Land, marriage and social exclusion: the case of Madurese exile widow

This paper aims to seek connections between land, marriage, and social exclusion. In Madurese, marriage are not just a matter of who married whom, but at the core of marriage lies important meaning: the presence of the husband and the birth of children. Husband and children play a vital function as the land processor, and to keep the land processed, it's important not be infertile. Infertility is a taboo to be avoided, because it would be a reason for divorce. Those who do not have husbands and children do not contribute to the economy of tanean, and hence they got the punishment of social exclusion, lose access to resources, and later on forcing them to conic out of their home. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.