P. Nas The house in Indonesia; Between globalization and localization In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Globalization, localization and Indonesia 154 (1998), no: 2, Leiden, 335-360 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:14:09AM via free access PETER J.M.NAS The House in Indonesia Between Globalization and Localization The main premise of the theory of globalization is that during the past few decades a 'third' culture has emerged which transcends national cultures and cannot be explained simply by looking at national states and their interrelationships1. In this article I will explore the adequacy of this premise in the field of residential architecture. The question at issue is whether the house in Indonesia should be considered part of worldwide 'third' culture or not, and, if so, whether this is a recent phenomenon. I will deal with this question in three parts, developing the argument from the local to the global. I will begin by describing a number of present-day vernacular habitation styles to show their great variety, stemming from the diversity of local cultures in Indonesia.2 Some of these forms of residential architecture are still widespread, but many of them have already disappeared or can be classified as endangered. In this section the focus is on the local roots of residential architecture. From there I will present the Hindu, Islamic and colonial influences on the house to show that worldwide cultural elements - those founded in the dual relations between states as well as those of a more general character - were not only present but were also characteristic, exerting powerful influences. Global- ization is not just a recent phenomenon and often has strong regional con- notations. Moreover, the so-called third culture should not be seen through western eyes only, because Asian variants abound. In the final section, I will analyse post-independence foreign influences. During this period the diffusion of habitation styles has certainly been accelerated by new means of communication and the intensification of their use. In some cases this diffusion has been based on particular concepts discussed on a worldwide scale and propagated by influential international institutions. In this section the localization of this intensification of globalization as well as the phenomenon of hybridization are also taken into account. Vernacular habitation styles The mainstream of residential architecture in Indonesia is clearly rooted in vernacular forms. These have always been predominant in much of 1 I thank Reimar Schefold, Gaudenz Domenig and the Kring van Leidse Urbanisten, KLU (Circle of Leiden Urbanists) for their comments on an earlier version of this article. * For an elaboration of the concept of habitation style see Nas and Prins 1988. BKJ 154-H (1998) Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:14:09AM via free access 336 Peter J.M. Nas Indonesia, especially in rural areas but by no means absent from some urban areas, although a marked decline has set in since at least the beginnings of this century. Nowadays these vernacular forms are often found in the midst of other buildings ranging from simple wooden structures to modern brick dwellings, and even high-rise condominiums in cities. Where they are found, they often still have a function in the maintenance of tra- ditional culture. It would be too laborious to present an overview of all the traditional forms of architecture in Indonesia in this essay, but it is possible to provide a limited but insightful sample from which some main spatial principles can be deduced. I will restrict myself to twelve examples presented in rough geographical order from west to east, some well-docu- mented, such as the Javanese, Balinese and Atoni cases, and some less well- documented, such as the Aceh residential architecture, the limas house in Palembang and the Savunese house. Because of these differences in avail- able documentation, and due to the need to keep these characterizations brief, only the principal elements will be included. So when a certain element is found in the description of one house type but not in another, it does not always mean that it is not present. I hope that these cases will supply sufficient material to convey an appreciation of the local roots and variations of vernacular architecture in Indonesia, as well as to provide a basis for deducing the basic principles underlying these habitation styles. The Aceh house (Sumatra) In Aceh the traditional houses all face north or south, never east or west. Jacobs (1894) supposes that this is probably a pre-Islamic feature, since in Hindu belief the house entrance should not face the setting sun, which marks darkness and is associated with black, the colour of death. Nowadays, borrowing from Islamic teaching, the front gable is considered to be oriented towards Mecca. Snouck Hurgronje (1895) says that the grown boys, men and strangers without wives used to lodge and sleep in the meunasah, the village community building, which is often deserted nowa- days (Dall 1982). The traditional house in Aceh is built on high stilts so that people can walk around and work underneath it. The most sacred place is the roof in which the family heirlooms are kept. The middle level is the house proper, which is divided into three parts from the front to the back. The first part, the frontgallery, is the place to receive guests and partake of religious meals. The second part is elevated about half a metre and con- tains the bedroom, a corridor and a storage place. The third part lies on the same height as the first part and is made up of a back gallery often containing a kitchen. This is where daily meals are taken, where the children sleep and where the women receive their female guests. All sorts of furniture and utensils are found here, such as mats, pots, lamps and so on. This back gallery, according to Damste (1920-21), is very private, al- Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:14:09AM via free access The House in Indonesia 337 though the bedrooms, of course, are more so. In former times the stairways were often situated in the middle of the front of the house, where the water jar was placed so that the visitors could wash their feet before entering. Sometimes a separate female entrance is found leading to the back gallery. The Sakuddei house (Mentawai) The Sakuddei house on Siberut, one of the Mentawai islands, has been described by Schefold (1979-80). The main dwelling, the uma, is a longhouse, built on stilts and inhabited by five to ten families. It belongs to one local group and expresses its unity symbolically. The uma generally consists of an open entry platform, a covered front gallery, a first and second inner room, and another platform at the end. One of the inner-side pillars is used to hang up the group fetish and has an important ritual significance. The whole house is related to the cosmos and is considered to be a ship comprising the whole society. The open, airy verandah with the notched tree-trunk stairway is where the men work on tools and keep them stored. The covered front gallery is an important meeting place for hosting guests. It is a favourite male sleeping place, where men and boys gather under mosquito nets. The board on the upper inside of the front is decorated. Animal skulls are tied to the roof. The inner room is entered through a door. It has the communal hearth in the middle with a board dance floor behind it. On the right side of this floor are places for sacred objects and personal belongings. This is where the very prestigious gongs are stored and rituals take place during feasts. It is the religious centre of the house where the main protective fetish, a bundle of holy plants, is preserved. The second inner room is divided into bedrooms for the women. In a large uma these are rooms occupied by one family each. Generally the mother sleeps there with the children and unmarried girls. The platform at the end of the uma is used by women to do their work. Visiting women who come alone enter the building there. The emphasis in the Sakuddei longhouse is on the group as a whole and not so much on the individual family. The ship metaphor and cosmic analogy are considered to be the main organizational principles. The limas house (Palembang) The limas house consists of one wooden building on piles oriented towards the river. The floor has six platforms, of which the first four rise stepwise from the front, while the floor level of the last two drops down again. The platforms of the fourth and fifth sections have small rooms on the left and right side, such as the bride's room, the room for the in-law family and the women's room. The sixth section is used as the kitchen. The main organizational principles of this house seem to be intimacy and hierarchy, which are expressed by linearity. Intimacy increases from Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:14:09AM via free access 338 Peter JM. Nas the front to the back, from the outside verandah to the kitchen, and is expressed horizontally. Hierarchy is expressed vertically by differences in floor level, and during ceremonies persons are allowed to occupy the higher platforms depending on their status. On these occasions guests are received in either the first or second section. Family gatherings take place in the third section and the elders use the fourth and highest section in accordance with their high status (Nas 1995a).