The order in the social system based on the kinship relationship and the hamlet's founder of ethnic besemah south sumatera

This paper aims to analyze the social order of Besemah Ethnic based on the kinship relationship with the hamlet's founder in South Sumatra. These relations affect the status and role of individuals in the social system and the arrangement of settlement patterns. The research method used is the design of qualitative verificative. The approach used is the cultural interpretation and Levi-Strauss structuralism. The results of the study show that there is two social classifications system of Besemah ethnic, that is jeme mestautin (native people) and jeme datangan (comer), that differentiated by the consanguineal relation with the hamlet's founder. This system has implications to the status and role that individuals must play in the kinship system and a broader system social organization, including their rights and obligations by the prevailing values and norms. This system also affects the orientation of the house layout and arrangement of settlement patterns. The house of hamlet's founder becomes the centre of the direction of other dwellings, thus forming a unity of local life based on genealogical ties. This study shows too that the living traditions of Besemah ethnic always maintain harmony between the social environment and the natural environment.