Indonesia is a country that has a lot of culture in it. This cultural diversity produces many architectural styles of houses with unique appearances. Toraja has one of the buildings with a special style, namely the Tongkonan house.
This house, which is located in South Sulawesi, is a house with a legendary appearance. To preserve it, a simple thing that good citizens can do is to understand the cultures that exist in Indonesia.
For that, Indonesiar.com will discuss some of the uniqueness of Tongkonan Toraja as follows:
1. Equipped with 3 Layers of Quadrants 4
The three quadrilateral layers in this traditional house are not only intended to please the eyes of those who stare. There are cultural values represented by this symbol. The symbol is believed to represent life, birth, worship or honor / dignity, and death.
2. Special Wall Carving
The basic colors that are commonly used on all four sides are red, yellow, white, and black.
These colors reportedly have their own meanings, namely:
- red as a symbol of human life,
- yellow as a symbol of the power of the Creator or worldly,
- white as a symbol of purity,
- black as a symbol of grief or death.
The four colors that are applied to the house have a major influence on human life in Toraja land.
3. Decorated with Buffalo Horn
If you look carefully, this traditional house from Sulawesi has an attraction that is embedded in the unique buffalo horns that line the front of the house. The number of buffalo horns shows the high degree of a family.
The buffalo symbol is used because it is a symbol of the economic capacity of a family during funeral ceremonies for family members. The reason is, this funeral ceremony is usually followed by a large number of buffalo sacrifices.
4. Has 3 Levels
At the top of this house there is the Rattinga Banua which is a place to store heirlooms that are considered sacred. The roof is also made of the best quality bamboo accompanied by ties of rattan and palm fibers that can make this house last for hundreds of years. Then, the living room is used for the bedroom, family room, and even to bury the ancestral bodies.
5. Under the house that can be used
The under the Tongkonan house is used as a buffalo cage by the owner of the house. The shape that looks like a stage is given a little adjustment so that it can be pulled and used as a fence that can be used to store buffalo.
6. The direction of the house is adjusted to the direction of the wind
Directing the house according to the wind direction, of course, has an element of local wisdom. Here is an explanation of each direction used in house placement:
- The north direction associated with God’s power is considered the beginning of human life.
- The east direction is a symbol of human energy or the beginning of life.
- The west represents death or misfortune.
- The south direction is the dwelling place of the evil spirit of life or the butt of the sky.
7. The price is expensive
Even though Tongkonan is a traditional house, the price can reach billions of rupiah and is considered luxurious and unique. Why is that? Because the manufacturing process is very complicated and requires high quality materials.
Source : 99
