Women usually wear a long-sleeved blouse and a sarong or kain. The men often wear a special hat or cap, and women may wear a shawl over the shoulders or on the head. Unlike Muslims women in many other countries, those in Indonesia do not wear a veil over the face. In the cities, most people wear western style clothes, but many prefer the traditional clothing. The living room may also serve as the kitchen and have a rectangular hearth filled with clay and ashes.
Stones are arrange to hold the cooking pans over the fire.
The people often dry and smoke fish or meat on bamboo poles that hang above the hearth. Indonesians also use paraffin or oil stoves for cooking. Except in Java, where houses are built on the ground, most traditional Indonesians houses stand on stilts about two meters high. Families use the space underneath for cattle stalls or chicken coops, or to store tools and firewood. The floors and walls are made of timber or flattened bamboo.