![Rumah ulu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Rumah_ulu.jpg)
Rumah ulu is a vernacular house found in the highland of South Sumatra,
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 house is associated with the Uluan people who reside in the region of the upstream of the
Ogan
Ogan may refer to:
* Ogan (surname)
* Ogan Ilir Regency
* Ogan Komering Ilir Regency
* Ogan Komering Ulu Regency
* East Ogan Komering Ulu Regency
* South Ogan Komering Ulu Regency
* Ogan River, in South Sumatra, Indonesia
* Ogham
Ogham (Mod ...
and
Musi River Musi may refer to:
* Musi River (Indonesia)
* Musi River (India), Telangana
* Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India
* Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia
* Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player
* Agostino de' Musi, real ...
.
Distribution
Rumah ulu is a traditional house of people living in the upstream of
Musi River Musi may refer to:
* Musi River (Indonesia)
* Musi River (India), Telangana
* Moosy River, Andhra Pradesh, India
* Musi language, a Malay language spoken in Indonesia
* Angelo Musi (1918–2009), American basketball player
* Agostino de' Musi, real ...
,
South Sumatra. The name is derived from the word , which means "upstream". The term is also used as a generalization to rural inhabitants of the mountain range of the Central
Bukit Barisan in the upstream of the River. The current province of
South Sumatra encompasses only a small part of the former administrative region of South Sumatra (the present ''Sumbagsel'' or Southern Region of Sumatra), consisting of the provinces of
Bengkulu,
Jambi
Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...
,
Lampung, and South Sumatra proper (the former
Palembang Sultanate
The Sultanate of Palembang Darussalam (كسلطانن ڤلامبڠ دارالسلام) is a sultanate in Indonesia whose capital was the city of Palembang in the southern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was proclaimed in 1659 by ''Sus ...
).
With modernity, less and less rumah ulu can be found in the hinterland. No new ulu house have been constructed since the 1920s. A 200 years old ulu house is kept in the
Balaputradeva Museum
Balaputradeva Museum (Indonesian Museum Balaputera Dewa), officially the State Museum of South Sumatra Province "Balaputradeva", is an ethnographic museum located in Southern Sumatra's capital Palembang. The museum is the state museum of the Provi ...
. The rumah ulu in the museum was taken from Asamkelat Village in Pengandonan Subdistrict of
Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. A couple of old and large rumah ulu can still be found near
Baturaja
Baturaja is a town and the administrative capital of Ogan Komering Ulu Regency in South Sumatra, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. ...
, although without conservation status, these too may be destroyed.
Architecture
Rumah ulu evolved from an older type of houses known as the , the most basic form of . is basically a type of wooden stage house, typical vernacular architecture in the
Nusantara archipelago.
Rumah uluan was built over very thick wooden posts (), usually numbered six to nine. The posts are about high. A strong hardwood e.g.
ulin
''Eusideroxylon zwageri'' is a rare timber tree native to the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines region. It is known colloquially in English as Bornean ironwood, billian, or ulin.
Distribution
It is native to Brunei; Flores, Java, Kali ...
is used for the posts. The posts are not sunk into the ground, but stand over a flat river stone.
The proper house () has a square layout. Construction method for the house involves placing a complete frame of the house on top of the posts. The layout is simple, with space divided into two different levels by a -high dividing beam (). The lower area (), about two-thirds of the total floor area, is where the entrance is located. The lower space is used to prepare and to consume food, with the hearth placed in one corner. In a larger house, the kitchen is located in an additional building known as the . The higher one-third floor area () marks the more private sleeping area. This higher area is also used as the place where elders, or members of the bridge-giving lineage, were seated. The word means "stern" of a boat.
Rumah uluan's roof is characterized with projecting gables and rafters which rest on flying roof plates. The construction technique is similar with the
Toba Batak houses.
The degree of decorations indicates the wealth of the house owners. Relief carvings () are found in places e.g. on the studs and beams of the frame. Frequent motifs are floral e.g., (moonflower) or (sunflower), usually carved on door and the outside of the wall.
Interior
The interior of rumah ulu is divided into three parts namely the front room, the middle room, and the back room. These three spaces are further divided into rooms e.g. the living room ( or ); the resting room (/ and ); the elder room ( or ), and ruangan (kitchen).
The living room ( or ) is the place where the homeowner can have a chat in the afternoon after doing a work routine. The resting room is divided into a male resting space () and a female resting space (). The elder room ( or ) is the most central part of the rumah ulu and is located on the highest platform in the house. This room is used for the eldest of the family to give counsel or share wisdom in the form of stories to the children and the grandchildren.
Ulu village
The hierarchy of space of the uluan is defined by a rule known as the system. In village organization, if a new younger member of the family is planning to build a new house, the house must always be situated on the downstream side of the older house. This results in a clear village organization where the oldest house in the village is always located on the upstream side.
See also
*
Rumah adat
*
Rumah limas
Rumah means "house" or "home" in the Indonesian language. It may also refer to:
* Rumah Gadang, the traditional house of Minangkabau people, Indonesia
* Rumah Lanting
This article is about the architecture features of Banjar people of South K ...
*
Rumah gadang
References
Cited works
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External links
*
{{Indonesian architecture
Sumatra
Architecture in Indonesia