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Paper short abstract:

Penan hunter-gatherers in Borneo are assertively egalitarian and food is shared, while among rice-growers like the Kelabit are hierarchical and rice is clearly owned and not freely shared. However,rice is nevertheless the basis of a form of prosociality founded in dependance, which generates the possibility of status differentiation.

Paper long abstract:

Among Penan hunter-gatherers in Borneo, who depend on sago starch and hunting, all food is immediately shared equally among all. Among Kelabit rice-growers, on the other hand, rice is produced and owned separately and some families produce more rice than others. Rice is not freely shared, although traditionally hunted meat and wild vegetables were. It is, however, ultimately shared among all in a traditional context: those who have more rice make it available to those who are short of rice, through large-scale rice meals, feasts and through bringing those who have less into their families as dependants. Those who have more rice ultimately eat no more than those who have less rice and there is little difference in life-style. Such a way of life, which is widespread throughout tribal groups in SE Asia and probably throughout the world, is arguably prosocial. However, it also entails inequality in status: those who are able to provide for others have higher status, because of the very fact that they are able to provide for others. They are believed to be more powerful, closer to the spirits and to God. This shows that prosociality and egalitarianism do not necessarily go hand-in-hand and that notions of equality and inequality need to be more closely examined. Within human groups, it is possible for differentiation to be accompanied by prosociality. Certain crops - rice, and probably other grains, because of their particular characteristics - have the capacity to generate status differentiation, but this may be accompanied by a strong impetus towards care for others.