Javanese trah : a preliminary discussion of a type of Javanese social organization

Abstract

The central concern of this thesis is the description of a type of Javanese formal social organization called trah. Trah are sometimes large organizations of an associational type whose membership is based on genealogical connections oriented to an apical ancestor or ancestress. Trah are usually established by urban dwellers or those influenced by an urban orientation. Trah do not seem to be common among villagers nor the urban poor . While a great proportion of Javanese are not involved in or interested in forming trah , the phenomenon is sufficiently cornmon and the membership involves a sufficient number of people so as to make this a worthwhile topic for description and analysis. Because trah exist among people who belong to all four major social groupings in Java, these organizations are, for the purposes of this study, distinguished according to four types, i.e., ndara trah, priyayi trah, santri trah and wong cilik trah. Each of the four types of trah has its own characteristics and activities but they share the same principal features. Although the aims of each trah are formulated differently, all trah assert that the basic aim of the trah organization is to maintain kinship feeling and promote mutual help among members. To achieve these alms the trah holds various activities such as annual and monthly meetings for members. To achieve these alms the trah holds various activities such as annual and monthly meetings for members. In some instances the establishment of a trah is influenced by various factors such as the Javanese traditional value system, social mobility, and political and economic circumstances.