Warfare and wealth were the major means for acquiring status in precolonial Minahasa (North Sulawesi). The author argues that the quest for power and prestige is an ongoing concern among Minahasans. Based on extensive anthropological and historical research, this book focuses on patterns and processes of social mobility. The character of leadership in tribal society, then under the colonial bureaucracy, and later in modern Indonesia are discussed. Besides political changes, changes in economic conditions and in religion have had a considerable influence on mobility. These processes are illustrated by a case study of a local community.

For the last five decades, the Dani of the central highlands of West Papua, along with other Papuans, have struggled with the oppressive conditions of Indonesian rule. Formal education holds the promise of escape from stigmatization and violence. Dreams Made Small offers an in-depth, ethnographic look at journeys of education among young Dani men and women, asking us to think differently about education as a trajectory for transformation and belonging, and ultimately revealing how dreams of equality are shaped and reshaped in the face of multiple constraints.