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Cottage, Rumoh
Adat & its
mood
—— Almost everything in a Achenese house
is fascinating. Above is a simply a small house, a
cottage. But the more delicate one is call
Rumoh Adat.
The floors in different sections of the house are placed
at different levels. The level of the floor in the
lounge, for example, is normally lower than in the main
house to provide better ventilation. The windows were
also designed to accommodate guesses or families
gathering. Although the ceiling is low, there is ample
ventilation from air vents, doors and windows. A unique
feature in traditional houses is the lantai pinang, fine
pieces of wooden palm trees, for floorboard. The wooden
slats placed about 1 cm apart to facilitate the outflow
of water. It was here that the religious cleansing of
the deceased (mandi mayat) was carried out. Other than
in kitchen, most part of the house was usually covered
with straw mats. The Achenese have natural craftsmen,
and their skills can be seen in the many intricate
carvings on various parts of the house, especially on
the wall panels, doors and windows. In spite of the fact that the
numerous pillars supporting the houses were seldom
buried deep in the ground, and the houses usually were built
without the use of a single nail. The craftsmen used
finger-sized wedges of very precise dimensions to hold
the joints together securely. The use of wedges instead
of nails enabled the houses to be disassembled and moved
to a new location.
Unfortunately over the years, not many traditional
houses survived and
many tragedies by the government forces have taken over
the lives and the properties of Achenese. |
