Priyayi

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Priyayi (formerly Prijaji) is the traditional aristocratic class of Java, Indonesia's most populous island. Priyayi are the elites in traditional Javanese society, in contrast to commoners, or wong cilik ('little people' in Javanese). Their culture is marked by elaborate customs and etiquettes.

The American sociologist, Clifford Geertz, identified three main cultural streams (aliran in Indonesian) in Javanese society. Namely, the santri, abangan, and priyayi.^[1] The priyayi stream are the traditional bureaucratic elite and were strongly driven by hierarchical Hindu-Javanese tradition. Initially court officials in pre-colonial kingdoms, the stream moved into the colonial civil service, and then on to administrators of the modern Indonesian republic.^[2]

Members of the santri stream are more likely to be urban dwellers, and tend to be oriented to the mosque, the Qur'an, and perhaps to Islamic canon law (Sharia). In contrast, the abangan tend to be from village backgrounds and absorb both Hindu and Muslim elements, forming a culture of animist and folk traditions.^[3] The santri are sometimes referred to as Puthihan (the white ones) as distinct from the 'red' abangan.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Geertz, Clifford. The Religion of Java. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1960.