Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for Living


Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
1. Comparative Perspectives on Austronesian Houses: An Introductory Essay
The Comparative Austronesian Focus
The House as a Topic of Study
Austronesian House Terms
Ordered Structures and Their Orientation
Structures of Origin Within Austronesian Houses
Time and Memory in Austronesian Houses
Concluding Remarks
References
Notes
2. The Lahanan Longhouse
Balui Longhouses
The Levu
The Tilung
Tilung Composition
Continuity of the Tilung
References
Notes
3. Good Walls Make Bad Neighbours: The Dayak Longhouse as a Community of Voices
Lawang Construction and Lawang Space
Lawang Behaviour: Public or Private?
Concluding Remarks
References
Notes
4. Posts, Hearths and Thresholds: The Iban Longhouse as a Ritual Structure
The Iban Longhouse
Sources and Elders
Hearths and Posts
Upriver, Downriver, Parts and Wholes
Trunk, Base and Tip
East and West
The Longhouse Bathing Place
Interior Architecture
The Ritual Use of Longhouse Space
Rites of Birth
Rites of Death
The Gawai Antu
Conclusion
References
Notes
5. Raising the House Post and Feeding the Husband-Givers: The spatial categories of social reproduction among the Minangkabau
Introduction
The Minangkabau
Minangkabau Social Organization
Spatial Organization in the House
Use of Space in Ceremonies
Sociology of Adat Ceremonies
General Patterns
A Wedding Ceremony
The Malam Basampek
Interpretation
Food
Exchange of Food
Conclusion
Key Definitions
References
Notes
6. Memories of Ridge-Poles and Cross-Beams: The categorical foundations of a Rotinese cultural design
Introduction
Two Forms of Knowledge: Ndolu and Lelak
The Origin of the Rotinese House: Textual Foundations
Orientation and Exegesis
The Internal Structure of the Rotinese House
Internal Structures and the Performance of Rituals in the House
The House as Oriented Structure and Inner Space
The Rotinese House as a Memory Palace
COMPARATIVE POSTSCRIPT
Points of Comparison Between Houses on Roti and on Timor
The Atoni Pah Meto of West Timor
The Ema of North Central Timor
References
7. The Kalauna House of Secrets
References
8. Maori Meeting-Houses in and Over Time
The Marae
The Meeting-House Described
Social and Political Aspects
Symbolic Representation
Spatial Orientation
Temporal Implications of Spatial Orientation
Transformation of the Meeting-House Over Time
The Influence of Pakeha Patronage
Concluding Remarks
References
Notes
9. Houses and the Built Environment in Island South-East Asia: Tracing some shared themes in the uses of space
Structures and Functions
The House as an Animate Entity
Houses as Units of Kinship
Social Relationships and the Uses of Space
Trunk and Tip, Centre and Periphery: Images of Growth and Power
References
Contributors
 

List of Figures

2.1. Figure 1. Levu Lahanan, Leng Panggai
2.2. Figure 2. Floor plan of longhouse
3.1. Figure 1. Gerai longhouse apartment in cross section
3.2. Figure 2. Gerai longhouse apartment floor plan
4.1. Figure 1. Saribas District
4.2. Figure 2. Danau longhouse, Ulu Paku
4.3. Figure 3. Longhouse section and plan
4.4. Figure 4. The pun-ujong (source-tip) orientation of the longhouse
4.5. Figure 5. Longhouse orientation
4.6. Figure 6. Tomb hut temporarily assembled on the veranda with offerings (below) and garong baskets hanging above it (Gawai Antu)
4.7. Figure 7. On the tempuan passageway during Gawai Antu: the rugan altar on the left; at the top a decorated garong basket with a smaller gadai (representing a slave attendant); and a woman hanging the furnishing of a newly constructed bilik of the dead
4.8. Figure 8. Maidens in procession ‘to welcome the spirits’ (ngalu antu), Ulu Bayor longhouse, Saribas
4.9. Figure 9. Ngerandang jalai; a warrior cutting a path for the dead along the ruai gallery at the start of Gawai Antu
4.10. Figure 10. The rugan attached to the tempuan pillar, with a hearth at its base
4.11. Figure 11. Women serving the warriors ai’ jalong during the Gawai Antu; behind them a group of bards with two still holding bowls of wine
5.1. Figure 1. The rumah gadang
5.2. Figure 2. Levels in the rumah gadang
5.3. Figure 3. Sleeping order in the traditional house
5.4. Figure 4. Public and private space
5.5. Figure 5. Meanings in the traditional house
5.6. Figure 6. Underlying meanings in the use of space
5.7. Figure 7. Life cycle in the traditional house
5.8. Figure 8. Participants in adat ceremonies
5.9. Figure 9. Spatial organization in adat ceremonies
5.10. Figure 10. Exchange of food in the wedding ceremony
6.1. Figure 1. Directional coordinates and their symbolic associations
6.2. Figure 2. A traditional Rotinese house
6.3. Figure 3. The classification of levels of the Rotinese house
6.4. Figure 4. Plan of interior of a Rotinese house
6.5. Figure 5. Sketch of the ladder (heda-huk) leading into the upper house (uma lai)
6.6. Figure 6. Schematic representation showing the ladder, levels and division within the Rotinese house
6.7. Figure 7. The spars of the traditional Rotinese house
6.8. Figure 8. Schematic representation of the paths of the house
6.9. Figure 9. Floor plan of an Atoni house (adapted from Cunningham 1964:38)
6.10. Figure 10. Floor plan of an Ema house (adapted from Renard-Clamagirand 1982:41)
6.11. Figure 11. Comparison of the layouts of Rotinese, Atoni and Ema houses
7.1. Figure 1. Kivina the architect, Kalauna 1968
7.2. Figure 2. Moving house in Kalauna 1968
8.1. Figure 1. A view of the marae proper and the meeting-house Taane-i-ti-Pupuke at Waahi Pa, Huntly
8.2. Figure 2. Welcoming a group of visitors in front of the meeting-house Taana-i-te-Pupuke at Waahi Pa Marae in Huntly

List of Tables

5.1. Table 1. Composition of households
5.2. Table 2. Hierarchy of food and labour
6.1. Table 1. Builders assigned to the construction of the house