A majority of the Javanese live in small villages and towns situated closely together. Few people own land, and those who do have only small fragmented plots. Most of them are farmers, and wet-rice is their chief cash crop. The government takes one-fifth of their produce and the rest is sold to merchants. Two of these, the Pasisir Lor and the Pasisir Kulon, live on the northern coast of Java and do most of their trading with the English.
Most internal trade is done by the women.
They are the retailers, servicing four or five villages throughout rural Java. The Javanese culture is highly stratified. The upper class consists of the nobles. They have different titles that indicate their hereditary rank and function in relation to the ruler. The middle class is made up of the educated.