In Asia, clientelism is linked ultimately to the forg-
ing of loyalty and to family ideology. In societies
where descent is of importance, patrons of high-
ranking families gather clients around themselves.
Until the first half of the twentieth century, clients
were not paid for their services with money. The
reward for their work and services in paddy fields,
in plantations, in orchards, in the house or else-
where was simply food and accommodation. In
modern days, this pattern changed and money
began to play a prominent role in patron-client
contracts. In Asia’s Islamic societies, the patron
families often claim a royal lineage – relatives and
offspring of a sultan – or trace their family ties back
to a syed(sayyid, of Arab origin). Until the late
1950s (or even later) it was not unusual in some
regions for such families to educate and prepare
their daughters for their future role as caretaker of
the entire entourage of the patron, especially when
there was no male family member available to per-
form this task after the patron passed away. The
role of the hereditary caretaker thus became de-
gendered to a certain extent.
In insular Southeast Asia, both the dyadic rela-
tionship between male patrons and clients and the
concept of adopted sons and daughters are still in
existence. Today, the patron family becomes the
foster family, or keluarga angkatin Indonesian/
Malay. On their way from one place to another,
people can approach the house of a local family,
beg for food and shelter and a space to lay down
their head. Once they act like a son or daughter –
being obedient and loyal to the parents, helping
with the housework – they may be adopted by the
respective family. While in former times this pat-
tern worked for young people seeking shelter and a
place to stay, its role today is more differentiated,
ranging from a more or less symbolic expression of
liking each other to very pragmatic forms of uti-
lization in the political arena. Another pragmatic
motivation for the adoption of a son or daughter is
the lack or abundance of female or male children in
a household. Since both sexes are assigned gen-
dered roles, their presence is of importance for a
family. Therefore, it is common practice to give a
child to a related family when there is a need or rea-
son to do so. The concept of keluarga angkatis not
restricted to Muslims but is a common pattern
practiced by families of various ethnic origins and
religious orientations.
In Malaysia, adoption has developed into a mod-
ern form of a formerly informal, legally non-bind-
ing patron-client relationship. Here, the father of
the family is even entitled to marry the adopted
daughter, which gives the otherwise de-gendered
east asia and southeast asia 539practice a peculiar twist and reveals the dominant
position of the male in this practice. Another gen-
der bias is the fact that patron families nowadays
have become more reluctant to adopt girls. Current
administration requires the registration of adopted
children, even if they are nephews or nieces of the
same family. Rape and abuse of adopted girls can-
not be completely avoided by way of registry, but
the adoption is at least legally based, so that any
kind of abuse of the relationship can be brought
to trial.
It is remarkable that women in many Asian
Islamic communities seek advice from an imam, a
local shaykh, or an ≠àlimmore often than men in
order to cope with personal problems in daily life.
The character of such a relationship is not so much
shaped by the seeking of shelter or protection but
by a mutual arrangement of “advice for money” –
concerning matters such as which sùraof the
Qur±àn should be read in order to ease physical,
mental, or emotional pain. The relationship
between a client and the provider of spiritual guid-
ance need not last for a lifetime, although it is usu-
ally a steady connection. The reason for the higher
frequency of female clients seeking help from reli-
gious advisors is believed to be the reluctance of
men to admit the need for advice. For men, finding
solutions for parental and marital problems is facil-
itated by the possibility of turning to a second,
third, or fourth wife, whereas the women who are
left behind often struggle to make ends meet, in
particular when a regular source of income ceases
to exist. The common term for advice from a wise
person, and in particular from a religious celebrity,
is “spiritual,” indicating that humans need more
than material security in order to handle the chal-
lenges of life. A male bias lies in the fact that the
spiritual leaders in these Islamic societies are solely
men. There is no imàma, shaykha, or ≠àlima.
Patronage and clientage in Northeast Asia, in
contrast, inherit elements of Confucian and Bud-
dhist thought. Japan, Korea, and China have pre-
served these elements until today and have translated
them into a modern context (the Japanese company
functioning as a “family,” for example). Confucian
principles relating to seniority and rules of respect
within the family (younger brother–elder brother;
son–father) do not explicitly refer to women. The
status of woman in the hierarchical order, however,
is lower than men’s. Within the hierarchical order,
women assume a respected status only when no
suitable male counterpart is available. In rural
China, the system of patronage and clientage is ulti-
mately linked to the clan structure, which is deeply
embedded in Chinese society. In Japan, specific