Review by Choice Review
Adams (Loyola Univ.) examines Toraja identity through art in action. This ethnic group from the highlands of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has long captured the imaginations of other locally situated ethnic groups, missionaries, anthropologists, agents of the state, and domestic and foreign tourists alike. Adams's more than 20-year ethnographic odyssey in Toraja Land focuses on the dynamics of Toraja identity politics in relation to these various interlocutors, especially in the design and traffic of art, particularly tourist art. Tourist art has become a significant feature of how Torajas think about their identities and way of life, so much so that for many Torajas, art has become politically charged in a politics of recognition that is simultaneously local, religious, national, and international in scope. This very fine ethnography spans an unusually long time frame that, at the conclusion, finds the author in the middle of UNESCO recognition of this region and people as a World Heritage Site (2001), illustrating that tourism is a globally unfolding process that is neither imposed nor entirely locally managed. General readers and specialists alike will find this book an exceptional contribution to the study of tourism from a thickly described, historically charged point of view. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. S. Ferzacca University of Lethbridge
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
