fishing is conducted by means of traps, poison, lines, spears, and bows and arrows. Bomb fishing by coastal groups has in recent times greatly reduced the fish population. Because of the lack of surface water, banana trunks, bamboo, and a number of trees are tapped for water. In some locations volcanic steam is trapped in earth catchments and condensed in bamboo poles. Rainwater tanks are beginning to replace the traditional ways of water collection during the rainy season. Volcanic spots with high ground temperature are used as earth ovens for the preparation of various types of bean and tuber. Throughout the island the lontar palm ( Borassus flabellifer or B. sundaica ) is tapped twice daily and is the most important source of fluid. An islandwide ancestral prohibition on the distillation of palm juice is observed.

Most men on Palu'e are seasonal migrants. At the beginning of the dry season they take their boats to various locations along the Flores north coast and establish temporary settlements from which they return home periodically. The rainy season is spent back on Palu'e. Their occupations are occasional and include agricultural labor, construction of houses, logging, fishing, and trading.

Industrial Arts. The construction of boats used to be an important source of wealth. Boats are built on the mountain and ceremonially dragged down to the shore. The scarcity of trees now limits boat construction. Tie-dyed textiles and baskets woven from lontar-palm leaves are sold at markets on Flores.

Trade. Goods include livestock, fish, rice, textiles, and various commodities. Trade routes follow the major weekly markets on Flores.

Division of Labor. Major agricultural work, such as the initial clearing of fields and the threshing of mung beans, is shared by men and women. Planting, harvesting, and tending of the fields are done by women. Allocation of harvest goods is the domain of women. Livestock are raised and fed by women; the disposition of animals, however, is the domain of men. Traditionally women never left the island but increasing numbers of women now go to Flores to attend secondary schools. Construction of boats, dwellings, and fishtraps, palm-juice tapping, and harvesting of coconuts are exclusively male pursuits.

Land Tenure. Titles to arable land are patrilineally inherited and are held by the male members of a minimal descent group. Allocation of rights to land use by the father favors the firstborn male sibling. Female members are allocated land but relinquish their rights after marriage. Dowry can be converted into land and titles may be transferred to wife-taking groups. Land can be bought and sold as well as pawned in lieu of legal fines. Boundary disputes between domains are an important cause of warfare. Increasingly, titles are registered with the district administration. Titles to communal land and village grounds are nominally held by the priest-leader. As first-settling groups, descent groups of priest-leaders usually claim the largest number of titles to land within a given domain. Other descent groups were initially assigned land by them and hold roughly the same number of titles. Individual strategies of acquisition can alter this situation significantly. The size of holdings varies greatly according to domain affiliation.