When Markets Are Social Institutions: Moral Economy and Symbolic Capital in the Buffalo Trade at Bolu Market, Toraja

Isak Pasulu; Elisabet  Pali

doi:10.70184/yvppre17

Authors

Isak Pasulu Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, Universitas Kristen Indonesia Toraja
Elisabet Pali Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, Universitas Kristen Indonesia Toraja

Economic sociology; , traditional markets; , purchasing decisions; , symbolic value; , social embeddedness; , North Toraja

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the process of purchasing decision-making and the determination of buffalo selling prices in the Bolu Livestock Market, North Toraja Regency, through the perspective of economic sociology.

The research applies a qualitative case study design to explore the socio-economic dynamics embedded in traditional market practices. Data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews with traders, buyers, and traditional leaders, and supporting documentation.

The analysis was conducted using thematic analysis and interpreted through the theoretical lenses of social embeddedness proposed by Mark Granovetter, moral economy by Karl Polanyi, and the concepts of social and symbolic capital by Pierre Bourdieu. The findings indicate that purchasing decisions and price determination of buffalo are not solely driven by market prices or economic rationality. Instead, these decisions are strongly influenced by symbolic values associated with buffalo, family honor, and social legitimacy rooted in Torajan customary traditions.

The decision-making process emerges from the interaction between the physical characteristics of buffalo such as body condition, gender, and culturally recognized traits and the social structure of market actors, including social status and relational networks. These findings imply that traditional market practices in Toraja are deeply embedded within the local socio-cultural structure, highlighting the relevance of an economic socio

References

Aspers, P., & Beckert, J. (2016). Value in markets. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198748461.001.0001

Beckert, J., & Aspers, P. (Eds.). (2019). The worth of goods: Valuation and pricing in the economy. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198820808.001.0001

Block, F., & Somers, M. R. (2020). The power of market fundamentalism: Karl Polanyi’s critique. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674246634

Fourcade, M. (2017). Cents and sensibility: Economic valuation and the nature of “nature”. American Journal of Sociology, 123(1), 1–45. https://doi.org/10.1086/691697

Krippner, G. R., & Alvarez, A. S. (2020). Embeddedness and the intellectual projects of economic sociology. Annual Review of Sociology, 46, 329–351. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054941

Lomnitz, L. A., & Sheinbaum, D. (2018). Trust, social networks and the informal economy. Sociology of Development, 4(2), 130–151. https://doi.org/10.1525/sod.2018.4.2.130

Maurer, B., Nelms, T., & Rea, S. C. (2017). “Bridging the gap”: Social value and market exchange in contemporary economies. Economic Anthropology, 4(1), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12072

North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.

Polanyi, K. (1957). The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time (2nd ed.). Beacon Press.

Sayer, A. (2018). Moral economy. Polity Press.

Swedberg, R. (2021). Economic sociology: An introduction and agenda. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429494334

Veblen, T. (1899). The theory of the leisure class: An economic study of institutions. Macmillan.

Volkman, T. (1985). Ritual, status, and cattle in Toraja. Yale University Press.

Waterson, R. (1984). The cultural context of Toraja society. Cornell University Press.

Zelizer, V. A. (1994). The social meaning of money. Basic Books.

Zelizer, V. A. (2017). Morals and markets: The development of life insurance in the United States (Updated ed.). Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/zeli17118

Zelizer, V. A. (2020). Economic lives: How culture shapes the economy (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press.