At the Sultan’s Palace today, Roy told us the Javanese philosophy of proper gender behavior.
To be a perfect man, you need five things:
Garwa: a wife
Gria: a house
Turangga: a horse
Curiga: a dagger (symbolizes security in money, a job, in everything)
Kikilo: a bird
Roy said, “A man without a bird is useless.”
To be a perfect woman, you need just three things:
Machak: tend to your beauty
Masak: know how to cook
Mlumah: fertility
I asked, “If she does all that, can she also have a career?”
Roy replied, “What she’s doing at home is more than a job.”
