The Politics and Aesthetics of Place-names in Sarawak

As elements of the political landscape, place-names can express not only the ideological themes of the state but also the political atmosphere and processes by which nation-states make their impression on the landscape. This essay, based on fieldwork conducted in Sarawak, Malaysia, in 1999 and 2000, addresses the nature of place-names in Sarawak and focuses on how certain communities react to the place-names of their villages and townships in …