Paper Short Abstract:

This paper explores how the Orang Rimba, a forest-dwelling indigenous group in Jambi, Indonesia, navigate the ongoing encroachment of development and conservation efforts. Despite the imposition of physical boundaries, they create a "third space" of resistance to preserve their cultural identity and

Paper Abstract:

Since the 1970s, modern development and conservation efforts have profoundly altered the ecological landscape, access, and territorial rights of the Orang Rimba, a forest-dwelling hunter-gatherer group in Jambi Province, Indonesia. These efforts have transformed their traditional forests from a cultural, mentally constructed space into a physical one, marked by abstract and ahistorical boundaries. The Orang Rimba's ancestral lands have been divided by transmigration settlements, rubber and palm oil plantations, while the remaining forests have been designated as national parks.

Based on ethnographic research and two decades of fieldwork, this paper examines how the Orang Rimba navigate ongoing development that increasingly encroaches upon their physical space and cultural identity. Despite the imposition of these modern boundaries, the Orang Rimba have created a "third space" that embodies resistance and the ongoing struggle for identity which responds to the spatial and natural resource constraints imposed upon them. This "third space" transcends the physical boundaries set by modern development, showcasing the resilience and adaptive strategies of the Orang Rimba in their fight for cultural survival.