A Typological Study of Historical Mosques in West Sumatra, Indonesia Bambang Setia Budi*1 and Arif Sarwo Wibowo2 1 Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia 2 Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia Abstract West Sumatra is an important region in Indonesia in the context of traditional architectural heritage, especially mosques. There are 39 historical mosques registered as cultural heritage monuments in West Sumatra, 31 of which were surveyed for this study. Five had been completely renewed without leaving any trace of the original structure, while the location of one could not be identified. All mosques were mapped and a total of 25 were analyzed based on their architectural elements: (1) floor level, (2) main building material, (3) roof type, and (4) minaret. From the analysis, a typological tendency in the historical mosques of West Sumatra was identified. The discussion in this article focuses on the correlation between combinations of the four architectural elements in relation to their location. As a result, the architectural characteristics of the historical mosques in West Sumatra were identified. Keywords: typology; historical mosque; tiered roof; bagonjong roof; traditional architecture 1. Introduction 2007 by Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala The 7.6 Richter scale earthquake which occurred Batusangkar, Departemen Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata. in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, on September Thirty-one historical mosques out of the 39 listed in 30th 2009, destroyed many buildings. Some collapsed the book were surveyed. The mosques were located in and some sunk to the ground. It was reported that more Kota1 Padang, Kota Bukittinggi, Kota Payakumbuh, than 67,760 buildings were damaged or had collapsed, Kota Padang Panjang, Kota Pariaman, Kabupaten2 and more than 500 people died or were injured. Many Pariaman, Kabupaten Agam and Kabupaten Tanah historical mosques were damaged by the earthquake. Datar. These regions are mostly located in the coastal Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala Batusangkar, and hinterland areas of West Sumatra. From the 31 the government institution in charge of urban heritage surveyed mosques, five were already replaced by a new and historical preservation in Batusangkar, had construction that was totally different from the original previously documented some historic properties, but no one and the location of one, called Surau3 Gadang research or scientific publications had been completed Bintungan Tinggi in Kabupaten Pariaman, could not be on the heritage mosques of West Sumatra. identified. Therefore, Surau Gadang Bintungan Tinggi This research used primary data from a field survey is excluded from the analysis but still listed in the taken during eight days in October 2009, two to three tables. weeks after the earthquake. Data collected from the The objective of this study was to clarify the survey included pictures, building measurements of typology of the historical mosques in West Sumatra selected mosques, and interviews with the imams based on important architectural elements. The (mosque priests) and mosque administrators. The elements that were analyzed are: floor level, main survey was undertaken based on the list of cultural building material, roof type and minaret. heritage properties in the Province of West Sumatra, Floor level and main building material are the two Riau and Kepulauan Riau that was published in most important elements that differentiate the mosques from those on Java Island, although most of them have wood as the main building material. The main *Contact Author: Bambang Setia Budi, Assistant Professor, building material refers to the material used for the School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, walls and columns. Apart from the walls, the roof is Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, the most dominant element to express the architectural Bandung, 40132 Indonesia style and typology of mosques all over the Indonesian Tel: +62-22-2504962 Fax: +62-22-2530705 archipelago and also Southeast Asia. From the 15th E-mail: [email protected] until the 20th century, the typology of mosques in ( Received October 6, 2015 ; accepted November 14, 2017 ) Southeast Asia is characterized by a tiered roof style. DOI http://doi.org/10.3130/jaabe.17.1 The minaret is also an important element contributing Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering/January 2018/8 1 to the overall shape of the building. Even though Table 1. Historical Mosques in West Sumatra Mina- Mate- Kota/Kabupaten Name Year Roof Floor they are important as well, the plan composition and ret rial structural system are excluded from the discussion in 1 Masjid Raya Ganting 1805 B1 bt Ground Brick Kota Padang Early 19th 2 Masjid Muhammadan D bt Ground Brick this article. C In the context of topographical conditions, West 3 Kota Bukittinggi Masjid Surau Gadang ? ? ? ? Masjid Gadang Balai Nan 4 Kota Payakumbuh 1840 A1 a Stage Wood Sumatra displays a very different character between Ampek Kota Padang Masjid Asasi Nagari 5 1770 A1 a Stage Wood the coastal area and the hinterland. It is plausible that Panjang Gunung during the early Islamic period in Indonesia, people 6 Kota Solok Surau Latiah 1902 C5 a Stage Wood 7 Masjid Raya Padusunan B2 ctb Ground Brick in the coastal area received the teaching of Islam Circa 19th 8 Masjid Raya Badano B1 db Ground Brick C Kota Pariaman more intensively compared to those in the hinterland 9 Masjid Raya Kurai Taji B2 dt Ground Brick Masjid Raya Pariaman because of easier access. The hinterland, known as 10 B4 bb Ground Brick (Surau Pasar) Bukit Barisan, is mountainous. This topographical 11 Kab. Pasaman Surau Raja Sontang A2 (?) a Stage Wood condition restricted access and communication 12 Masjid Raya Bingkudu 1823 A1 ct Stage Wood 13 Masjid Tua Kubag Putih ? ? ? ? between the coastal area and the hinterland. The area is 14 Masjid Raya Taluak 1860 A1 ct Ground Brick Masjid Tua Pincuran End of located at the boundary of Pariaman-Agam and Tanah 15 A1 cb Ground Brick Gadang 17th C Datar-Padang Panjang, stretching lengthwise from the Masjid Agung Koto Baru 16 1807 ? ? ? ? (Al-Hikmah) hinterland area to the coastal area. (Fig.2.) 17 Kab. Agam Masjid Siti Manggopoh 1802 B3 ctb Ground Brick Early 19th 18 Masjid Tuo Koto Baru B5 cb Ground Brick C 19 Masjid Gobah ? ? ? ? Masjid Syaikh Karim Early 20th 20 ? ? ? ? Amrullah C Mid- 20th 21 Surau Buya Hamka B6 a Ground Brick C 22 Surau Nagari Lubuk Bauk 1896 C1 a Stage Wood 23 Masjid Raya Limo Kaum 1710 C4 a Stage Wood Masjid Tuanku 24 Kab. Tanah Datar Circa 1800 A1 a Stage Wood Pamansiangan 25 Masjid Rao-Rao 1913 C2 ct Ground Brick 26 Masjid Sa`adah 1917 C2 ct Ground Brick Surau Gadang Bintungan End of 27 A1 a Stage ? Tinggi 19th C 28 Masjid Pakandangan 1887 A2 a Ground Brick 29 Surau Atap Ijuk Sicincin 1860 A1 a Stage Wood Surau Gadang Syaikh Circa 17th 30 C3 a Stage Wood Kab. Pariaman Burhanuddin C Masjid Taqwa Kampung 31 B3 bt Ground Brick Dalam Masjid Tua Batang 32 A1 a Stage Wood Piaman Fig.1. Position of West Sumatra in the Context of Indonesia and 33 Surau Ambacang A3 a Ground Brick Southeast Asia. Kab. Pesisir Masjid Al-Imam Koto 34 ? ? ? ? (Source: Syahra, 1995) Selatan Baru 35 Kab. Solok Masjid Tua Kayu Jao 1657 A1 a Stage Wood Circa 18th 36 Masjid 60 Kurang Aso A2 a ? Wood Kab. Solok Selatan C 37 Masjid Raya Koto Baru ? ? ? ? 38 Kab. Sawah Lunto Surau Tinggi Calau ? ? ? ? 39 Kab. Dharmasraya Masjid Tua Siguntur A1 a ? Brick = Totally renewed/unidentified = Un-surveyed Roof A1= 3-level tiered roof A = Tiered roof A2= 4-level tiered roof A3= 2-level tiered roof B1= 2-tiered + 3 octagon + dome B2= 3-tiered + 3 octagon + dome B = Tiered roof + octagonal roof + B3= 3-tiered + 2 octagon dome B4= 2-tiered + 3 octagon B5= 3-tiered + 2 octagon + dome B6= 1-tiered + 1 octagon + dome C1= 2-tiered + 1 bagonjong (4 sides) + octagon (crown) C2= 4-tiered + 1 bagonjong (4 sides, crown) C = Tiered roof + bagonjong/crown shaped roof C3= 2-tiered + 1 bagonjong (2 sides) C4= 5-tiered + octagon (crown) C5= 1-tiered + 1 bagonjong D = Without tiered roof or others Minaret a = Without minaret bt = twin minaret at East side b = Twin minaret bb = twin minaret at West side ct = single minaret at East side c = Single minaret cb = single minaret at West side ctb = single minaret at East and West side dt = bt + ct (twin at East + single at East side) Fig.2. Bukit Barisan (mountain/hill range) Position and d = Mixed Twin and Single minaret db= bb + ctb (twin at West + single at East and West) Administrative Boundary in West Sumatra 2 JAABE vol.17 no.1 January 2018 Bambang Setia Budi 2. Traditional House in West Sumatra In West Sumatra, the Minangkabau is a local ethnic group living in this area. According to Dawson and Gillow (1994), Minangkabau territory was once a large kingdom that spread over most of central Sumatra and encompassed Jambi, Bengkulu, and Palembang. However, with the coming of Islam in the fourteenth century, the Minangkabau were gradually pressed back and reduced to several kingdoms in the hinterland in West Sumatra. The Minangkabau traditional house has multiple gables and rises at the tip of the roof or curves upward at the edges called bagonjong. This type of roof can also be seen on a rice barn, which is usually located in front of the house. The main building material of the house and its rice barn are wood. Raised floors are used in all of these buildings. The raised floor can be as tall as two to three metres. See Fig.4. The Minangkabau traditional houses are rectangular in plan.