Centred on the source: Hamlets and houses of Kanekes (Baduy)

This chapter describes and analyses the hamlets and houses of the Urang Kanekes, in the literature often referred to as the Baduy of southern Banten, West Java. Like elsewhere in Indonesia, these structures and the rules to which they are subject are part of the way of life of Kanekes as a whole. The chapter presents a short sketch of the culture of these people to provide the background against which their houses must be understood. In discussions about the Kanekes hamlets, the north-south axis along which the hamlet appears to be organized is sometimes emphasized. Tangtu houses in particular are made from locally available materials. Both in the layout of Kanekes as a whole and in the individual hamlets we find the idea expressed that the centre is female and, as the origin of everything, the source of fertility. Keywords: Indonesia; Kanekes hamlets; Tangtu houses; Urang Kanekes houses