THE INTRICACIES OF THE MALAY HOMES
Alas, though books and periodicals may give us clues, secrets and details of traditional Malay houses, nothing supersedes visitation to those houses still standing. But of course it has to take you on long trails, into out of the tracks zone and by accident you may come across one.
There are no guides to available Malay traditional homes except for those at museums etc. For instance the quint pictures of a Malay house came into the scene when I was at a small town called Jeneri in Kedah. The owner and 'tukang kayu' himself is still alive and I marvelled at the hardworks and skill especially he has put in to build his home in 1957. Believe it or not he even carved the year '1957' which remained a lasting reminder of his passionate work which remained on top of one of his doors. Proud especially to be associated with that auspicuous year.
Perhaps we need to set up a 'Kumpulan Pencita Rumah-Rumah Melayu Tradisional' and those who discover one reports of its existence. You andI would have to scout through out Malaysia if I were to find several. Impossible.But if we have a referance point would'nt that be a starting point?
The Malay houses in the 'kampong' may have unexpectedly nestled in such a surrounding. Notice several homes partly hidden by coconut or large trees interspersed by padi fields. Naturally cooling enough even in the noon time hours when the sun is overhead. Being in the rice-field of Malaysia, these houses nestled amongst the peaceful greenery and at times changing to gold when the rice stalks ripen.There is space in between.Neighbors don't feel hemmed in.
In earlier times, when roads were the waterways , houses tend to be sited near rivers.Lucky for the owner of this home, he seems to have progressed satisfactorily. He has a road built in front of his home and it too has taken a new and modern feature. Yet he continues to enjoy space and greenery around him. The porch is large enough to accommodate two cars at least; allowing convenience for the larger family that comes home.
No this is not a long house but it was once a police barrack for the policemen and their families. Noticing the staircases, at least four families resided here at one time. Still it is located around greenery and even with a field right in front of the barrack. Sadly this airy and cool home near the former Alor Setar Airport has been demolished to make way for better accommodations.The large and extensive veranda plus the high roofs surely allow for excellent ventilation while the veranda offer closer relationship and rapport between families. Yes it is of a wooden entity excepting some necessary parts.
The above picture and the one below is one section of the Malay home which sadly but surely is disappearing. The carpenters or house makers do not have the skill to produce them or they have excuses of their own. Current architectural designs do not include such artistic portions as part of the house and further good quality timber for such pieces are hard to come by too. Those that are found sadly are on vacant homes, left to the severity of nature and yet the owners refused to be parted by such antiquity. I could only take photos though I would rather dismantle the pieces or even offer to buy the old home. Still the question of the right ownership hugs the issue. Maybe another day may come when the owner decides to part with his old home.
While driving in Trengganu, I stopped to see this house being rebuilt and the quantity of wood used as good as your guess and mine. Surely there are many intricate pieces and designs that make up this Trengganu home and to get the right timber and quantity now for such a house would be a disaster. Even the roofs are made from pieces of timber interlocking one with the other.
The following are recent attempts to build a pavilion, two homes and a decorative portion of a super market. Hopefully and gainfully these approaches will help towards reestablishing good timber construction skills and a definitive comeback of the Malay traditional homes though with modern characteristics.
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