Toraja House Front Side Panel

Origin of Toraja house front side panel : Kapala Pitu - North Toraja - South Sulawesi - Indonesia

Age : Circa 1900'

Description :

Tongkonan is the traditional ancestral house, or Rumah adat of the Torajan people, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tongkonan have a distinguishing boat-shaped and oversized saddleback roof. Like most of Indonesia's Austronesian-based traditional architecture, tongkonan are built on piles. The construction of tongkonan is laborious work and it is usually built with the help of all family members or friends. In the original Toraja society, only nobles had the right to build tongkonan. Therefore, Commoners live in smaller and less decorated homes called banua.

The word 'Tongkonan' is derived from the Toraja word tongkon (‘to sit’) and literally means the place where family members meet.

History (Toraja house front side panel ).

( Toraja House front side Panel). According to the Torajan myth, the first tongkonan house was built in heaven by Puang Matua, the Creator. It was built on four poles and the roof was made of Indian cloth. When the first Torajan ancestor descended to earth, he imitated the heavenly house and held a big ceremony.^[1] An alternative legend, describes the Toraja arriving from the north by boats, but caught in a fierce storm, their boats were so badly damaged that they used them as roofs for their new houses.

There are three types of tongkonan. Tongkonan layuk is the house of the highest authority and it is used as the center of government. The second type is tongkonan pekamberan, which belongs to the family group members, who have some authorities in local traditions (known as adat). The last one is tongkonan batu, which belongs to the ordinary family members.

Tongkonan are customarily built facing north-south. Likewise, Dominating the entire structure is the saddleback roof with gables that are dramatically upswept. After that, The internal space is small in comparison with the overwhelming roof structure that covers it. Interiors are typically cramped and dark with few windows. However, most of daily life is lived outside the homes, with interiors simply intended for sleeping, storage, meetings and occasionally protection.

Therefore, Common to Toraja of all religions, is the cultural centrality of the tongkonan as ancestral homes. The homes are the focus of family identity and tradition, representing the descendants of a founding ancestor. Kis Jovak et al. (1988) describes the tongkonan as being not simply a house. In short, symbolising a Torajan's microcosm.^[3]

Function

(Toraja house front side panel ). As the focus of ancestral identity. It is through the tongkonan that Torajans consider themselves related to parents, grandparents and more distant relatives. Torajans belong to more than one house as they trace descent bilaterally. In Addition, through both the male and female line. Upon marriage, Toraja men customarily live in their wives' home. If divorced, possession of the house is granted to the wife. Although, the husband may be compensated by being given the rice barn which can be dismantled and reassembled. A tongkonan. However, is never removed. Because, of the large number of placentae buried on the east side of the house (east is associated with life).

This item is toraja house front side panel .

(all Description Source : Wikipedia )