Baduy — Banten's Guardians of Ancestral Tradition

Tucked away in the hills of southern Banten, the Baduy people live according to strict customary law, deliberately keeping modern technology, electricity, and motorized transport out of their daily lives in order to preserve a way of living passed down for centuries. The community is divided into the Baduy Dalam (Inner Baduy), who follow the most rigorous traditional restrictions and dress simply in handwoven white or black cloth, and the Baduy Luar (Outer Baduy), who maintain slightly more contact with the outside world while still honoring core customs. Visiting Baduy territory means traveling on foot along dirt paths through bamboo forests and terraced fields, passing traditional stilted houses built entirely from natural materials without a single nail. The Baduy's deep respect for nature shapes nearly every aspect of their culture, from sustainable farming practices to spiritual beliefs that treat the surrounding forest as sacred and untouchable. For travelers, a visit to Baduy offers a rare and humbling encounter with one of Indonesia's last truly self-sufficient indigenous communities, one that continues to resist modernization by deliberate choice rather than isolation.