page_title: Medang Kingdom
section_title: Society
hierarchical_section_title: Medang Kingdom / Culture and society / Society
caption_attribution_description: English: Relief panel "Çudda-bodhi-jataka 2", Borobudur, Central-Java. Nederlands: foto. Reliëf "Çudda-bodhi-jataka 2", Borobudur
context_page_description: The Medang Kingdom or Mataram Kingdom was a Javanese Hindu–Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the 8th and 11th centuries. It was based in Central Java, and later in East Java. Established by King Sanjaya, the kingdom was ruled by the Sailendra dynasty.
  During most of its history the kingdom seems have relied heavily on agriculture, especially extensive rice farming, and later also benefited from maritime trade. According to foreign sources and archaeological findings, the kingdom seems to have been well populated and quite prosperous. The kingdom developed a complex society, had a well developed culture, and achieved a degree of sophistication and refined civilization.
  In the period between the late 8th century and the mid-9th century, the kingdom saw the blossoming of classical Javanese art and architecture reflected in the rapid growth of temple construction. Temples dotted the landscape of its heartland in Mataram. The most notable of the temples constructed in Medang Mataram are Kalasan, Sewu, Borobudur and Prambanan, all quite close to present-day city of Yogyakarta.
context_section_description: A complex and stratified society of ancient Javanese people and their social order can be seen through studies on the rich portrayal in bas-reliefs from this period, as well as inscription studies. The kingdom had developed a complex society; which characterised by heterogeneity of their society, inequality of social stratification, and the formation of national administrative institution in their kingdom. The ancient Javanese did recognise the Hindu catur varna or caste social classes; Brahmana (priests), Kshatriya (kings, warlords and nobles), Vaishya (traders and artisans), and Shudra (servants and slaves). Nevertheless, the social stratification system in ancient Java slightly differ from those of India, as it is less rigid.
  Pigeaud divides ancient Javanese society into four classes: the ruling class, religious authority, commoners, and slaves. While de Casparis suggest; although the ancient Javanese society recognise caste differences, their rules and implementations was less rigid compared to those caste system in India. De Casparis divides them into three groups:
  The commoners that formed the majority of kingdom's population.
  The king with his royal family, including those nobles, landlords and the member of elite ruling class that depends on the king's court and his dynasty. Can be commonly called "the palace/court people".
  The religious figures and religious authorities. The priests class; brahmins and monks, includes the lower rank servants employed in temple compounds and monasteries.
  Based on the study of the styles and types of clothing and jewelries worn by people depicted in bas-reliefs from the temple — especially Borobudur reliefs — the ancient Javanese society roughly can be divided into:
  The nobles, the king and the royal families, landlords, nobles and those that related to ruling elites. They wore luxurious clothing of kain long clothes wrapped around their hips to the ankle, waistband, and sash either wore around their hips as sampur, or wore around their body hanging from left shoulder to the hip. Adorned with intricate golden jewelries such as jamang (forehead ornaments), makuta (crown), earrings, kelat bahu (armlet), necklace, upavita (body ornament of golden chains wore across the chest), bracelets, rings, ankle bracelet. The gods and divinities also portrayed in similar fashion as nobles, although they are described as having prabhamandala (divine halo) around their head.
  The royal servants or lower-ranked nobles, they are king's servants, entourages or royal attendants. They occupied positions as dayang-dayang (female royal attendants), guard or state officials. They wore long cloth around their hips to the ankle, and wore jewelries and ornaments too, such as earrings, necklace and bracelets, although not as complete and luxurious as those worn by the king and the nobles.
  The priests, the brahmins, Buddhist monks, or those religious figures employed in temples or monasteries. They usually wore robes or cloaks called sinhel. Buddhist monks were usually portrayed as bald men wore robe with open right shoulder, while brahmins were usually depicted as bearded men wearing turbans.
  The commoners, the majority of the people, mostly described as villagers. They wore simple clothing of around their hips, the lower end sometimes being tied upward to create a short loincloth. Usually they wore no jewelry or ornaments, but some wore a few simple ornaments, including necklaces or bracelets, or a rope worn as a waistband.
caption: A nobleman accompanied by his entourage and servants, a bas-relief of Borobudur.
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