Politeness and Patrimonial Communities in Indonesia

Abstract

Despite patrimonial traditional, culture is a dynamic process for refinement of what is to be human? This study argues that politeness is one of the cultural efforts that matter for the evolution of the patrimonial practice. This chapter attempts to deal with the question by studying the concept and practice of politeness with reference to ethnic groups in Indonesia with a strong patrimonial practice. This study investigates and explores the sense and practice of politeness based on the relationship between the spatial layout of the house and sociocultural values in various Indonesian communities. This relationship is alluded to by the concept of engagement with proper manners, tata krama, and sitting, duduk. The materials of the study were carried out from the author’s observation in the archipelago from 1993 to 2014. The purpose of the study is to rectify the questions concerning what is a human being in a sociocultural context.