INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, THE STATE AND ETHNOGENESIS - A STUDY OF THE COMMUNAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE DAYAK COMMUNITIES IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA

This article describes the communal; associations of;the ''Dayak'' com munities in Sarawak, and their functions of relating to the state and articulating local interests of the indigenous minorities. The signifi cance of communal associations to the ethnogenesis of indigenous peopl es is considered as well. Overall, communal associations are useful fo r projecting the presence of indigenous peoples in a communally strati fied nation-state.