Rumah Gadang

Rumah gadang in the Pandai Sikek village of West

Sumatra, with two rice barns (rangkiang) in front

Rumah gadang (Minangkabau: "big

house") or rumah bagonjong
(Minangkabau: "spired roof house") are
the traditional homes (Indonesian:
"rumah adat") of the Minangkabau. The
architecture, construction, internal and
external decoration, and the functions of
the house reflect the culture and values
of the Minangkabau. A rumah gadang
serves as a residence, a hall for family
meetings, and for ceremonial activities.
In the matrilineal Minangkabau society,
the rumah gadang is owned by the
women of the family who live there;
ownership is passed from mother to
daughter.

The houses have dramatic curved roof

structure with multi-tiered, upswept
gables. Shuttered windows are built into
walls incised with profuse painted floral
carvings. The term rumah gadang usually
refers to the larger communal homes,
however, smaller single residences share
many of its architectural elements.[1]

In West Sumatra, traditional rumah

gadang reflect the province’s
Minangkabau people, and has become
the symbol of West Sumatra and
Minangkabau culture. Throughout the
region, numerous buildings demonstrate
the design elements of rumah gadang,
including genuine vernacular timber
masonry structures built for customary
ceremonies, to the more mundane
modern structure like those of
government offices and public facilities.
Today, rumah gadang architectural
elements, especially its gonjong horn-like
curved roof can be found in modern
structures, such as governor and
regencies office buildings, marketplaces,
hotels, facade of Padang restaurants and
Minangkabau International Airport. An
istano basa, however, is the largest and
most magnificent example of this
traditional style.[2]

Background

Location of West Sumatra home of the

Minangkabau
Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the
world and since the time of Marco Polo
has been referred to as the 'island of
gold'. It is the most resource-rich island
of Indonesia, including its tea, pepper
and rubber plantations, and oil, tin and
other mineral resources.[3] Lying on the
equator, Sumatra has a monsoonal
climate and, although more rain falls
between October and May, there is no
extended rainless dry season. Despite
large-scale deforestation, Sumatra still
has millions of acres of unexploited
rainforests that provide building
materials. The great hardwood trees
required for large scale construction are
now, however, in strictly limited supply.[3]

Sumatra is home to one of the most

diverse range of peoples in the Southeast
Asian archipelago.[3] This diversity is
reflected in a range variety of often
dramatic traditional homes known as
rumah adat. The most common housing
forms have traditionally been wooden
and raised on piles, built of locally
gathered materials, with steeply pitched,
roofs. In addition to the Minangkabau's
rumah gadang, the Batak of Lake Toba
region build the boat-shaped jabu with
dominating carved gables and dramatic
oversize roofs, and the people of Nias
build the fortified omo sebua houses on
massive ironwood pillars with towering
roof structures.

The Minangkabau are indigenous to the

highlands of central Sumatra. Their
culture is matrilineal, with property and
land being passed down from mother to
daughter; religious and political affairs
are the province of men. The
Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but
also follow their own ethnic traditions, or
adat. Minangkabau adat was derived
from animistic and Hindu-Buddhist
beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and
remnants of animistic beliefs exist even
among some practicing Muslims. As
such, women are customarily the
property owners; husbands are only
tolerated in the house at certain times
and under special conditions and must
return to their sisters' house to sleep.[4]
Complementing this practice is the
custom of merantau whereby many of
the men will travel far afield for work,
returning only periodically to their village
of origin. Money earned on these trips is
remitted for the building of contemporary
rumah adat.[4]

Form
The external walls of a rumah gadang are covered
with motifs, each having a symbolic meaning

A communal rumah gadang is a long

house, rectangular in plan, with multiple
gables and upsweeping ridges, forming
buffalo horn-like ends. They normally
have three-tiered projections, each with
varying floor levels. They are broad and
set on wooden piles that can reach as
high as 3 metres (10 ft) off the ground;
sometimes with a verandah running
along the front face of the house which is
used as a reception and dining area, and
as a sleeping place for guests. Unlike the
Batak Toba homes, where the roof
essentially creates the living space, the
Minangkabau roof rests on conventional
walls. Cooking and storage areas are
often in separate buildings.

A rumah gadang and rangkiang in 1910

The house is largely constructed of

wood; an exception being the rear
longitudinal wall which is a plain lattice
woven in a chequered pattern from split
bamboo. The roof is of a truss and cross-
beam construction and is typically
covered with thatch from the fibre of the
sugar palm (ijuk), the toughest thatch
material available and said to last a
hundred years.[5] The thatch is laid in
bundles which can be easily fitted to the
curved, multi-gabled roof. Contemporary
homes, however, are more frequently
using corrugated iron in place of thatch.
Roof finials are formed from thatch
bound by decorative metal bindings and
drawn into points said to resemble
buffalo horns — an allusion to a legend
concerning a battle between two water
buffaloes from which the 'Minangkabau'
name is thought to have been derived.
The roof peaks themselves are built up
out of many small battens and rafters.

The women who share the house have

sleeping quarters set into alcoves —
traditionally odd in number — that are set
in a row against the rear wall and
curtained off by the vast interior space of
the main living area. Traditionally, large
communal rumah gadang will be
surrounded by smaller homes built for
married sisters and daughters of the
parent family. It is the responsibility of
the women's maternal uncle to ensure
that each marriageable woman in the
family has a room of her own. To this end
he will build either a new house or, more
commonly, annexes to the original one. It
is said that the number of married
daughters in a home can be told by the
counting its horn-like extensions; as they
are not always added symmetrically,
rumah gadang can sometimes look
unbalanced.[6] Adolescent boys
traditionally live in the village surau, a
small mosque.

Architectural elements
Interior of the Pagaruyung Palace, showing the long
common area of a rumah gadang. The two-level
floor is a symbolic element specific t o the palace.

Each element of a rumah gadang has its

own symbolic meaning, which is referred
to in adat speech and aphorisms. The
elements of a rumah gadang includes:

gonjong, hornlike roof structure

singok, triangular wall under the ends
of gonjong
pereng, shelf under the singok
 anjuang, raised floor at the end of one
style of rumah gadang
dindiang ari, the walls on the side
elevations
dindiang tapi, the walls on the front and
back elevations
papan banyak, front facade
papan sakapiang, a shelf or middle
band on the periphery of the house
salangko, wall enclosing space under a
house that has been built on stilts

Some symbolisms of the house, for

example, relate to the gonjong reaching
to god and the dindiang tapi, which is
traditionally made of plaited strips of
bamboo, symbolizing the strength and
utility of the community which is formed
when individual Minangkabau become
part of the larger community instead of
standing alone.

The pillars of the ideal rumah gadang are

arranged in five rows which run the
length of the house. These rows divide
the interior into four long spaces called
lanjar. The lanjar at the rear of the house
is divided into bedrooms (ruang).
According to adat, a rumah gadang must
have at least five ruang, and the ideal
number is nine. The other lanjar are used
as a common area, called the labuah
gajah (elephant road), for living and
ceremonial events.
A number of rice barns (rangkiang)
ideally accompany a rumah gadang, with
each having a different name and
function. The rangkiang sitinjau lauik,
contains rice for the family, particularly
for adat ceremonies. The rangkiang
sitangka lapa contains rice for donation
to poor villagers and for times of famine
in the village. The rangkiang sibayau-
bayau contains rice for the daily needs of
the family.

Ornamentation
An example of the carvings from a rumah gadang

The Minangkabau traditionally embellish

the wooden walls, pillars, and ceilings of
the rumah gadang with bas-relief carved
wooden motifs that reflect and
symbolize their adat. The motifs consists
of profuse floral designs based on a
simple underlying geometric structure.
The motifs are similar to those of the
Minangkabau woven songket textiles,
with colors thought to have been derived
from Chinese brocades.[7] Traditionally,
the motifs do not show animals or
humans in a realistic form, although
some may represent animals, human
beings, or their activities or behavior. The
motifs are based on the Minangkabau
concept of aesthetics, which is part of
their view of their world (Alam
Minangkabau) in which expression is
always based upon the natural
environment. A well-known adat
aphorism says, 'nature is our teacher'.
View of the external carvings of a rumah gadang.
The inner side of the shutter is painted as the y are
visible when open. [7]

Ninety-four motifs have been observed

on rumah gadang. Thirty-seven of them
refer to flora, such as kaluak paku ('fern
tendrils'), saluak laka ('interwoven
rattan'), pucuak rabuang ('bamboo
shoots'), areca-nut palms,[1] and lumuik
hanyuik ('washed-away moss'). Twenty-
eight motifs refer to fauna, such as tupai
tatagun ('startled squirrel'), itiak pulang
patang ('ducks going home in the
afternoon) which symbolizes co-
operation and homecoming wanderers,[1]
and kumbang janti (golden bumblebee).
The remaining twenty-nine motifs refer to
humans and sometimes their activities or
behavior, such as rajo tigo (three kings of
the realm), kambang manih (sweet flower,
used to describe an amiable girl) and jalo
takambang (casting a net).

Variations

The Minangkabau royal palace at Pagaruyung has

three roofs which rise in tiers; the first tw o rise
three roofs which rise in tiers; the first tw o rise
laterally and the top room transversally. Extensions
at either side add a further two roof forms.

The rumah gadang is built in one of two

basic designs: koto piliang and bodi
caniago. These forms reflect different
two variations of Minangkabau social
structure. The koto piliang design reflects
an aristocratic and hierarchical social
structure, with the house containing
anjuang (raised floors) at each end to
permit elevated seating of clan leaders
during ceremonial events. The bodi
caniago design reflects a democratic
social structure, with the floors being flat
and on one level.
Large communal homes are entered
through a doorway in the centre of the
structure which is usually surrounded by
a perpendicular porch with a triangular
gable and upsweeping peaked ridge end.
The variation with no entry porch is
named bapaserek or surambi papek
("without veranda").

The larger and more opulent houses,

have higher walls and multiple roofs,
often with five elements inserted into
each other, and supported by large
wooden columns. Variations on the
number of columns are known as the
gajah maharam ("elephant kneeling"),
which may have forty columns resulting
in a shorter and stouter form, and the rajo
babandiang ('design of grandeur') with
fifty pillars and a more slender form. An
additional six columns are required at
each end for the anjuang of the Koto
Piliang variation.

A government building that contains elements of the

rumah gadang style

A Minangkabau traditional council hall,

known as a balai adat, appears similar to
a rumah gadang. This type of building is
used by clan leaders as a meeting place,
and it is not enclosed by walls, except for
the anjuang of the Koto Piliang model.
The Pagaruyung Palace is built in the
traditional Minangkabau rumah gadang
architectural style, but one unusual
aspect is that it has three levels. In West
Sumatra some modern government and
commercial buildings, and domestic
houses (rumah gedung), have adopted
elements of the rumah gadang style.

There has been a sizable Minangkabau

settlement in Negeri Sembilan (now in
Malaysia) since the seventeenth century,
with the chief of the Minangkabau still
ruler there. The Negeri Sembilan
Minangkabau, however, have adopted the
Malay-style roof construction, with
continuous ridge piece thatched with
lengths of palm-leaf attached to battens.
Although this has meant the loss of the
characteristic curved roof and has
blunter eaves, it is still considered
dignified and beautiful.[1] More orthodox
Islamic influence has also led to
variations such as modifications to the
interior layout, as women are more
restricted to the rear of the house than in
the case of the matrilineal Sumatran
Minangkabau.[1]

Construction
The construction of a house is subject to
specific regulations, laid down by the
ancestors and formalised in adat, that
need to be observed if the house is to
become a beautiful and pleasant
building. The construction and
maintenance of a rumah gadang is the
responsibility of ninik mamak, the elder
male blood-relatives of the matrilineal
descent group that owns and builds it.

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related
to Rumah gadang.

Architecture of Indonesia
 Architecture of Sumatra

References
General references

Dawson, B.; Gillow, J. (1994). The Traditional

Architecture of Indonesia. Thames and
Hudson Ltd. ISBN 0-500-34132-X.
Summerfield, Anne; John Summerfield
(1999). Walk in Splendor: Ceremonial Dress
and the Minangkabau. UCLA. ISBN 0-
930741-73-0.
Vellinga, Marcel (March 2004). "A family
affair: the construction of vernacular
Minangkabau houses". Indonesia and the
Malay World. Routledge. 32 (92): 100–118.
doi:10.1080/1363981042000263480 .
Kartikawening, Dyah (2002). "Public Space
Dynamic in Minangkabau Rural Area
Indonesia" (PDF). 2002 American Planning
Association National Planning Conference
Proceedings.
Ng, Cecilia (1993). "Raising the House Post
and Feeding the Husband Givers: The
Spatial Categories of Social Reproduction
Among the Minangkabau." . Inside
Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on
Domestic Designs for Living. pp. 121–143.
ISBN 1-920942-84-X.
Nas, Peter J.M.; Martin A. van Bakel (1999).
"Small town symbolism: The meaning of the
built environment in Bukittinggi and
Payakumbuh" . Urban symbolism and
rituals. Ljubljana: 173–189. Archived from
the original on 2007-05-14.
 Vellinga, Marcel (2005). Constituting Unity
And Difference: Vernacular Architecture In A
Minangkabau Village. Koninklijk Instituut
Voor de Tropen. ISBN 90-6718-230-3.

Notes

1. Dawson, Barry; Gillow, John (1994). The

Traditional Architecture of Indonesia.
London: Thames and Hudson. p. 75.
ISBN 0-500-34132-X.
2. Syofiardi Bachyul Jb (November 23,
2013). "Istano Basa Pagaruyung: Restored
to glory" . The Jakarta Post. Retrieved
December 24, 2013.
3. Dawson, Barry; Gillow, John (1994). The
Traditional Architecture of Indonesia.
London: Thames and Hudson. p. 31.
ISBN 0-500-34132-X.
4. Dawson, Barry; Gillow, John (1994). The
Traditional Architecture of Indonesia.
London: Thames and Hudson. p. 74.
ISBN 0-500-34132-X.
5. Dawson, Barry; Gillow, John (1994). The
Traditional Architecture of Indonesia.
London: Thames and Hudson. p. 20.
ISBN 0-500-34132-X.
6. Dawson, Barry; Gillow, John (1994). The
Traditional Architecture of Indonesia.
London: Thames and Hudson. p. 76.
ISBN 0-500-34132-X.
7. Dawson, Barry; Gillow, John (1994). The
Traditional Architecture of Indonesia.
London: Thames and Hudson. p. 60.
ISBN 0-500-34132-X.

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