An increasing number of Sekayu work in the cities as salesmen, shopkeepers, factory workers, and skilled laborers. The Sakayu tend to build their houses with immediate access to the waters of the Musi River. Rural Sekayu Malay houses, whether over land or water, are almost always built on stilts. Every Sekayu village has an Islamic house of worship. Most have mosques or small prayer houses, and a few have religious teaching centers.
Sekayu families are patriarchal, that is, they are basically male-dominated.
The wife's responsibility is to maintain the order and harmony of the home. Families generally prefer male children. Unlike some Indonesian people groups, such as the Bugis, Minangkabau, and Javanese, the Sekayu seldom migrate far from their native cities or towns. The tendency among the more progressive is to seek advancement in the provincial capital, which is now accessible by paved road, less than three hours to the east. They are devoutly religious people who pray five times daily, kneeling toward Mecca, the holy city of Islam.