ABSTRACT
The household or family often functions in the social sciences as the basic unit of analysis by which to study social, cultural, economic, political or historical changes. The fact that the family and household are often so used substantiates their considered theoretical importance and, what is more, their considered universality. At the same time this choice expresses a kind of functionality of physical boundaries within which the social scientist has a grip on what is taking place. Although in many societies, like Java, the family or household is one of the major networks in which people are engaged, it is certainly not the only one; indeed, in some societies a household or family in such terms does not even exist. Furthermore, family and household as terms are often used interchangeably, while obviously they are not necessarily one and the same.
