Baileo is a custom house, in Maluku and

North Maluku North Maluku ( id, Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The term is derived from the word ''bale'' or ''balai'', which is a

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

word for a village meeting place. The house is a representation of the Baileo

Maluku culture Maluku, a group of islands within the Indonesian archipelago,M Adnan Amal, ''Kepulauan Rempah-rempah : Perjalanan Sejarah Maluku Utara 1250-1950'', June 2010. has a variety of culture and customs expressed in music, tools, languages, dance, an ...

and has an important function in the life of the community that is why the structure forms part of the identity of any community in the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...

. There are instances where the baileo serves as a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

or adjacent to one. This is the case when the house serves as a repository for sacred objects and a place of traditional ceremonies in addition to its function as a place for community meetings. The ''baileo,'' which is present in every Moluccan village, is usually a village landmark with its open architecture. It also has a large size and unique appearance when compared to other buildings in its vicinity. It is traditionally built from local materials such as planked timber, cement, stone or brick with wood shingle, and thatch or zinc roof. Recent interest in baileo emerged within the recent revival process in parts of Indonesia that seeks to reestablish traditional institutions and symbols.

References

Architecture in Indonesia {{Indonesia-stub