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THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF

KERALA, SOUTH INDIA: AN ARCHITECTURE
KNOWLEDGE ON THE...
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THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF KERALA, SOUTH INDIA:
AN ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE ON THE CROSSROAD BETWEEN
SOUTHEAST ASIA AND SOUTH ASIA
Indah Widiastuti [widiastuti911@gmail.com]
School of Architecture Planning and Policy Development
Institute of Technology Bandung
Abstract
The vernacular architecture of Kerala in India is explored to demonstrate a design
case with Southeast Asian characters but situated beyond the agreed (modern)
region of Southeast Asia. The elaborations are mainly based on ethnographic
studies and observations, done between 2004 and 2010. To elaborate the
discussion, the architecture of “Minangkabau” from West Sumatera and “Baliaga”
from Bali, Indonesia are especially taken as comparative cases from Southeast Asia.
The discussions would be drawn in three sections: 1) evidences of general
convergence and divergence of the building typology; 2) evidences of shared
social-spatial organization of the habitations that specifically brings up the
importance of women; and 3) the shared claims of pre-Hindu characters and
maritime culture. Indeed, the architecture of Kerala reflects a combination of Indic
and Southeast Asian characters and it leads to critical questions on the relevance
of geo-political distinction between Southeast Asia and its foreign counterpart, the
Colonial assumptions of ethnic and nationality and the paradigm of Indianization,
1


on the development of knowledge about Southeast Asian architecture. Finally, the
study would try to suggest a model of knowledge which principally suggests that
for the case of Southeast Asia, with its unique cultural dynamic and multiplicity, it
is more important to explore the processes of becoming that lend base to the
emergence of the people, its habitations and architectural traditions, rather than
examining the architecture within a given fixed territory. This model is tentatively
addressed as the pre-modern vernacular architecture in the crossroad between
Western Coast of India and the West Southeast Asia.
Keywords: Kerala, South India, Vernacular Architecture, tattakam, tara, taravad,
Indianization, Network of Asia.
2


Background
Locating the territorial sphere of coherences for the culture and vernacular architecture of
Southeast Asia is not simple. The commonality of expression - yet diversified full of multi-
layering architectural styles- from one place to another in the region signify a heterogeneous
society with dynamic, open and mobile nature which make it difficult to segregate. Adding to
the existing complication is the fact that the location of “Southeast Asia” itself had been more
an ideological reflection of a diplomatic and academic world-view 1. Heather Sutherland
therefore suggested applying uncritically the term potentially give rise to misunderstanding of
terms, such as “state”, “city” or “family”2.
Despite its contingent geographical sphere scholars agreed to admit the existence of cohesive
culture and architectural characters in Southeast Asian. In 1920’s the Austrian ethnographer,
Robert Heine-Geldern declared that Southeast Asia had ethnic, linguistic and cultural
coherence. Further, many researches, writings and studies were yielded. Among which were
the living architecture in Southeast Asia by Roxana Waterson (1990)3, the concept of granary-
house by Koji Sato (1991)4, the building construction, structure by Jacques Dumarcay (1986,
2005)5 and Gaudenz Domenig (1988)6, the architecture of the Austronesian by James Fox
(1979) 7. However, in those studies the clear boundary for Southeast Asian architecture was
not firmly determined. A better epistemology for explaining the nature of architecture of the
Southeast Asian, or the architecture with Southeast Asian characters is needed.
This paper is written based on mainly field studies since 2004-2011 about the vernacular
architecture of Kerala, South India. I drawed the vernacular architecture of Kerala in India here
3


to explore the phenomenon of architecture with some extent of Southeast Asian characters
but located beyond the agreed (modern) boundary of Southeast Asia (Figure 1). I consider this
case as an example of problematic implication of the modern boundary of Southeast Asia and
South Asia in the framing and establishing the knowledge about Southeast Asian architecture.
Figure 1 Map of architectural continuity between India and Indonesia (Source: Widiastuti,
2012)8
The Southeast Asian Characters in The Vernacular Architecture of Kerala
The Vernacular Architecture of Kerala, South India
Kerala is currently a federal state of India that geographically covers a straight strip in
Southwestern tip of India, spanning south to east on approximately 63 meter high elevation
above mean sea level. The location is culturally addressed as Malabar –a fertile strip of land
between Arabian sea and Western Ghats mountain9 to the North and Travancore to the
South. The highest highland reach approximately 800 meter high above the mean sea level. Laid
in-between coastal area and mountain ranges, Kerala had been dominated by a midland areas
where crops and paddy farming cultivation has been established. Kerala experiences annual
heavy rainfall in summer up to 1000 mm, and temperature 300-340C during peak summer.
4


The vernacular architecture of Kerala reflects a combination of Indic and Southeast Asian
characters. The Indic characters are reflected in the domination of permanent characters of
the earthen material construction and the main practice of Vedic dwelling culture as reflected in
observiance toward vaastu treatise in house design. Kerala particularly used laterite walling
material which is abundantly available along the western coast of India (from Gujarat to
Kanyakumari)10. The Southeast Asian characters could be examined according to several
indicators as listed by Reimar Schefold about “Southeast Asian House Type”’11, in the usage of:
1) vegetative reeds, coconut, jackfruit, and rosewood and timber construction tradition, 2)
sloping roof to encounter heavy rain during monsoon, 3) slanting wall screen and various depth
of protruding eaves to prevent glare sun lights, and 4) transparency and openness, as the best
relief in hot and humid climate, 6) single-hall and open-layout building typology with minimum
furniture, particularly the halls type without apparent window opening, 7) the transitional space
between interior and exterior marked by wall screen, protruding trellis wall and sun-shading,
and 8) significant spatial arrangement for female and kitchen in the East and North side which is
unlikely found in the mainstream Indian architecture. The constructions were mainly built from
wooden components possible to be disassembled. The following is more specific detailed
evidence that hint to the notion of combinations of Indic and Austronesian-Austro Asiatic
characters in the architecture of Kerala.
Saddle-hipped roof, outward slanting gable and gable finials
The most signature part of Kerala’s buildings is the overwhelming scale, pyramidal and slopping
roof. Particularly in South Kerala, roofs are mostly furnished with wooden gable end (Figure 2).
5


In general the design is almost a variant of architectural vocabulary as those, found in Lesser
Sunda region and Java. The most feature is that, like in Java and Thailand, the design is
elaborately constructed mainly in a wooden structure using fabricated components. One type
of gable were also found in the precise shape as that in Golden Palace, Bangkok, Thailand.
Specifically it resembles a roof type as recorded by Dumarcay in Batambong, Cambodia12. In
South Asia the existence of a wooden construction was tracable in the reliefs of the central
Indian Buddhist, Hindu, Jain temple wall and the Pallava temples of Mahabalipuram.
Figure. 2 Comparison of Saddle-Hipped Roof of House in

Kottayam District, Kerala, India and Batak Karo, Sumatera,
Indonesia
The roof structure demonstrate sophisticated vertical series of horizontal wall plates systems
on which arrays of rafters rest. It has common principle in giving importance to annular beams
system (arudham)13 as that is also found on to the blandar concept in Javanese roof structure
(Figure 3).
6


Figure. 3 Basic Construction of Roof Truss
However the design of roof truss is unprecedented in other places in India and also Southeast
Asia. Its antiquity is traceable in the images akin to Pallava architecture in 9th century AD. The
set was made of arrays of pierced rafters (kazhukol) through which lateral poles run to bind the
whole arrays into one set of dynamic space-truss. A small span hall design may require single
annular wall-plate (uttaram) to support rafters, but wider span hall requires a supporting
bracket in trapezoidal trusses bracketed by serial lateral poles on which rafters are arranged.
As a whole, it yields 3-dimensional roof space-truss that recollect the archetype of bamboo
constructions and its binding treatments using coconut ropes. In other words, the wooden
structure and roof construction of Kerala’s roof looks like a structural advancement of
primordial bamboo craftsmanship into sophisticated mass-produced wooden construction.
Granary-based Design
The most common typology of the residential structure found in Kerala is a single living -multi-
functional hall made of the combination of wooden-laterite or pure wooden construction,
standing on an elevated ground (adisthana). The practice of agriculturist culture and paddy
farming estates by the bulk of the society made paddy-storage a main structural concept of
7


Kerala’s living space (Figure 4). Specifically the archetypical of configuration of granary-house in
Kerala seems to shares with those of the Bontoc House in Philippine14and many granary-house-
structure building concept in Lesser Sunda region, Indonesia (Lombok, Bali, Lembata, Pantar,
and Alor).
The structural-spatial arrangement is centered toward the main function of grain storage (ara)
which appears as raised structure, standing on 4-5 feet above platform)15. The raised structure
left semi basement storage underneath or nilavara. Inside the ara pattayam, or grain box for
storing rice and grains, are placed. The space under the roof was also traditionally functioned as
storage too (pattaram). The ara appears to be the most auspicious space in the house (Figure
5). It would be flanked by multi-purpose space – kalavara. From this basic structure bigger scale
buildings could be obtained, starting from fixing more massive earthen material and tile roofing,
expanding the hall into bigger types, an additional annex and the formation of courtyard16 (see
Diagram 1)
Figure 5. Plan Beam works of an Figure 4. Schematic section of ekasala (Source:

Ekasala with Ara, (Source: Widiastuti, 2013)
Widiastuti, 2013)
8


Diagram 1: Typo-Morphological Map of Traditional-Vernacular Spaces in Kerala (prepared by

author)
Building Mass
The concept of vertical tripartite division is observable in structural division of roof, wall and
base (Figure 6). However the local accounts did not relate it with tripartite concept, of the
upper-middle-lower world division, like those in Southeast Asia, although Hinduism have the
concept of bhur-bhuvah-svah tripartite concept. Local schools of thought prefer to read it
9


according to anthropomorphic Vaastu concept of Padavinyasam alignment that incorporate octet
division of head-face-neck-shoulder-body-hip-leg-feet17.
Figure 6. Elevated floor of

Kerala’s hall (left) and
Majapahit’s house (right)
Section of Sala, Sketches of ara hall in

(redrawn from BTS Wooden Nira construction
Prabhu:1998) (left) and Nira Schematic
Construction
The discussion about the vernacular architecture of Kerala and Southeast Asia is also potentially
extended to the discourse of the Dutch Colonial architecture in Indonesia and Kerala. Dutch
had ruled Malabar circa 17th -19th cent.AD) and specifically ruled Indonesia (circa 18th- 20th
cent.AD). No accounts were found about whether or not there was relations between the
architectural development of the Colonial Kerala architecture and Indonesia, but curiously,
some observed cases suggested a coinciding style of the Dutch Indo-European architectural
style in Indonesia with the typology of Kerala’s residential architectures and the Dutch colonial
architecture in Kerala (Indo-European). Physically, it was shown in the adoption of the projected
gable-end-ridge, continuous and horizontal trellis like wooden wall-screen and bent ridge pole.
Figure 16 showed the common impression on the design of Pattayapura or local old granary hall
in Piravoom (approximately 100-150 years), Bolgaty Palace (1774), designed by a Dutch
architect and a hall in previously TH de Bandoenk Indonesia (1920) as if they emerged from the
same pattern. The rural settlement concept of ekakudumbaka grammam (landscape garden)
10


curiously related to the urban scheme of garden city as practiced for the Dutch Colonial city in
Indonesia18. This paper is yet to conclude any relation about it. But looking at the close visual
resemblance, and amid an academic framework that segregate the Colonial Dutch architecture
in Kerala, South India and in Indonesia, there should be a further study on this relation (Figure
7).
Figure. 7 Bolgatty palace (1774), Cochin, Kerala; Traditional Pattayapura at Piravoom, Kerala
and THS de Bandoeng (1920), Indonesia
The Commonality of Dwelling Culture of Kerala with Southeast Asia
The general social-cultural profile of the pre-modern Kerala fits Coedes’ description about the
indigenous Southeast Asian culture before the introduction of Indian culture: canal or water-
oriented settlement, wet paddy-farming tradition and irrigation, with matrilineal kinship or
female prominence, as well as the importance of coastal community19. The ethnography of
Kerala recognizes the term of Naga to address their indigenous people. Anthropologically they
were Veddoide and Austroloids substratum20 and was also noted to contain Proto-Malay stock
like those in Southeast Asia and Pacific21. The overall, general profiles resemble environmental
characters in Southeast Asia. This coincides with the concept of Naga as the native
Austronesian people as elaborated by Sumset Jumsai (1995)22. Adding to more curiosity is that
the attribution of Naga, according to some ethnographical accounts, indicates the remnant of
the earlier Buddhism, pre-Aryan and pre-Dravidian tribal people, in the Indian-tribal substratum.
11


The designation of “Naga” in Kerala’s myth is narrated as the native who were made subject to
Brahmanization by a mythical Hindu apostle- Parasurama23. By legend, the geological formation
of Kerala was also narrated like many places in Southeast Asia, a reclaimed land from the
Ocean. According to legend, it was marked by the throwing distance of spear by Parasurama,
within which distance, a strip of land emerged from ocean24.
To focus the discussion and considering the broad spectrum of dwelling culture in Southeast
Asia, the shared aspects Kerala’s dwelling culture with the Southeast Asian would be examined
with two comparative cases, the Minangkabau culture of West Sumatera with its matrilineal
kinship and the Baliaga of Bali, Indonesia who claimed themselves, similarly like in Kerala25, a
pre-Hindu culture. The culture of Kerala, Baliaga and Minangkabau show common living culture
based on rain-fed paddy-farming, transitional culture from slash and burn to rain-fed agriculture.
Women have an important position in their ethnic social-spatial ramification26. Thomas R
Trautmann explained that the kinship traits in Kerala, principally did not fit with the
mainstream Hindu value system.
Accordingly the discussion would cover three aspects: social-spatial organization of the
settlement, the important role of female and feminine agent and the claim of pre-Hindu
architecture.
The Concept of Vilage Network: Nagari, Tatakam dan Banua
12


Unlike the general characters of the Indian high-density clusters of houses, arranged in
geometrical order, Kerala’s settlement demonstrate an organic rural expression arranged in
dispersed individual houses and house-compounds over the undulating paddy field landscape–
Ekakutumbaka Gramma or Garden landscape27. A habitation traditionally appears as enclave-
community with subsistent economy - tattakam which is comparable with the village-
confederation concept of Nagari in Minangkabau Sumatera and Banua in Baliaga Bali. The
territorial sphere is nebulous and not necessarily expressed as boundaries. Nevertheless
without definite territory, they shows a cohesive notion of social-cultural unit and communal
autonomy. This communal autonomy characters in Kerala, as well as Minangkabau, and Baliaga
led earlier European writer to call them ‘village republics’ or ‘democratic republic’28. However,
in the next evolution, a transformation took place in this communal structure. The social
structure of Kerala in South India and Baliaga in Indonesia developed into social-professional
clusterings. But in Kerala the clusterings turned out to associate with caste concept.
Hierarchically a confederation of village (tattakam) is established by several neighborhood units
(tara). Each tara was established by a number of clan units (taravad) 29. Physically each clan unit
refers to an ancestral house veedu (home), which is comparable to uma for banua and rumah
gadang for Nagari. The matrilineal society of Kerala and Minangkabau has space especially
dedicated to the god mother of the family. The Hindu society of Kerala and Baliaga
acknowledge Mandala concept with the most auspicious North-East corner of the house for
storing their family and religious relic. Principally the habitation concept demonstrates a blend
concept of settlement-unit network and clan-community-network. The clan-community unit
could appear as nuclear family, extended family or professional groupings.
13


Tatakam is mythically defined as “an area within the gaze of Bhagavati“ (the mother goddess of
Kerala society), marked by common worshipping place - kavu. A tattakam demonstrate a social-
cultural sphere that covers several settlement units (tara) whose community observe common
Bhagavaty Goddess in the main worshiping place. Similarly for the Baliaga, Banua is a network of
villages (kampung), bound to one another by the same ritual centered on the main temple the
"Bale Agung"30
Culturally the idea of Bhagavaty refers to the notion of ancestress or the first people who open
the land. They represented society practicing slash-and-burn agriculture which soon was
transformed into the practice of rain-fed paddy-farming. They are commemorated in ancestral
center, which is placed in common houses and/or temples. The mother goddess of the most
powerful or influential family would usually become the collective goddess on which several
matriclans would allign to. The whole ramification creates a network of sacred landscape
bound to common legends, for that is “sisterhood of Bhagavaty” in Kerala31. It islike the “network
of temples” in Baliaga32 and “network of matriclans” (luhak) in Nagari33.
Historically as the patriarchy increased following the Brahmanizaton the cohesive unit of
tattakam shrunk to settlement units and currently tattakam concept is no longer known.
Currently the term tara has turned as a more schemata. Indeed the rigid territorialization took
place in the reign of 10th century when the concept of centralized powers was innitiated
through Brahmanization. The nebulous territorial concept of tattakam became well-defined and
administrative and was later called as desham (village). At practice, the only surviving cohesive
14


culturally unit is now a house compound. Administrative organization is now governed by the
state and temple.In the same manner for Baliaga Thomas Reuter discovered that the
territorialization phenomenon of banua had been the influence of the 13th century Majapahit of
Java and currently common people did not recognize it.
The Important Role of Female in the Concept of Habitation
The role of women in the culture of Kerala, like in Minangkabau and Baliaga are important and
play a significant role in decision making of the village level. The important role of women
seems to correlate with the character of sedentary living with agriculture enclave managed
independently by community. They are institutionalized in the “council of ladies”. The
matrilineal society of Kerala calls it tavazhi while in Minangkabau, bundo kanduang and in Baliaga,
nevertheless admit patrilineal descent rule in its bilateral set-up, they acknowledge concept of
jero kahyangan (council of heaven) whose members are wives of the dignitaries of the village. In
Kerala, the patriarchal nature of Brahmanization has re-institutionalized this concept of ladies
into venerated deities of Bhagavaty or mother Goddess, whose rituals are controlled by a male
priesthood.
Matrilineal kinship in Kerala is not the inversion of patrilineal. The mainstream definition of
matrilineal kinship, which in Kerala is called marumakatayam, often fails in explaining the
operations of kinship in the local practice34. The case of matrilineal organization in Kerala and
Minangkabau is close to Nakane’s idea about the concept of lineage that exists only at the level
of a property-owning descent group. In this manner Nakane saw a correlation between the
15


character of matrilineal and bilateral kinship where here I interpret it as a principally common
cultural practice that is projected on common spatial sphere but for distinct social-spatial units
with different scale – the extended family and the nuclear family.
This lineage reflect a matriclan household but exercises functions beyond the level of individual
household35. The functional operations of the traditional house-hold in Kerala, taravad, is as well
in Minangkabau, rumah gadang, are described by anthropologist with an aphorism “Royal
Household”, with regards to the land-holding system that maintain social- economic
corporate centerd toward big an ancestral houses”36. The members derive the sense of unity
from the association to the ancestral house, with or without blood relation. The concept is
known in most places in South India, Sumatra, ancient Malaysia and mainland Southeast Asia,
where ownership of land is under landowner or chieftain, not a sovereign.
The Claim of Pre-Hindu Architecture
The claim of pre-Hindu character by several scholars about Kerala’s culture underlined a notion
that despite its affiliation to Hinduism, the traditional culture had developed in slight of deferent
manner than the mainstream of Indian culture (Cherian, 1995; Thampuran 2001, Prabhu,
1998)37. The same situation in Southeast Asia took place in Bali, Indonesia, among the Baliaga
community. One common character that scholars in Kerala and Baliaga agreed about the claim
was the absent of cremation tradition for the dead. The indigenous people of Kerala practiced
double burial funeral like the Batak and Toraja. In prehistoric time the archaic tradition of fixing
the dead body inside the urns like the old Austronesian fashions existed.
16


The claim of pre-Hindu characters in the architectures of Kerala and Baliaga by local scholars in
Kerala were proved by some absent aspects of the mainstream of Hindu value and Vaastu
treatise, such as: the dominant numbers of single hall architecture rather than courtyard,
generous spatial provision dedicated to paddy and female, the dominant usage of light structure
38
and wooden construction than earthen material , organic arrangement of settlement and
dispersed houses rather than geometrical and compact39. Thampuran discovered that the roof
structure of the courtyard house in South Kerala did not follow the typo-morphological
evolution which is common to an evolution as prescribed in Vaastu – ekasala-dvisala-trisala-
catusala40. On this base she similarly concluded that the Kerala architecture, especially in the
South, to be rooted in an older tradition before the introduction of Hindu. The situations is
generally explained in a way that historically Western Ghatz had caused isolation that made the
infusion of Aryan into Kerala very late, as much as the dawn of Christmas era41. Even when
Brahmanization started, Kerala already developed into a solid culture, that the infusion did not
completely abolish the old tradition. The massive and political penetration of Hindu value in
Kerala started on 8th century, and on 12th century when the continuous war against Tamil’s
petty rules forced the Kerala’s sovereigns to invest their property to the Brahmins42. In the
same period the Hindu values in Bali had been received by intensive connections to Java and
Majapahit.
The strength of locality in Kerala, as well as in Bali, also contributed to the modified practice of
Vaastu and local interpretation of the text. The mandalas in both Kerala and Bali still signify the
same hierarchical order which credited the north-east corner as the most auspicious spot and
17


is gradually running down in value to the southwest corner (Figure 8). However in Kerala the
most important space of the Northeast corner is given to female or kitchen. The terms used is
also local Dravidian language. Considering the more intensive use of Sanskrit and the patriarchy,
the Bali architecture would look more Indianized than Kerala in India.
Mandala in Vastu Vidya Mandala in Thatchushastra, Kerala Nawa Sanga or Mandala in Hasta
Kosala-Kosali, Bali
Figure. 8 Comparison of Mandala from Vastuvidya, Thatchusastra and Bali
The Brahmanization process that took place in Kerala, could possibly be taken to review the
discourse of cultural transmission from Indian to Southeast Asian. Not only Kerala, having
explored the social history of India architecture a critical argument was launched by V.S.Pramar
43
(1989) that even the indigenous architecture in India was not necessarily those generated
according to Vaastu. It was even the narrative of Vaastu itself- rooted on the remain of an
older or earlier civilization belonging to the substratum of society, established during Buddhist
period or earlier due to which, it was labeled as pre-Hindu or pre-Aryan architecture44.
Although Pramar did not mention any reference to Southeast Asian architecture, some of his
remarks were quite related to the depiction of the indigenous phenomenon on Southeast Asia,
such as the trace of boat structure for roof, the overwhelming roof design and the domination
18


of foliage construction. A tentative conclusion tried to look at the possibility that an archaic
culture of South India is shared with Southeast Asia, particularly the Lesser Sunda and Oceania.
Through this commonality some archetypical idea of shelter might have been shared and
developed accordingly along different line of histories in different places. The cosmopolitan
nature of Western Ghats may have triggered a more rapid urban genesis45. It confirmed that
the Indianization practically took place within and outside the motherland of India herself.
The course of maritime network from Arabian Sea had became Kerala’s prominent “gate” of
cross-cultural contacts with the Mediterranean, China, Africa, Persian, the Muziris of Arab, and
Roman, Jew, Greek, Indochina, and Southeast Asian archipelago. This situation made Kerala an
entry point of the Semitic religions like Jew, Nestorian Christian, Islam, Buddhism and of course
Brahmanism and Colonial that has happened in a long span of time46. The colonial and
traditional vocabulary cannot be seen separately. Other than Brahmanization, the development
of Islam and Christianity also yielded distinct narrative of architectural and cultural transmission,
but it is not here discussed.
The Vernacular Architecture of Kerala –The Architecture in The Maritime
Crossroad
The delineation of Southeast Asian architectural characters in the vernacular architecture of
Kerala suggests that many aspects of Kerala’s culture in India had developed in common ways
with Southeast Asia. The commonality is explainable by the shared environmental characters of
19


tropical climate and ethnographic accounts about Kerala that highlighted the existence of
Austroloid and Proto-Malay substratum, the history of maritime contact, and the archaic
traditions like sedentary living based on rain-fed paddy farming, double burial funeral, and the
importance of female and femininity. The architectural shared traditions are obvious mostly in
the roof design, the concept of granary-house structure and the traditional form which is akin
to the buildings in Lesser Sunda regions and Pacific. The distinct Indic feature is shown in the
dominant permanent earthen construction, the observance toward Vaastu and traditional
typology of courtyard house. The functional-spatial importance given for women and kitchen is
one peculiar local practices that is not prescribed in Vaastu. The variations may have been
produced following distinct historical situations in each place. Therefore questions arise of how
would the fact of vernacular architecture of Kerala to be posited in the body of knowledge about
Southeast Asian architecture?
The following is a proposition to answer that which take vernacular Kerala architecture the
case example.
Model of the Shared Architectural Knowledge
Constructing a body of knowledge about Southeast Asian architecture seems to be impossible
without formulating at the outset a cultural strategy for Southeast Asia. Choice should be opted
whether it is to be directed for the purpose of identity, any specific political intervention or
knowledge development. Among many possibility, and considering the richness of the
ethnographical features, craft traditions and the architectural style I would argue that we would
need an epistemic body that is able to explain the state of dynamic and emergent process of the
20


architecture. The knowledge should be elaborated to underlie the making of the regional
society ethnic and the power itself.
For the Kerala society in India, as well as the Minangkabau, in Indonesia Southeast Asia, the
model of habitation is established on the framework of dwelling culture of the society practicing
matrilineal kinship. The framework is made of three components - the tropical climates,
matriclan-based social organization and rain fed paddy farming enterprise. The strong
attachment to land of origin or ancestral land coexists with the advent of female and marked by
ancestral representations in all levels of the traditional social setting and sacred landscape. This
social structure lends base for explaining the nature of the agriculturist dwelling culture their
archetypical granary-house architecture and their elaborated typo morphology, functions and
the related aspects of the sacred landscape, as depicted in Diagram 2.
Diagram 2. Diagram of Social-Cultural Framework of Dwelling Culture of the Society

Practicing Matrilineal Kinship in Kerala and Minangkabau
21


Taking a look on the vernacular architecture of Kerala in the perspective of emergence should
draw a question about how the various quality and scale of the correlating components
produced various habitation concepts; how the extent of difference and convergence took
place and yielded knowledge about the architectural variants, typology and expression.
The position of Kerala in the fulcrum of maritime crossroad and the natural isolation that
slowened down Brahmanization process had made the cultural establishment in Kerala took
place independently from the rest of other places in India. The active overseas trades made
Kerala developed into a global and multi-cultural milieu and had undergone transformation from
tribal to rural, urban and global society. The more rapid and intensive the urban-genesis, the
more patriarchy and factional is the society. They become more concious about the formal
notion of center, boundary and the concept of representations. The more the architectural
engineering and professional value in Kerala than in, for example, Minangkabau possibly explains
the shift of tectonic practices from bamboo to wooden constructions and from spatio-temporal
to a more permanent construction.
Going deeper into the matrilineal kinship, there seems to be relevance to be explored between
the concept of matrilineal and bilateral descent rule47 with regards to the setting of communal
living and network-village concept as found in Southeast Asia and Kerala. It may explain the
transformative characters from the autochthonous community to the unilineal family society;
from the communal to the feudal concept. In principle, the bigger the scale of the social-spatial
organization, the more complex configuration of the architecture and landscape.
22


The ethnographical profile of Kerala had also triggered author to look deeper into the lower
substratum of the indigenous people of Kerala and found many commonalities of traditions,
48
and archetypes that are shared with Southeast Asian . Studies also have noted some
conclusions of the traces of Austronesian language and artifacts in pre-Aryan and pre-Dravidian
India49 It included the finding of foreign outrigger boats in Kerala,50 common legend of land
emerging from oceans and affinity to trees by the traditional people of Kerala and Southeast
Asia, legend of Solomon on search for goldmines and Ophir Mountain as shared by the
Minangkabau and Kerala51. The wooden architectural construction in Kerala have rooted on
bamboo tectonic tradition, the archetype of water, trees and Boat architecture. The
proposition is that whether the situation is able to explain the relation between the common
substratum of people in this maritime cross-road and the shared tectonic and aesthetic
traditions, the natural response and behavior among builders and artisan of society.
The Architecture in the Asian Maritime Cross-road
What may have been principally overlooked about the landscape is that agriculture is an
enterprise with spatial characteristics and contains spatial consequences. Agriculture as an
enterprise formed an institution and network and bound the society in a certain orientation of
space and time that guarantee social equilibrium for the cultural ecology52. Indeed, territorially
the ancient Kerala was part of India but culturally it could be framed in a common milieu with
Southeast Asia via Western coast of India as the medium of interface between the Malays
(some people of Southeast Asia) and the Malayalis (people of Kerala). However unlike
Gangetic basin, the Western Coast of India is not a center but a fulcrum or cultural interface of
the Western world to Eastern World. In this network, the narrative of habitations is
23


expandable to places beyond its original territory – the migrant land, the area of agrarian
surplus, maritime network – with whom they build functional or cultural network. This
network may explain the nature of the eclectic architecture of Kerala, which combine, local
style, the borrowed styles from different places in India, Southeast Asia and European colonial
style.
To perceive the inter-regional segmentation of pre-modern maritime crossroad, such as those
that connect Southeast Asia and the South Asia, the concept of “Network of Asia” as
53
elaborated by Dennys Lombard’s could be useful as means to frame the cultural landscape
and to analyse its architectural distribution. The society of this network of Asia cannot be
identified by colonial categories like state and ethnics. They would be termed by specific
society, living and dwelling cultures, traditions, history and legend54. They may not be called as
Malayali, but specifically the Mappila or the Nayar. The Indian origin society is not necessarily
Hindu and carrying Hindu missions. Ethnic also should not be seen as mere a cluster of people
in common geographical enclave. The correlations of Malayali in Kerala and the Meliala in
Sumatera may not be a prove of diasporas or influence but the existing network of people with
shared origin. In this network, the term of kingdoms, clans, and tribes demand more detailed
elaborations as so far it had been imbued more by colonial idea of power and national heroism.
Consequently It likely fails to actually reflect the nature of organization and the practical
operation of the power, whereas those specified nature of organization relate to distinct
emergence of the physical artifacts, aesthetic value and artistic object. Sanjay Subrahmanyam
specified trading states and differ it against inland agrarian and their behavior in 16-17th century
AD and by which he argued that petty states in Kerala may to some extent share common
24


operations with the trading states in Southeast Asia, such as Melaka, Srivijaya and Demak55and
Pallava kingdom and differ from the inland agrarian states with its concentric power like Chola
in South India or Majapahit in Java. Principally the emergence of centralistic power raise the
ideas of territory and sovereigns. Originally the cultural landscape of Kerala and perhaps
Southeast Asia is not built by means of centralistic power but network houses Architecture.
Conclusion
The continuation of design between vernacular architectural traditions of the Southeast Asia
and South Asian architecture, by the case of Kerala architecture, prove how contingent is the
boundary between Southeast Asia and South Asia. It had been emphasized in various researches
too how the discussion about Southeast Asian architecture could not be separated from the
architecture beyond the region, such as the cultural emergence in Dongson, Pacific, India and
even South Africa and Mediterranean. Southeast Asia is an open sphere where the “here-
there” notion is not always effective for the establishment of knowledge, particularly the
vernacular architecture in the maritime cross-road.
The Kerala architecture proves that the geo-cultural dichotomization between Southeast Asian
and South Asian has limitations and risk. The risk applied as well on an inclination to perceive
pre-modern vernacular architecture based on secluded ethnic. The boundary did not prevent
the fact that some part of people and culture in India and Southeast Asia may emerged from a
common source of ideas and nature that developed in separated place according to different
line of history. Brahmanization did not dichotomize Southeast Asia and India as it took place in
25


both Kerala and Southeast Asia. The urban-genesis that took place in the pre-modern Kerala
may develop similarly with Java and Thailand. And the architecture may appear as the advanced
wooden construction using mass-produced components while the kind of architecture of the
less advanced structural typology still used bamboo.
The case of Kerala prove that rather, than drawing the line, the model of knowledge should
provide more details to understand processes that established the network that constitute
Southeast Asia and how it was reflected in the architecture. The primary knowledge about
architecture should also be accompanied by sufficient explanation about secondary
information’s of migrant-origin concept, surplus agrarian agencies, the ruling power, trades
counterpart. In this framework, religions, lingua franca, language, including architectural style
could be read not as object or typology but of as yields of a complex cultural processes, which
maybe till date in contingent state..

1 Heather Sutherland, “Contingent Devices”, in Locating Southeast Asia: geographies of Knowledge and
Politics of Space Ohio, ed. Nordholt et.al (ed)(Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2005) 21.
2Heather Sutherland in Kratoska et.al, “Chapter I Locating Southeast Asia: geographies of Knowledge
and Politics of Space”,inLocating Southeast Asia: geographies of Knowledge and Politics of Space Ohio, ed.
Nordholt et.al (ed.)(Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2005) 13
3 Roxana Waterson, The Living House – An Anthropology of Architecture in South East Asia (New York:
Oxford University Press 1990)
4 To Dwell in the Granary the Origin of the Pile-Dwellings in the Pacific
http://www.sumai.org/asia/refer/sem9102.htm
5 Jacques Dumarcay, The House in South East Asia, Oxford(Singapore: University press, 1986) and
Jacques Dumarcay, Construction Technique in South and Southeast Asia, B Silverstone and R
Dedauge (transl.), Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, 2005,
26


6 Domenig, Gaudenz, Tektonik im primitiven Dachbau; Materialien und Rekonstruktionen zum
Phanomen der auskragenden Giebel an alten Dachformen Ostasiens, Sudostasiens und Ozeaniens –
Ein architektur theoretosher und bauethnologisher Versus’. (Zurich: EidgenossicheTechnische
Hochschule: publisher, 1980)
7 James Fox (ed.), Inside Austronesian House-Perspectives on domestic designs for living , (Canberra:
Australian National University, 1995)
8 Indah Widiastuti, “ Network Mechanism in Traditional-Vernacular Settlement of Nagari in
Minangkabau, Indonesia and Tara in Malabar, Kerala, India,”.Proc. Int. Conf. Arte-Polis 4 (2012),94
9 William Logan, The Malabar Manual, (New Delhi: Asian Education Service 2000, - 1st ed.1887) 1
10Alan G Noble, “Chapter 2–Pattern and relationship of Indian Houses, in Knapp” in Asia’s Old Dwellings
– Tradition, Resilience, and Change, ed. Ronald G Knapp, (city: Oxford University Pres, 2003)39-70
11Reimar Schefold, “The Southeast Asian-Type House - Common features and local transformations of
an ancient architectural tradition” in Indonesian House Reimar Schefold, (et al) (eds.) (Singapore:
Singapore University Press, 2004), 23
12 Dumarcay also noted the historical correlation between the emergence wooden construction
between Kerala and Southeast Asia and elaborated the exchange of wooden craftsmanship between
North-East of India, and Cochin in Kerala, South India and Southeast Asia since 1st Century AD -
Jacques Dumarcay, Construction Technique in South and Southeast Asia, B Silverstone and R
Dedauge (transl.), Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, 2005,
13 AshalathaThampuran, “Traditional Architectural Forms of Malabar Coast” (Calicut:
Vastuvidyaprathistanam, 2001) 104-128
14Inui (1982), inKoji Sato (1991), To Dwell in the Granary the Origin of the Pile-Dwellings in the Pacific
http://www.sumai.org/asia/refer/sem9102.htm
15Indah Widiastuti, “Arapura: Spatial Configurations of Granary Houses in Kanyakumari, South India,”
ISVS e Journal 2, No.3 (2013) 50-60
16 Indah Widiastuti, “The Living Culture and Typo-Morphology of Vernacular Houses in Kerala,”ISVS e
Journal 2 No. 4 (2013) 41-53
17Reff. Mausyapramanam and Navatala - A Achyutyan and Balagopal .T.S Prabhu, An Engineering
Commentary on Manusyalayacandrika of Tirumangalat Nilakanthan Musat, Vastuvidyaprathistanam,
Calicut, 1998. 88-99.
18 Personal observations, Kedakke Kota, Trivandrum, 2004
19 George Coedes, Indianized States of Southeast Asia (Honolulu: East West Center, 1968) 7-9
27


20 Iyer noted Dolichochepalic Austroloids type of people, who was locally called themselves the “son of the
tree on the earliest villagers in Kerala - L.A.Krishna Iyer, Social History of Kerala, Vol. 1, (Madras
Book Center Publications, 1968).
21 On the other hand Coomaraswamy noted Proto-Malay in the Pre-Dravidian South India - Ananda K
Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art (New York : Dover Publication1965) 3-11
22 Sumset Jumsai, Naga, Cultural Origins in Siam and the West Pacific (Singapore: Oxford, 1989)
23 The descriptions was elaborated in state manuals in Kerala (Aiya,1989, Logan, 1901, A Menon,1901)
the studies has been elaborated by KhrishnaIyer,(1968) and Geneviève Lemercinier (1979) elaborated
in Indah Widiastuti. Critical Study of Vernacular Settlement-Architecture of Kerala in India and
Minangkabau in West Sumatera, Indonesia (Of Societies Practicing Matrilineal Kinship), PhD
Dissertation, (Chennai: Anna University. 2010), 35
24 Minangkabau in Tambo Alam Minangkabau and Kerala in Kerallopatti and Mahatyam acknowledge the
legend overseas migrations, the descending water level that made the original land, and the role of
mountain- Indah Widiastuti. Critical Study of Vernacular Settlement-Architecture of Kerala in India
and Minangkabau in West Sumatera, Indonesia (Of Societies Practicing Matrilineal Kinship), PhD
Dissertation, (Chennai: Anna University. 2010), 57
25 B Rajeevan, “Cultural Formation of Kerala” in Essays on The Cultural Formation of Kerala, P.J
Cherian (ed.) (Thiruvananthampuam: Kerala Gazetteers department , 1999) 5-9
26 Indah Widiastuti & Himasari Hanan, “Studies about Women Subject in Connection to the Indigenous
Concept of Settlement Network of Nagari, Tatakam, dan Banua,” National Proceeding of Temu
Ilmiah, IPLBI 3 (2013) D31-36
27AshalathaThampuran, “Traditional Architectural Forms of Malabar Coast” (Calicut:
Vastuvidyaprathistanam, 2001) 24.
28 W Logan, The Malabar Manual, (New Delhi: Asian Education Service 2000, - 1st ed.1887); 74 for the
Kerala case; R. J. Chadwick, ‘Matrilineal Inheritance and Migration in a Minangkabau Community’,
Indonesia, No.51, (1991) 47-81 for the Minangkabau case, Korn, V.E., De Dorpsrepubliek T
Pagringsingan, Lienfrinck-Van der Tuuk, Santport, The Netherlands (1933) for Baliaga.
29 N.M. Nampoothiri, ‘The Legacy of Bharathapuzha, A research project , Department of Malayalam -

Oriental Research Center, SreeNeelakanta Government Sanskrit College, Pattambi, accessed from
http://www.sngscollege.info/Articles/nila%20project.pdf on 8th June 2011.
28


30 Thomas Reuter “Chapter 3 Ritual Domains and Communal Land in the Highlands of Bali,” in Sharing
the earth, dividing the land : land and territory in the Austronesian world, Thomas Reuter (ed.)
Canberra : ANU E Press, (2006), 65-82
31 Indah Widiastuti, Himasari Hanan, Kajian Keterkaitan Subyek Wanita dalam Konsep Jaringan
Pemukiman Asli: Nagari, Tatakam dan Banua in Proc. Temu Ilmiah 2013, Ikatan Peneliti Lingkungan
Binaan , (2013) D31-36
32 Thomas Reuter “Chapter 3 Ritual Domains and Communal Land in the Highlands of Bali,” in Sharing
the earth, dividing the land : land and territory in the Austronesian world, Thomas Reuter (ed.)
Canberra : ANU E Press, (2006): 67
33 Indah Widiastuti,“Network Mechanism in Traditional-Vernacular Settlement of Nagari in
Minangkabau, Indonesia and Tara in Malabar, Kerala, India,”.Proc. Int. Conf. Arte-Polis 4 (2012),93-
103
34 Chie Nakane, “Reviewed World(s) Garo and Khasi: A Comparative Study in Matrilineal system,
Audrey Hayley” Bulletin School of Oriental of Asia and Africa Studies; Three Matriliny group of
Assam: A Study in Similarity and Difference.
35 Reviewed Work(s): Garo and Khasi: A Comparative Study in Matrilineal Systems by Chie Nakane,
Audrey Hayley, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 32,
No. 3.(1969), pp. 634-635.
36The studies were done by Arunima (1996),Lemencier (1981),Nakane, (1969);and Gough (1973) for
Kerala and by Kathirithamby-Wells (1976),Kroeskamp(1931), Kato (1979) and Dobbin(1977) for
Minangkabau, elaborated in Indah Widiastuti. Critical Study of Vernacular Settlement-Architecture of
Kerala in India and Minangkabau in West Sumatera, Indonesia (Of Societies Practicing Matrilineal
Kinship), PhD Dissertation, (Chennai: Anna University. 2010), 66.
37 Despite the orthodoxy of Kerala-Hinduism, the local scholars had strong root on pre-Hindu cultural
situation. The main role of the most important mythical figure in Kerala- Mahabali- is an antagonistic
character who opposed Vishnu. Nevertheless, a careful look on should be given as the socialist
ideology and spirit of modern reformation post 1950 demonstrated general preference against
Hindu and India hegemony.
38 Ananda K Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art (New York : Dover Publication1965)
5-9
29


39 Iyer described this set as model of pre-Aryan settlement as it did not reflect classical composition of
Indian village which was based on caste groupings, but by natural enclaves and later professional
distinctions formed in each enclave (Kerala Khrisna Iyer 1968).
40 AshalathaThampuran, “Traditional Architectural Forms of Malabar Coast” (Calicut:
Vastuvidyaprathistanam, 2001) 137-155
41 K.S.Singh, T.M Menon and D Tyagi, and B.F Kulirani, People of Kerala Vol. XXVII1.part 1-3 ,(New
Delhi: Affiliated East West Press Ltd, 2002) 34.
42 Genevieve Lemercinier, “Case of Kerala between the 13th and the 19th Century Relationships
between Means of Production, Caste and Religion.”Social Compass 28, No.1-3, (1981)
43 V.S Pramar is one among few scholars who challenge the notion of Hinduism as the main characters of
Hindu architectures and argued that even the Hindu architecture had owned debt to the share of
Buddhism and older local values- V.S. Pramar, A Social History of Indian Architecture (New Delhi:
Oxford, 2005)
44 The mainstream of Indian value has been always associated with Vedic philosophy and Hinduism which
took reign on the establishment of the Hindu empire, Gupta on (300M) in India. During the time
Hinduism established formal and imperative social-religious value system marked by Vedic philosophy,
caste system, and Bhakti Movement. It excluded its rival value, Buddhism, as well local faiths
nevertheless it continued many values of them. Nevertheless we could extend the definition into the
architecture of the ruling power in India which included Islamic architecture.
45 Paul Wheatley, “ Nagara and Commandery”, (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1983)
46 William Logan, The Malabar Manual, (New Delhi: Asian Education Service 2000, - 1st ed.1887) 261.
47 Bernard Farber, “Bilateral Kinship: Centripetal and Centrifugal Types of Organization,” Journal of
Marriage and Family 37, No. 4, (1975), 871-888; and Jeffrey .M Paige, “Kinship and Polity in Stateless
Societies, ”American Journal of Sociology80 (1974), 301-320,
48 Indah Widiastuti, “Naga-Patala: Konsep Ruang Kreasi Bagi Persentuhan Arsitektur India dan
Nusantara,” in Prosiding Seminar Nasional Ruang & Tempat dalam Latar Indonesia – Seri Arsitektur
Merah-Putih, II Damanik & David K Tabelak (eds.) (Jogjakarta: Universitas Kriten Duta Wacana) 23
Mei 2014, 13-25
49 Based on Hornell Coomaraswamy elaborated the existence of the seafaring Malay in India at the
beginning of Christian era by the evidence of outrigger boat in South Indian riverine - Ananda K
Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art (New York : Dover Publication1965) 3-11
30


50Sylain Levy (1900) identified the contribution of Austronesia dan Austro-Asiatic in the development of
Sanskrit and Tamil language - Bagchi, (ed.), Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian India by Przyluski , Jean;
Sylvain Levi and Jules Bloch (1929) (New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2001) i-xxvii, 10
51 Discussion regarding the legends had been exposed by A.A Navis:, 1988,.3 for Minangkabau and. S.
Menon:2002,.16 elaborated in Indah Widiastuti. Critical Study of Vernacular Settlement-Architecture
of Kerala in India and Minangkabau in West Sumatera, Indonesia (Of Societies Practicing Matrilineal
Kinship), PhD Dissertation, (Chennai: Anna University. 2010), 57
52
David Ludden, Specters of agrarian territory in southern India, in Indian Economic Social History
Review 2002; 39; (2002), 233‐257
53 Denys Lombard, Nusa Jawa: Silang Budaya – Batas-Batas Pembaratan (Jakarta: Gramedia, 2000) 1-39
54 Roman accounts such as Indica, Perryplus by Pliny (1st Century), and Ptolomy (2nd Century) noted
contacts with places in Sumatra Island and Kerala - 1. O. C. Wolters “A Few and Miscellaneous Pi-Chi
Jottings on Early Indonesia”, Indonesia 36, (1983) 49-65; and W. J. van der Meulen, ‘Suvarnadvipa and
The Chryse Cheronesos’, in Proc. "Seminar Sejarah Nasional II," (1970) Yogyakarta
55Malabar showed superficial similarities with Indonesian kingdoms of the Period such as Melaka,
Srivijaya, Demak, 16th Cent, North Java and 17th cent. Aceh, Banten, Makassar and difference against
Inland Agrarian states such as Majapahit in Java or Chola and Madurai in South India - 1. Sanjay
Subrahmanyam, “Aspects of State Formation in South India and Southeast Asia, 1500 – 1650 – The
Indian Economic and Social History Review 23,” no. 4 (1986), 356
31

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THE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF

Conference Paper · January 2015

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AN ARCHITECTURE KNOWLEDGE ON THE CROSSROAD BETWEEN

SOUTHEAST ASIA AND SOUTH ASIA

Indah Widiastuti [widiastuti911@gmail.com]

School of Architecture Planning and Policy Development

Institute of Technology Bandung

The vernacular architecture of Kerala in India is explored to demonstrate a design

region of Southeast Asia. The elaborations are mainly based on ethnographic

discussion, the architecture of “Minangkabau” from West Sumatera and “Baliaga”

The discussions would be drawn in three sections: 1) evidences of general

convergence and divergence of the building typology; 2) evidences of shared

social-spatial organization of the habitations that specifically brings up the

importance of women; and 3) the shared claims of pre-Hindu characters and

maritime culture. Indeed, the architecture of Kerala reflects a combination of Indic

Colonial assumptions of ethnic and nationality and the paradigm of Indianization,

addressed as the pre-modern vernacular architecture in the crossroad between

Western Coast of India and the West Southeast Asia.

Keywords: Kerala, South India, Vernacular Architecture, tattakam, tara, taravad,

Indianization, Network of Asia.

an ideological reflection of a diplomatic and academic world-view 1. Heather Sutherland

terms, such as “state”, “city” or “family”2.

Southeast Asian, or the architecture with Southeast Asian characters is needed.

The Southeast Asian Characters in The Vernacular Architecture of Kerala

The Vernacular Architecture of Kerala, South India

Kanyakumari)10. The Southeast Asian characters could be examined according to several

wooden components possible to be disassembled. The following is more specific detailed

characters in the architecture of Kerala.

Saddle-hipped roof, outward slanting gable and gable finials

Specifically it resembles a roof type as recorded by Dumarcay in Batambong, Cambodia12. In

Figure. 2 Comparison of Saddle-Hipped Roof of House in

Figure. 3 Basic Construction of Roof Truss

primordial bamboo craftsmanship into sophisticated mass-produced wooden construction.

functional hall made of the combination of wooden-laterite or pure wooden construction,

Figure 5. Plan Beam works of an Figure 4. Schematic section of ekasala (Source:

Diagram 1: Typo-Morphological Map of Traditional-Vernacular Spaces in Kerala (prepared by

concept of bhur-bhuvah-svah tripartite concept. Local schools of thought prefer to read it

Figure 6. Elevated floor of

Section of Sala, Sketches of ara hall in

in Piravoom (approximately 100-150 years), Bolgaty Palace (1774), designed by a Dutch

The Commonality of Dwelling Culture of Kerala with Southeast Asia

female prominence, as well as the importance of coastal community19. The ethnography of

Brahmanization by a mythical Hindu apostle- Parasurama23. By legend, the geological formation

within which distance, a strip of land emerged from ocean24.

Women have an important position in their ethnic social-spatial ramification26. Thomas R

mainstream Hindu value system.

The Concept of Vilage Network: Nagari, Tatakam dan Banua

geometrical order, Kerala’s settlement demonstrate an organic rural expression arranged in

Ekakutumbaka Gramma or Garden landscape27. A habitation traditionally appears as enclave-

territorial sphere is nebulous and not necessarily expressed as boundaries. Nevertheless

Hierarchically a confederation of village (tattakam) is established by several neighborhood units

concept of settlement-unit network and clan-community-network. The clan-community unit

could appear as nuclear family, extended family or professional groupings.

of temples” in Baliaga32 and “network of matriclans” (luhak) in Nagari33.

Java and currently common people did not recognize it.

The Important Role of Female in the Concept of Habitation

independently by community. They are institutionalized in the “council of ladies”. The

in Minangkabau, rumah gadang, are described by anthropologist with an aphorism “Royal

where ownership of land is under landowner or chieftain, not a sovereign.

The Claim of Pre-Hindu Architecture

evolution which is common to an evolution as prescribed in Vaastu – ekasala-dvisala-trisala-

Figure. 8 Comparison of Mandala from Vastuvidya, Thatchusastra and Bali