Machine derived contents note: A note on pronunciation and orthography -- Introduction -- Part I. Environment and History: 1. Deceptive appearances -- 2. History and change -- Part II. Sociocultural Effects of Colonial Penetration: 3. Ethnohistory, inequality, and contemporary village politics -- 4. Bius: religious conflict and accommodation -- 5. Ritual expressions of values and the feasting system -- Part III. Agriculture and Trade: 6. The agricultural cycle and the cycle of wants -- 7. The ecology and ethnology of Batak grassland farming -- 8. Marketing, credit, and investment -- Part IV. Access to Resources: Labour and Land in Interpreting the Economy: 9. Age and gender differentials in the work force -- 10. Modes of labor mobilization -- 11. Ownership, care, and values of livestock -- 12. landholding and transference -- Part V. Modeling Samosir Batak Economy: 13. Reciprocity and spheres of exchange in Batak economy -- 14. Change and persistence in the worldview of Samosir villagers -- Appendixes -- Index