Austronesian vernacular architecture and the Ise Shrine of Japan: Is there any connection? Ezrin Arbi Department of Architecture Faculty of Built Environment Universityof Malaya Abst ract In spite of so many varieties of form and detail of construction found in Southeast Asian vernacular buildings, there are some recurring features and shared characteristics that bind them together. The vast territories in which this phenomenon exists, known as the "Austronesian world", does no t include Japan. However, there is an intriguing resemblance between the architectural style of Japanese vernacular heritage of the earlier period with that of Austronesia. This paper is an attempt to explain the relation between the two using the findings of studies by archaeological, linguistic, sociological and anthropological experts based on the link between culture, langu age and ve rnacular architect ure. Introduction the form of (i) ideas, (ii) activities and (iii) In order to see the link between artifacts. The first is abstract in nature; it language and architecture this pap er is not visible and exists only in the mind will necessarily be preceded with a brief of those who subscribe to it. The second discussion on the concept of culture. form is men's complex activities in their One of the earlier meanings was given interaction with each other; they are by Tylor (1871) (in Firth ed.1960:2), who concrete and observable. The third form of defined culture as "tha t complex whole culture, which is the most concrete, is the which includes knowled ge, beliefs, ar t, result of human activit ies in their social morals, laws, customs and all other intercourse that requires the creation capabilities and habits acquired by man and making of new tools, instruments, as a member of a society". Another structures, bu ildings etc in order to fulfill definition given by Malinowski (1931) their multi-various needs . It is also know n states that culture comprises inherited as 'material cultu re' or 'physical culture'. artifacts, goods, technical processes, ideas, Architectura l products such as dwelling habits and values. He further said that house or shrine obv iously belong to the social orga nizalion is also included since physical form of culture and at the same it can not be understood except as a part time they are the result of human activities, of culture (in Firth ed .1960). Obviously, one of manifestations of culture. culture encompasses all systems that give In analyzin g the content of culture, a society its identity and distinguish it the anthropologists make use of the from the others . concept of 'cultural un iversals' which Culture has also been analyzed by was first introdu ced by Malinowski, and scholars in terms of its form and content. later followed by Murdick and Kluckhohn According to Honingmann (1954) and (Koentjaraning rat in Alfian 1985). These Koentjaraningat (1985), culture may be in cultural universals are found in every 1 !ollnlal of Designa"d ti,e Built En vironment culture anywhere in the world, regardless The nameAustronesiaoriginatesfrom of its level of development or location. 'auster' meaning 'south wind ' in Latin, Koentjaraningrat (1966) took the gist plus 'nesos' which is 'island' in Greek. out of the various existing structure of The combination of the two words aptly cultural universals and presented seven describe the fact that the majority of the fundamental contents of every culture, langu ages in the family are spo ken on the comprising: (i) langu age, (ii) knowledge islan ds, with the exception of Malay and system, (iii) social organization, (iv) Cha mic languages which are indigenou s facility sys tem and technology, (v) income to continental Asia. generating system, (vi) religious system In both maps previously mentioned, and (vii) arts. While architecture as a Japa n is not included within the culturalartifactisa formofphysicalculture, Austronesian boundary. In fact in language is a fundamental content of the Bellwood' s map that island country culture that produces the artifact including does not appear at all, whil e in Fox's vernacular architecture. To conclude map Japanese archipelago is fully shown this brief discussion on the link between making one realizes not only how close it langu age and culture it is oppo rtune is actually from Taiwa n, but also the fact to qu ote eminent linguists' views that that it is almost surrounded by the Pacific language reflects and perpetuates the Islanders that speak the Austronesian basic assumptions and orientations of a languages. In the vast doma in of this given culture. It not only defines but to a language family, Taiwan has a special large extent de termines the way in which a importance. Accordi ng to linguistic culture views itself and the world (Whorl experts (Blust 1999 and Comrie 2001) the & Brown in Oliver 1975:9). Austronesian languages can be subdivided into two, namely the Malayo -Polynesian The Austronesian World branch scaltered all over the Pacificislands The vast numb er of languages and the Formosan languages of Taiwan spoken in the world has been grouped by comprising 9 subgroups of Austronesian. linguists into several families, one of the This leads them to postulate that Taiwan is largest of which is known as Austronesian, the home of the Austronesian languages. comprising 1268 languages or about Bellwood (1997) suggests that aro und one-fifth of the known languages in the 8000 years ago the ancestors of the world . It covers the languages spoken Austronesians came across from Southern by the people of insular Southeast Asia, China to Taiwan, from where they spread Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia in the to the entire region that is now covered Pacific, as well as some part of mainland by the Austronesian langu ages. As Fox Asia coveri ng the territory shown in Map (2004:8) states: I and Map 2. Both maps delineate roughly the same areas, from which one can see "Implied in... discussions tha t the Austronesian world stretches ofsubgrouping (ofAustronesian across more than half-way rou nd the languages) is a broad consensus world's circumference, from Madagascar that the homeland of the on the extreme west, thro ugh the Malay Aus tronesian was in Taiwan. archipelagos to Easter Island on the This homeland area may have easternmost point. The Malay Peninsular, also included the P'eng-hu some part of Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippine (Pescadores) islands between Islands and certain coastal parts of New Taiwan and China and possibly Guinea are also within its territo ry. even sites on the coast of 2 Austroneeian uemacuta rarchitectureand ti,e Ise Shrineoflapa" Limits of the Austronesian Lan gu age Family MAINlAND 4...,,,. utr.. Hluod' () " .&IJ1 IAl,Ut Map 1 : Source : Waterson 1997:13. ) !i "-' ~ ~ .. '-.. ..... ru$ . ...t-, '"~K\ ~\..,. i <, -c " ! ' ) f'1 V\. «;1& .. .. , t-, V IJ'~ , r ~ : . \{ , , t'k ........-.; ~fL",~ ' .. " r-, f ~ . ~ . .. l V I ~';; '.,' .. \ II "~~ . .,......., I 1/ 1"- 'I • .. I V [,.J '. I) h / 1\ "'- .0 ~ V V 1/ ;- 1'--- t'\; I y,~ . L----r--- II ~ l--- ,I , I.V ~ Map 2 : Source: Bellwood 2000:143. 3 JOIIYllal of Desigll andthe Buil! Environment mainland China, especially Waterson's (1997:xv) attention, who if one were to view the early regardsits anonymouscraftsmenas having Austronesians a population of produced some of the most spectacular related dialect communities and beautiful wooden buildings anywhere living in scattered coastal in the world. In all their diversity and settlements." subtle variation, the architectural styles of traditional buildings found in the Austronesian Vernacular Architecture Austronesian world, upon a closer look The indigenous architecture of this show certain shared similarities that seem particular part of the world has attracted to indicate their common origin in the DI , . _ ~ - - ,.:.... -=-', .E;""~ . ~~ ... ......----.-- -- . - 11I lIT Figure 1 : A collectionof Austronesianindigenous houses showiugsaddle roofs and gable hams, drawn by Vroklage (1936) (iu Watersons 1997:21) 4 Austronesianvemecutararchitecture andthe1se ShrineofJapatl distant past. Waterson (1997:1-11) noticed mud. Although present day Thai language there are some recurring features worthy does not belong to the Austronesian of special discussion. The most ap parent family, its proto-language which Benedict physical characteristic is the raised floor calls Austro-Thai has reconstruc ted terms supported by timber piles or stilts. In that also include words such as platforms/ the house of the Dayaks in Borneo, these storey, house post, and ladder/ steps posts are extremely high, but ' generally lead ing up to the house (first qu oted in they are of moderate height making the Waterson 1997:15). From the result of their space below the floor suitable for human studies, the linguists are able to throw or animal use. Only in very few cases some lights on the early type of dwellings the raised floor is so low that the space used by the spea kers of a language. underneath is rende red unusable except A more concre te proof of the use of for ventilation. Another prominent feature pile structure and saddle-roof d uring the of the style is the saddle-backed roof, of early Metal Age may be obtained from which the ridge- line extends beyond the engraved images shown on bronze drums gable walls. Furthermore, the gables are of the Dong Son culture from North usually decorated with finials often bu t Vietna m (Lewcock & Brans 1975,Bellwood not always in the form of cross horns (Fig. 1978) (Fig. 2). This Bronze Age civilization 1). covering a large part ofSoutheas t Asia from Because of the perishable nature between 600 to 400 BC till the first century of timber, the main material used by the AD is characterized by the use of bronze Austronesians, it is not easy to resolve drums. A number of these drums which archaeologically how long they have been have been found in places on the mainland using pile foundation for their houses.