The Relation Between Hindu-Buddhist Traditions and Social Structure, Education, Arts and Technology.

The coming of Hinduism-Buddhism to Indonesia brought about some changes in different fields, in addition to the changes of Indonesian people's system of belief.
Social Structure of the Society
Period of Hindu Kingdoms
The change in the social structure of Indonesian people was the implementation of caste system in which the society was divided into four groups based on their position, economic status, and occupation.

The system consisted of:
1. Brahmin caste, was the highest caste in the social structure of Hindu people. The caste consisted of priests whose duties were to lead religious services or ceremonies and give advice to all levels of the society, including kings, aristocrats, merchants, and common people.
2. Kshatrya caste, was the caste whose duties were to take care of the country's security and improve the people's welfare. This caste was made up of kings and soldiers. A king was regarded as a descendant of gods, and he ruled his country under the order of gods.
3. Vaisya caste, was the caste for merchants and farmers. This group was a very important component of the society because the farmers were responsible for producing foodstuff while the merchants were responsible for marketing the products. Without this group, the people's needs for food would not be fulfilled.
4. Sudra caste, was the caste with the lowest position. This was because the people constituting this caste did not have enough wealth or belongings except physical power to support their lives. These people generally worked for the higher castes as maids or skilled labourers.
Apart from the four castes above, there was still another caste which no accepted by the society because the members were unable to adapt to the society's norms and customs, this caste was called Pariah.
This grouping of peopld was estimated to take place during the Veda period (1500-500BC). The groups of people were commonly referred to as four-colours, and the term caste was introduced by the Portuguese.