Regional autonomy, Malayness and power hierarchy in the Riau Archipelago
Résumé
This chapter explores some aspects of the popular discourse on ethnicity and Malayness in the light of the formation of a new province that will split off the 3, 200 islands of the Riau Archipelago from the Sumatra part of Riau province. My interest lies in the construction and modelling of personhood through ethnic, kinship, geopolitical and nation-bound memberships. The concept of ethnicity, with its variety of modes such as historical imagination and self-awareness, is, more often than not, considered the focus of reference in the portrayal of one's own group's membership.