The doctoral thesis studies woman's and men's roles in the Iban tribe in Kalimantan. As a result of the growing influence of the majority society, these crofters, originally living in the heart of the primeval forest, have undergone many changes in the last 20 years. They have to cope with a different lifestyle and values hectically imposed upon them to a large extent. This process influences the structure of the whole society, and affects also the traditional system of male and female roles. Through deep study and analysis of female and male activities, I have studied penetrability of the assigned roles, which start to appear as impaired or non-functional, and which determine the creation of new structures
