Sundanese - Orientation

The Sundanese are a group of nearly 25 million whose territory (Sunda) is western Java (Jawa Barat) as far east as the Cipamali river (though many Sundanese live elsewhere in Java). The Sundanese language is Austronesian; an interesting aspect of the language is that it is obligatory for speakers to distinguish in their speech the status of the addressee and the degree of intimacy between them. With the exception of the Badui subgroup, Sundanese are Muslim. Although culturally similar to the Javanese, the Sundanese see themselves as far less formal in their social relationships.