Indonesia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture by Graham Saunders

Author:Graham Saunders [Saunders, Graham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, potential seeds, Popular Culture, Asia, Southeast, Travel
ISBN: 9781857335880
Google: 0XQFAQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Kuperard
Published: 2007-06-01T03:48:13+00:00

Communal ritual and ceremony have a number of functions. The offerings, sacrifices, and prayers assist the passage of the soul to the spirit world and ensure that it will not return to haunt the living. They demonstrate respect for the dead and recognition of their place in the community when living. They also bind the community together and assure the bereaved of its support.

chapter four

INDONESIANS AT HOME

HOUSING

As anywhere, housing varies enormously, from the elaborate mansions of the wealthy to the crowded hovels of the poor; from the apartments and shophouses of the cities to the indigenous housing of many rural areas. In traditional societies in particular, status rather than wealth is important, though a person of status will generally have property and objects defining status. Very often the size of a house may reflect the size of the family rather than its wealth: on the other hand, small houses often contain surprisingly large families.

Traditional Indonesian housing is adapted to the climate, allowing the free circulation of air. Windows had shutters, which could be kept open for air and light, or shut to keep out direct sunlight or tropical windswept rain. Often these houses were built on stilts, again aiding the circulation of air and protection from local flooding, but also providing extra living and storage space. More modern housing, whether of concrete or brick, was also designed with verandas, large rooms, and, once electricity was available, ceiling fans. In the Chinatown areas of the old towns, the shophouses were built with air-wells. More recent housing designed with air-conditioning in mind will still in many cases provide a veranda or balcony for sitting out.

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