Baduy Villages

The Baduy, who call themselves Kanekes, live in the Kendeng hills of Banten and follow Sunda Wiwitan, a Sundanese belief system predating the arrival of Islam, under a customary law that rejects most of what the surrounding world uses. They divide into two: Baduy Luar, the outer group, who wear dark blue, may use some modern goods and receive visitors; and Baduy Dalam, the inner group, perhaps forty families in three villages, who wear undyed white, use no electricity, no motor transport, no soap in the rivers, no footwear when walking, and who admit no foreigners at all and only limited Indonesian visitors under strict conditions. Everything is reached on foot, sometimes hours of walking. Photography is prohibited in the inner villages and increasingly discouraged throughout.

What you actually see

• Two distinct groups - outer Baduy in dark blue, inner in undyed white.
• No motor transport - everything reached on foot, including all goods carried in.
• Sunda Wiwitan practice - the pre-Islamic Sundanese belief system followed under adat.
• A closed inner area - three villages foreigners may not enter at all.

When to go

May to September; the Seba ceremony is around April or May. Two days.

Honest expectations

Foreigners cannot enter the inner villages - this is not negotiable. Guides and registration are required, photography is restricted, and walking is hours over hills. Respect the rules absolutely.

Nearby

Rangkasbitung is the rail head; Banten Lama is north.