Translation during the colonial period has been discussed in terms of controlling “subjects” through “mistranslations” that deliberately undermine the value of their culture. These studies tend to consider changes in the meaning of the local concept through translation as a linear process of fixing meaning. However, such studies have rarely discussed the differences in meanings in different translations by different actors in the colonial period, ignoring the dynamics of historical changes. This paper, therefore, focuses on the local concept of ngoma of the Kikuyu, one of the ethnic groups in East Africa. It traces the process of how ngoma has been translated in different genres of publication during the first half of the 20th century. Finally, it shows how different authors who wrote about ngoma focused on different aspects of ngoma based on their interests and perspectives.

This paper examines the case of Jiwasraya, Indonesia’s state-owned insurance company, in which some investors misappropriated its assets and manipulated share prices with the fraud money, such illegal investment being called saham goreng. While it has been suggested that macro prudence has improved in the banking sector, non-banking sectors have been left behind in the Reform after the 1998 Asian Economic Crisis and even in ongoing discussions about reorganization of policy process. Moreover, the effectiveness of micro prudence on investors’ misappropriation has not been verified. This case study on the effectivity of financial supervision in the sector reveals some fragilities in the financial supervisory system in Indonesia through analysis of saham goreng transactions based on the related courts’ decisions. Firstly, being left behind in the Reform offered Jiwasraya’s managers incentives for misappropriation. Secondly, the regulator of Financial Service Agency, or OJK, lacked the capacity to oversee the negative situation of the Jiwasraya’s finance. It could not have taken initiatives to improve the situation but just followed the auditors’ views. Thirdly, under these circumstances, business networks which spread through multiple layers of the Indonesian business world were involved in the transactions, which allowed the illegal transactions to be implemented smoothly. Thus, verification of the Reform by thorough analysis through case study is needed in the current discussion of the financial regulatory institution framework.

The Buddhist associations in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), separated according to sects, ethnicities, and regions, were unified into one association through the Buddhist Movement in 1963. Although it did not last long and splintered shortly after, the unification marked a new chapter in the history of Buddhism in Vietnam. As a result of joint struggles against the regime’s religious persecution, the Buddhist society of RVN was able to achieve solidarity and thereafter unify Buddhist associations that had been separated until then. However, each association had its respective viewpoints and attitudes towards Phật Giáo Việt Nam (Vietnamese Buddhism) in the light of Vietnamese nationalism. Before the unification, Mahayana Buddhist associations and Theravada Buddhist associations competed over which associations should represent Phật Giáo Việt Nam, and Khmer Buddhist associations in RVN felt distant from Phật Giáo Việt Nam. Disharmony over Phật Giáo Việt Nam, which seemed to be temporarily obscured during the joint struggles, remained unsolved after unification and eventually contributed to the splintering of Buddhist associations.

This paper elucidates two main points. First, it explores how the Buddhist associations achieved unification through the Buddhist Movement in 1963. Second, it explains the internal cause of splintering as the disharmony over Phật Giáo Việt Nam, with a specific focus on the relationship between religion and nationalism.

The nomadic lifestyle of the San has been characterized as one of egalitarian societies, and recent studies have depicted their social change as a process of continuous reorganization in which the egalitarian principle is attenuated by external factors but then restored by the San themselves. However, it is less well known that these arguments were based on field research only in Xade and New Xade, where the San’s nomadic lifestyle has been best preserved. On the other hand, the authors’ fieldwork in Kag|ae, which has been a contact zone among various ethnic groups and organizations, identified the following features of social change in this community: (1) most economically affluent people resided far from their relatives to reduce the opportunities of distribution based on traditional kin relational norms; (2) this San society was characterized by multi-layered, complex social relationships with neighboring ethnic groups and organizations; and (3) although hunting and gathering activities around Kag|ae declined much earlier than did those around Xade and New Xade, new subsistence activities reflect well the livelihood strategies to which San are accustomed in terms of flexibility in choosing their means of livelihood. These findings suggest an alternative perspective on San society as a dynamic and open system through which people continuously and actively interact with their natural and social environments.