NusantaraTraditional Housing

• SESSION 3 COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

and BELIEFS

• SESSION 4 FIELD SURVEY

Space define people.

There are plenty of aspects which men put into considerations when they build their houses.

RELIGIONBELIEFS

LANGUANGEFAMILYSYSTEM

SOCIAL POLITICAL

GENESTECHNOLOGY

ECONOMIC

ENVIRONMENT

(1) – (2) : Rumah panjang di Kalimantan/Sum-Bar

(3) – (9) : Kasta di masyarakat Jawa

(5) – (7) : Material

(8) – (2) : Tinggi, besar dan bentuk rumah

(4) – (9) : Upeti pada raja

TYPES OF FOOD GATHERINGMETHOD

THE SPACES THAT DEFINE

Types of food gathering methodFamily systemLanguageReligion/beliefsEnvironmentEconomyTechnologyGenesSocial political

FAMILY SYSTEM

Rumah panjang of South kalimantan/ West Sumatera.These houses built big to accommodate more than one family.

FAMILY SYSTEM

The house of Dani people are built linked to their stocks barn and their wife’s houses.

The men live together, as wellas the wives live together with their closest relative.

TYPES OF FOOD GATHERING METHOD

Fisherman/hunter/farmer/breeder, each type will create different architectural output.

Fishermans will often build their houses at the coast, facing sea, and sturdy.

On contrary, hunters will build their houses with the ability to move, following the animals.

RELIGION/BELIEFS

The Javanese believe that men are created in different social hierarchy.Therefore, houses for common people are different from the priyayis, or from the kings.

The door which lead to king’s court often hang low, making the attendant to bow compulsarily when they enter.This low door only exists at king’s palace.

RELIGION/BELIEFS

The Danis and Sumbas, for example, are cultures that believe that ancestors and the deads, were still dwell among them.

Thus, the house for the deads (tomb) are built inside the village.

RELIGION/BELIEFS

More than half Nusantara’s culture believing ornament do has “power.”

Ornaments can take form as a graphic painting, sculpture, or structural detail.

TECHNOLOGY

Villages build close to each other will usually tempt food gathering competition, eventually leads to warring villages. This environment force the villages to build their houses high and well defended.

ENVIRONMENT

TECHNOLOGY

Different knowledge will provide unique approach to solve technical aspects for their architecture.

ENVIRONMENT

TECHNOLOGY

Different environment supplies different building materials.

ENVIRONMENT

GENES and RACES

Certain races have their people slender, small, short, slim, big, tall or gigantic.

Thus, the size of the inhabitants will influence the size of their houses as well.

THE ORIGIN OF NUSANTARAS PEOPLE

• Nusantara traditional houses may look similar. From the materials, big and high roofs, and shape. Because, at first, they all came from the same place.

• In one island, or even in islands, they speak with different languages. This constraint develops a very isolated culture. The neighbouring cultures usually dont interact. The result, Nusantara houses were very unique to their own, since no external influence involved.

• Most of Nusantara region situated on ring of fire, volcanic geographical environment. Thus, most of them share similar earthquake solution (rise house, made of bamboo/wood, and sit on a stone plate.

• Nusantara islands are horizantally shaped. So, most of us share the same climate zone. Most of their houses incorporate prevention to only 2 seasons: rainy seasons and dry season.

• Nusantara is an assemble islands. People on an island usually categorized by 2: land people (hunter, farmer, breeder) and sea people (fisherman).

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS

Farmer Low plain area- Beternak kerbau, babi, anjing, dan ayam.- Sifat lebih penyabar dan enggan

berpindah.- Memuja dewa/dewi yang berhubungan

dengan sawah (dewi padi, dewa sungai atau dewa hujan)

HunterGatherer Low plain area

Breeder

- Memanen ubi talas, pisang, kelapa dan biji-bijian.- Tidak agresif, sering berpindah.

FishermenCoastal area

- Berani, lebih terbuka.- Menganggap kapal sebagai bagian terpenting kehidupannya; bukan laut,ikan ataupun dewa-dewi.

Mountain peopleHigh plain

- Tertutup, sifat keras.- Hidup dengan berburu. Memuja hewan-hewan penghuni hutan yang dominan.

DEMOGRAPHY

Rise house to tackle earthquake, mud, flood, defense against enemies.

COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

Gender bias space

COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

Long, high and connected roof.

Roof extension on each end.

Usually, geometrically shaped and identical from left-right or back-front.

Axis on north-south

COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

Wood is the most used materials.

Cultures using stone and earth (mud, sand) also found, but not many.

COMMON CHARACTERISTIC

ARE BUILT MUCH MORE FOR SYMBOLICAL MEANING, NOT FOR PHYSICAL NEED.

Houses usually took shape of a very meaningful aspect in its culture.

Personal/group representation in society.

Family record of genealogy and achievements.

Microcosmos simulation.

LIVING HOUSES

• The living house as a “small world.” There are birth, live, death, east-west, north-south, good-bad, heaven-hell in a living house.

• Each room has different meaning and grades. Vertical-horizontal, front-back, left-right.

MICROCOSMOS

This is a normal Torajan house.

Torajan believe the good spirit comes from the front side of the house.

14 Ornated façade to attracts the good spirit.

15 WEST Bad side Dead people lied down here.

16 SOUTH Dead side The head of the dead face towards south

17 SOUTH-BACK

Dead side+ancestor side

Family’s heirloom placed there to be guarded by the ancestor.

18 EAST Good side

The newborn baby put here.

MICROCOSMOS OF THE TORAJAS

House are also built for the dead.

Tomb built inside the village (Sumba), near the living houses (Bali), or inside the living houses (Sumba).

MICROCOSMOS OF THE TORAJAS

House and all its building aspects (materials, build ritual, maintenance procedure) considered influencing the luck of the inhabitant.

- Choosing the location

- First stone founding

- First new house entry

HOUSE BUILDING RITES

All ancient people are ANIMISTIC.Two character of Nusantara’s animistic:

pantheisticeverything have soul. Stones, trees, even, a tiny drop of water has it. Therefore, worship to certain things are common. Canibalism and decapitation are ways to take over the soul to make one’s stronger.

eternal soulAfter dead, the soul still continued to live around the body or around a special person to them. The deads are believed still present in daily live, and they need to be taken care of: house, food offerings or communicate with them are proofs that the deads still important.

RELIGION AND BELIEFES

Living houses are meant to be inhibited by particular person.

Thus, all the measurement and room placement are calculated based by the inhibitant’s attribute (birthday, the zodiac, etc)

MICROCOSMOS and MACROCOSMOS

Like any other ancient culture, villages usually led by a chief; companied by a priest.

The chief takes care matters such: water distribution, war, or village policy.

The priest takes care matters such: leads ceremony, decides harvest season, predicts the climate, or cures the sick.

SOCIO POLITICAL

• In some tribes, vertical family (grandmother to grandchild) and horizontal family (brother-cousin) reside at a house.

• Also found in some tribes, vertical and horizontal families reside in different house.

• Most of them are patrilinealistic.• Neighbouring villages went to war to

capitalize certain area/natural resource.

SOCIO POLITICAL

Stoneware (axe, chisel, spear)

Earthenware, woven cloth, boat.

Simple wood structure, yet sturdy.

TECHNOLOGY

Main technique is piled beam-column (tumpukan kolom dan balok)

Certain column or beam reserve special meaning and regarded higher/holier than others.(soko guru of Javanese house, or tiang raja of Bataks house)

WOOD STRUCTURE JOINT SYSTEM

WOOD STRUCTURE JOINT SYSTEM

Walls are made from bamboo, straw, or woven dried palm leaves.

Roofs are commonly made from wood, or woven leaves.

WOOD STRUCTURE JOINT SYSTEM

The diversity of Nusantara’s architectural style has the same origin, therefore, has similar beliefs about their houses.

Variations can occurred influenced by many environmental aspects.By studying the environmental aspects, we can predict these variations.

The understanding of Nusantara traditional style is an important part of self understanding, our true character, and potential original design of our own in the future.

CLOSING