Power and Prowess: The origins of Brooke kingship in Sarawak (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780824825003)

In this significant reinterpretation of Sarawak history, John Walker explores the network of power, economic, and ritual relationships that developed on the northwest coast of Borneo in the mid-nineteenth century, from which a coalition led by James Brooke established the state of Sarawak.

Where many authors placed Brooke in the context of nineteenth-century British imperialism, this study perceived him in the context of Bornean cultures and political economies. Brooke emerges from the historical record as a "man of prowess," with the author identifying important ritual sources of Brooke's power among Malays, Bidayuh, and Iban--sources that derived from and expressed indigenous cultural traditions about fertility, health, and status.For sale in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand by NUS (Singapore) Press

Author: J. H. Walker
ISBN-10: 0824825004
ISBN-13: 9780824825003
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Language: English
Published: 03/31/2002
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.75d