The Traditional House of Lampung

aan October 22, 2012 41 Comments

On my way from Bandar Lampung to the Lake Ranau in West lampung, I passed through several towns with some different scenery, including the plantations of nutmeg and oil palm. At first, it was so boring and exhausting. Finally entered a village named Belalau, I found something extraordinary. I saw a lot of unique houses lined up on both sides of the road. The house that I had never seen in Java, especially in my hometown, Yogyakarta. Great! Those were the indigenous houses of Lampung! Soon, I stop the car and took the camera. I was so excited as if to devour the houses. Unfortunately, the village was so quiet, so I didn’t find anyone to asked.

The traditional house in West Lampung is a stilt house that made of wood. In front of the house, there is a steps to get into the upper chamber. The roof made from palm fiber or wood. Below the house intentionally left blank to store livestock and crops. In general, these traditional houses have aged decades or even hundreds years. So it’s no wonder that most of the houses have been renovated. Especially the downstairs room is walled and to be a closed room. The roof was also partially been replaced tile or zinc.

After took some photograph, we continued the trip. Along the way, I was still amazed by the uniqueness of the villages that I passed. They have almost similar straight streets and similar houses, as if I met many twin villages.

The second surprise I got in village of Batu Brak. It’s about 15 km after Belalau. Among the similar traditional houses either side of a straight road, there was a large building that different from others. The building was Gedung Dalom. It used to be a palace of the owner of territory and customary, something like Sultan. Nowadays, the building is left empty. However, it will be used as a gathering place when there is a customary meeting.

Actually, I met an old man who lives across of the building. But he spoke Bahasa Indonesia in a strange accent that confusing me. I had many questions to him, but I didn’t get the answer clearly. Even, I asked him the same questions for two and three times but still didn’t understand the answers. Well, Indonesia has many tribes with different languages and different accents.

To stop the frustrating conversation, I immediately asked permission to photograph, and was allowed to shoot only the exterior of the building.

The traditional houses in every tribes in Indonesia become part of the wealth of the Indonesian culture. Here the photos that I took in Belalau and Batu Brak. Wish you enjoy the pictures…

Long and straight road with houses on both sides
Most of the houses have been renovated
Gedong Dalem at Batu Brak village
The main stairs to the house
Beautiful ornament on the front mast
Cannon in front of the house
Front balcony
Front corner
Front pedestal
Back pedestal
Main door
Gazebo in front of the building

41 Replies to “The Traditional House of Lampung”

        1. Asli Jogja, gan..
          Kebetulan pas main ke Lampung
          Barusan saya cc Danau Ranau,
          Lagi saya siapkan Kain Tapis & Sulam Usus, tapi belom kelar.. mungkin nanti menara Siger juga.. 🙂

          Reply

  9. Ini tempat yang aku pengen kunjungi lagi. Kepikir buat ngatur sampai di situ sekitar jam 7 pagi, pasti asyik karena jalanan ramai dengan anak-anak berangkat sekolah. Waktu terakhir lewat sana aku kebagian hujan, jadi gak sempat motret apapun ;(

    Reply

    1. Lah, emang udah bolak-balik lewat sana toh?
      Itu saya pas siang hari.. Besoknya pas pulang ga lewat sana lagi.. saya milih lewat jalur pantai barat.. cari gambar baru..

      Reply

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