Kayan Land Tenure and the Distribution of Devolvable Usufruct in Borneo

Abstract

"The literature on land tenure among the indigenous peoples of Borneo perpetuates an error with regard to the Kayan system of land tenure. It is stated that among the Kayan no devolvable usufructary rights are created by the clearing of primary forest (e.g. Rousseau 1977:136) and that the Kayan land tenure system is, therefore, like that of the Rungus of Sabah. However, according to my field inquiries the Kayan and Rungus have radically different systems of land tenure. In correcting this misapprehension it will be necessary to review the status of research on land tenure in Borneo and pose critical questions for further research."