Manifold Connections

Abstract

This paper focuses on eastern Indonesia, and in particular on the Minahasa region of northern Sulawesi. It examines the links of this region with others in the archipelago, as well as with the state, from the early modern period through to the present, and tests the usefulness of the concepts of ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ in understanding the nature of those links. A centre–periphery relationship is commonly defined in terms of geography, economy or power relations, but, as the paper argues, the definition can also rest on cultural or social factors. The paper also suggests the possibility of the simultaneous or successive existence of several centres and many peripheries.

• boundaries
• economic history
• ethnicity
• Minahasa
• Timor