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Heads under bridges or in mud: Reflections on a Southeast Asian ‘diving rumour’
Author(s) -
Forth Gregory
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
anthropology today
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1467-8322
pISSN - 0268-540X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8322.2009.00697.x
Subject(s) - southeast asia , indonesian , history , representation (politics) , java , volcano , order (exchange) , geology , ancient history , political science , paleontology , law , philosophy , computer science , business , linguistics , politics , programming language , finance
In 2006 drilling by an Indonesian oil company precipitated an eruption of volcanic mud which has rendered a large area in East Java uninhabitable. Failed attempts to stop the eruption gave rise to a rumour that Javanese were scouring other islands in search of numerous human heads in order to quell the mud flow. While the circumstances are novel, the article demonstrates how the ‘Lapindo rumour’ is a variant of a much older and more persistent Southeast Asian representation, according to which heads are required to lend durability to iron bridges or other modern structures.