West Sumatra's 'rumah gadang' a matrilineal symbol

Text and photos by Nicky Walsh

BUKITTINGGI, West Sumatra (JP): As the sun rises over the rice paddies and slopes of the volcanoes, the mist slowly lifts and strange crescent shapes with soaring peaks begin to fill the sky. The day takes over from the dawn and the magnificent houses appear beneath the gables of the roofs. The houses are a symbol of an ancient culture in this ancient land.

Bukittinggi and its surrounding villages in West Sumatra is home to one of the last remaining matrilineal cultures in the world. Some say the name "Minangkabau" derives from the "Pinang Kabau", meaning "Original Home". Others believe it means "The buffalo wins", alluding to a dramatic legendary battle for independence from the Javanese. The Minangs starved a calf for ten days, tied a sharp spike to its nose and watched the calf gore its huge Javanese adversary to death as it frantically tried to suckle, thus winning the battle.

The power of the kerbau (buffalo) has been honored and respected ever since. The roofs of the houses and women's traditional head-dress, the tanduk, are shaped like buffalo horns to this day, keeping the gory legend alive.

The houses are cool, reflecting the peaceful surrounding landscape, and take a decade or more to complete. Giant cedar trees are ceremoniously felled after making peace offerings to the tree spirits. This is the first step to creating the imposing rumah gadang (great houses) of the region.

The traditional method of building these magnificent houses could even be regarded as being ecologically sound. After the trees are felled and the wood sawn into lengths, it is placed in a mud pond for three months. The wood soaks up the mud, acting as a natural seal. Once cracks are sufficiently clogged the planks are removed and dried.

Construction

The complex construction involves no metal, as wooden pegs are carved and joints slotted together. The planks are laid leaving as few gaps as possible and those that remain create a natural ventilation system. A ground-blessing ceremony follows, often involving an animal sacrifice to appease the spirits of the earth. The elongated rectangular buildings, some over 60 meters long, with a high gable at each end, are then built on wooden pilings one or two meters off the ground.

The long roof, resting on the pillars, is created by using an ingenious technique. The rafters are laid on a straight beam and after a while, the middle begins to sag from the weight of the rafters, and the ends push upwards. It is this which produces the distinctive saddle-back shape and the buffalo horns that soar up to 20 meters into the sky. The number of peaks and extensions traditionally symbolize the status of the family and the number of married daughters who live there.

To appease the spirits, the rafters are blessed with a bunch of flowers fixed at one end of the ridge. Between the pillars and beams, pieces of symbolic colored cloth are often placed. The Minang colors of red, black and gold, symbolize the ideal of treating people from all social classes without preference or prejudice. The rafters are then covered with blackened palm fiber thatch which can take many months or even years to collect and dry. Metal finials of the Islamic crescent moon, stars and other objects are placed on the very tips of the roof.

The exterior -- sometimes even the interior -- is then richly decorated with carved panels, hiding the beam ends and creating a visual extravaganza. The intricate carvings of scrolls and flowers are painted in Minang and other pastel colors, giving the houses a magical fairy-tale appearance. They symbolize the traditional Minang adat (custom), such as tanggauk lamah (humility and courtesy), jalo taserak'(good and evil) and jarek takambang (the importance of correct social behavior).

The great houses can have a floor area of some 200 square meters, with one main entrance usually situated in the center. The interior is divided by the pillars into squares of approximately three meters on each side. Partitions of matted bamboo are fixed to the pillars, creating apartments which are occupied by married women, related to the matriarch of the household and their husbands. These are located in the back section of the house, whilst the front area is reserved for dining and as a sleeping area for young children and elderly women.

The rumah gadang are intrinsically linked to the matrilineal system of Minang life in West Sumatra, where every Minang belongs to his or her mother's descent group. It is the women who traditionally rule the roost, owning and inheriting all the property. At times there are three or four generations of women under the same roof. Decisions regarding the family, property and marriage are all made by the matriarch, who is advised by a senior male family member -- often her own brother -- known as mamak. Young boys move out of the family house after circumcision and traditionally live together in a surau -- a mosque which also serves as a house for young men. Here they are taught the adat of the Minangkabau people and Islam by their mamak.

'Merantau'

Men's familial obligations are traditionally few and they are encouraged to practice merantau, which means to leave the village, travel far and wide seeking experience and wealth. A man returning from merantau is hopefully much wiser, worldly and rich, making him a more desirable husband and member of the village. The practice of merantau is often given as the reason for the fame of traditional hot and spicy Minang food, better known as Padang.

The matrilineal system of the Minangkabau region is gradually changing. Towns and cities are encroaching and a rapidly growing population has led to a land shortage. Modern houses take up less room, are cheaper and suit the changing family structure. Married couples now move out of the rumah gadang into their own smaller house. The worlds of women and men are no longer so separate, yet most Minangs remain extremely proud of their unique heritage.

The rumah gadang, as a result, have largely lost their function as the center for the extended family. In rural areas however, closely related women continue to live together and the matrilineal group still plays a significant role in people's lives. All major decisions are made through consultation with the oldest matriarch and the matrilineal group.

The expense and time needed to build a rumah gadang, means that their future is unlikely to be a good one. In an attempt to protect the rumah gadang, the original home of the Minangkabau people, Pariaman village, has ruled that no modern buildings can be built in the area and no old ones destroyed. Roofs on rumah gadang now tend to be made of corrugated iron or tiled, saving time and money. Likewise, facades are often painted on rather than carved. The long life of the rumah gadang -- the oldest being in Belimbing village at 350 years old -- means that these exquisite magical houses will continue to inspire architects, attract visitors to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra and be a symbol of one of the oldest surviving matrilineal cultures in the world.