Panel

The social significance of the pig in Southeast Asia

Panel presentation for the 6th EuroSEAS conference 26-28. August, 2010, Gothenburg

Organizers:
Signe Howell and Jon Henrik Ziegler Remme
Department of Social Anthropology
University of Oslo

In many societies in Southeast Asia, animals play a significant role in people’s life. The pig seems in many cases to be of particular importance. For many people in the region it is the prime source of protein coming from either commercial or household husbandry and from hunting. The pig, however, is also an animal that is heavily infused with meaning, and as an important element in many social practices it plays a significant role in many Southeast Asian cultures.
The panel seeks to explore the significance of the pig in Southeast Asian cultures in order to develop a discussion of its regional diversity and/or its eventual underlying uniformity. The panel pays a particular attention to the social aspects of the pig, i.e. the role it plays in human interaction, meaning -production and in socio-political and historical processes, and invites both contemporary and historically based contributions.
With its ubiquitous presence in both mainland and insular Southeast Asia, the pig holds a particular position within many cultures in the region. In some cases we find the pig to be the most prestigious sacrificial animal, the most desired aliment and as having close ties to a household, in other cases it is considered most unfit for both human and divine consumption and interaction, and in many cases such contrasting views co-occur within a society. What are the social implications of such views and how are they addressed by different cultures? The distinction between wild and domestic pigs points also to its role in symbolic classification and the practices related to these variants invite studies of husbandry and hunting. What role does the pig play in symbolic classification and how is this related to practices related to husbandry and hunting? As an animal with a central role in people’s life it is also a part of their religious and ritual life. How can the ideas and practices related to the pig in these contexts tell us something about human-spiritual, human - animal and inter-human relations? What role does it play in rituals and everyday life as an object of exchange and how is it connected to notions of morality? The pig’s centrality and significance has changed throughout history and is also today part of an ongoing social dynamic which also makes it a possible point of entry into studies of historical and social change in the region. What role does the pig play in social processes in general and as a factor in the dynamics of social and cultural change? And with the advent of the swine flu, how is the medical discourse of this pandemic received in societies where the pig is central to much social interaction?
The panel invites papers addressing these and related issues through empirically based research. Please send your proposals until 31st of March 2010 to:

Jon Henrik Ziegler Remme: j.h.remme@sai.uio.no
Signe.howell: signe.howell@sai.uio.no