Sundanese

ETHNONYMS: Orang Sunda, Urang Prijangan, Urang Sunda

Settlements

Sundanese villages are larger than those of Java, and usually have between 1,000 and 7,000 or more residents. The usual settlement pattern is one of clusters of houses separated by agricultural fields. One's fields are typically small and dispersed. Although traditional housing no longer exists, Sundanese housing may be distinguished from Javanese in that it is built on pilings.

Sociopolitical Organization

Dutch colonization resulted in a new class of administrative elite. Administrative personnel ( pamong pradja ) enjoy the highest status in Sundanese society, and Western education and the ability to speak Dutch became the best means for raising one's status. The Sundanese are presently under Indonesian rule.

See also Javanese

Bibliography

Hirokoshi, Hiroko (1978). "Islam and Social Change among the Moslem Sundanese in West Java." Kabar Sekarang 4:41-47.

Palmer, Andrea Wilcox (1967). "Situradja: A Village in Highland Priangan." In Villages in Indonesia, edited by R. M. Koentjaraningrat, 299-325. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.

Thomas, Murray, et al. (1975). Social Strata in Indonesia: A Study of West Javanese Villagers. Jakarta: Antarkarya.

Wessing, Robert (1978). Cosmology and Social Behavior in a West Javanese Settlement. Southeast Asia Series, no. 53. Athens: Ohio University Center for International Studies.

DANIEL STROUTHES