1. “Silence is no longer golden”: an
Ethnography of Informal ‘Gold Digging’
in Bombana District, Indonesia
Omar Pidani
Department of Anthropology, School of Culture,
History and Language, CAP

2. 2
Outline
• Background
– Ethno-history of the District
– Gold Rush & The closure of People's Mining Area
– Drivers of Gold Rush in Bombana
• Research Questions
• Theoretical Orientation
• Methodology and Ethics

3. Bombana in Sulawesi Bombana Mainland
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4. Sneddon’s Bungku-Mori
Group (1983)
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5. 5

6. Mokole (1918) Mokole (2014)
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7. 7

8. Land Category in Hukaea Laea Village
Land category Definition
Inalahi pue
Inalahi popalia
Inalahi peumaa/kotoria
Olobu
Kura
Tana lapa/lueno
Bako
Sacred forest; where the spirit (Ntiwonua) lives; where spring (Mata bundu) is located;
no Moronene has can be found in Tawuna Ula & Mendoke mountain
Ibid; this type couldn’t be disturbed by the Moronene; permission from elders to enter,
otherwise will cause disaster; can be found in Ranongkohahi, Tutumponda, Pelawatia
area
Primary forest which can be used for farming, hunting or graveyard of Sangia or Mokole
Forest patch in the middle of savanna or river bank; some considered sacred, habitat
for certain animals
Regrowth forest which can be used for gardening; can be found in Hoki-hokio, Tinombo,
Langkaea, Sanggihoa, Sampe Tuwere, Laea, Tinombo, Pereua, Pokaea, Tali-Taliawa,
Hukaea, Watumelewe, Wambakowu, Lampinapa.
Savanna grassland
Mangrove forest
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9. The map of the Hukaea Laea
Village in the National Park
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10. Organisation structure in the
Moronene village of Hukaea Laea
Definition:
Puutobu: Village head
Limbo: advisor
Bonto: judge
Kamuta’a: healer
Totongano: land use coordinator
Kapala: hamlet head
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11. Events that led to land dispute and eviction
• 1952: Incoming of Darul Islam/Tentara Islam Indonesia
(DI-TII)
• 1976: The Hunting Park Designation
• 1979/1980: The National Transmigration Program
• In 1990: the Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park
Designation
• 1997-2002: Clean swipe operation (Operasi sapu Jagat)
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12. Prayer together before meeting with
the Sapu Jagat team
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13. Negotiation with the Sapu Jagat
team
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14. The Sapu Jagat team knocking
down the Moronene house
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15. A Moronene man with the ruin of
his house
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16. Smokes of burnt down houses in
the Hukaea Laea Village from afar
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17. Establishment of the Bombana District in 2003
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18. November 2008: Gold Rush Occured
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Gold Rush in Tahi Ite Stream

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Mining Camp in Wumbubangka

20. Gold digging in river (courtesy: JPNN)
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21. 21
Gold digging in land (courtesy: Yos Hasrul)

22. Landslide and casualties
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23. License for mining for individual
miners
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24. PT. Panca Logam Makmur’s
operation
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25. Distribution of mining business
licenses (Izin Usaha
Pertambangan) in 2013 (courtesy:
JATAM)
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26. Riot after the closing of the mining
area
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27. 27
Courtesy: Carsten Bundgaard
Drivers of Gold Rush

28. 28
Pepper farm (left); A Moronene man collecting herbs from forest (right)

29. 29

30. 30

31. 31
Courtesy: Carsten Bundgaard

32. A news article on local protest of
‘Penambangan Liar’ (Liar = wild;
illegal)
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33. Research Questions
• Why do some people in the uplands of Bombana,
particularly the indigenous Moronene groups, choose to
become artisanal gold miners, while others do not?
• How is informal artisanal gold mining organized? How
does each mining organization create social and power
relations that encourage or discourage participation?
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34. Theoretical Orientation
• Culturally-oriented Political Economy (William
Roseberry, 1984, among others)
• Structuration Theory (Bourdieu, 1973; Giddens, 1984)
– Bourdieu (1973): Field, Habitus, Interest, Capital
• Access (Ribbot and Pelluso, 1994)
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35. Methodology and Ethics
Research Location
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36. • Methods:
– Interviews, informal discussions and observations of
social relations and concrete events and rituals, as
well as cases and concepts clarification by
respondents
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37. Thank You
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