Last updated on January 1, 2019
In some parts of Indonesia people use the points of the compass in everyday life to orient themselves and indicate direction. This is especially the case in the Javanese heartland around Yogyakarta and Solo in the centre of the island of Java. Here it is not at all unusual to hear people say things like Rumah Pak Kuncoro di sebelah barat rumah saya (Mr Kuncoro’s house is to the west of my place).
In English we would probably say something like “Mr Kuncoro’s house is just down the street from my place” or “Mr Kuncoro’s house is to the right of my place.” If you are sitting in a bus or bemo and someone wants you to make room so they can sit down beside you, don’t be surprised if they say something like Permisi, bisa pindah ke timur sedikit? (Excuse me, could you move east a little?). When someone really “loses the plot”, behaving inappropriately or unpredictably, Javanese say that the person tidak mengerti utara selatan (doesn’t know where north or south is).
How do people know where north, south, east and west are if they don’t have a compass? Well, they are closely integrated into their surrounding landscape, and there are all sorts of signs in that landscape that tell them instantly and pretty accurately where north, south, east and west are. For example, mosques always face due west (Muslims pray towards Mecca which is in the west). Graves are aligned north-south so that their occupants can lie comfortably on their sides facing Mecca. Traditional houses were (and are) aligned north-south, as were government offices in the old centres of villages and towns. The traditional town square (alun-alun) that is still the living heart of most district towns in Java is also oriented north-south. And, of course, because Indonesia is close to the equator the sun rises pretty much due east and sets due west (it doesn’t shift up and down the horizon in the course of the year as happens in countries in the world’s northern and southern latitudes). People grow up with these signs and are aware of them almost unconsciously.