People’s Choice of Place of Living and Related Factors in a Coastal Community in Riau, Indonesia

This article analyzes how Melayu people choose their place of living in a coastal community in Riau, focusing on people who do not own land. Based on field research conducted in A Community, I discuss the following: (1) characteristics of the community, (2) people’s choices of place of living, and (3) people’s migration to upstream areas of the community. The relevant characteristics of A Community are that it is a fishing community—it was formed in brackish water areas around the coast—and not very dependent on land. Family dwellings and family ties are the most fundamental determinants of people’s choice to live here. People’s livelihoods rely on a combination of various sources of income, and employment and schooling are often outside the community. Plantation companies starting their business in the upstream areas in the late 1990s brought employment to the people but reduced fish stocks and deposited so much waste into the river that dwellings built on the water could no longer be repaired. These changes led people to migrate to upstream areas of the community. Over time, upstream migration may lead to deep cultural changes that transform this and other coastal communities such that they come to resemble their terrestrial counterparts.