Belitung Traditional House, The Genuine Tradition Captured in the House

Belitung Traditional House or Rumag Adat Belitung is called as Rumah Panggong.

Rumah Adat Belitong today is not easily found in Belitung Regency. The stage house with
five parts of this house has been rarely used by the community for a place to stay. But
the local government build a custom home unit in the complex Belitong regent's official
residence.

The Nuance
Belitung Traditional House has a surface area about 500 square meters. It has a distinct
appearance as well. You can easily notice its uniqueness. The house has 5 parts and each of
them has a different function. In front of the house, you may see 4 beautiful ornaments and
several plants. These make a soothing ambiance. All visitors would be stunned, for sure. The
house is also surrounded by several trees. These make a wonderful environment. Yet, it is only
the beginning. Your tour gets more exciting inside the house.

Exploring Belitung Traditional House

There are 3 major rooms. They are the main room, loss, and a kitchen.
The first encounter is the terrace. It is spacious so visitors can relax here. Next, you may reach
the main room. The room has numerous ornaments. These represent Belitung’s characteristics.
There is also a cupboard in the left part of the room. It stores Belitung’s traditional wedding
dress. The name is Kancing Lima. In the right part, you can find a bridal chamber and many
photographs.
The next room is the loss. It separates the main room and the kitchen. It doesn’t have a
significant function, though. Next, you can reach the kitchen. It is located in the tail piece of the
house. Why is that? A kitchen represents a dirty and busy place. It should be situated in the back
of the house. All these rooms are worth to explore. In fact, visitors are allowed to take some
pictures. One thing, you should not make fuss or mess inside.
The house was constructed mainly using ironwood. According to the locals, the house adopted
Kalimantan’s traditional house concept. That means there is a relation between Kalimantan Tribe
and Sumatranese.

There are five parts of the house with their respective functions in the custom house.
With an elongated shape to the rear, this stage house is getting lower behind for its
allocation and function. Starting from the terrace at the front up to the room for a guard
or a maid in the house.
The main building of this house is made of wood Nyatoh, the floor is using ironwood and
the roof is using Medang wood and Seru wood. Those wooden material is come from the
area around Belitung.

Seeing this house is like enjoying the nuance of thick Belitong tradition. The rumble of
Kembang Goyang sound that rubbing together because of the wind welcome anyone who
enters the traditional house.

Kembang Goyang is an ornament that always available in Belitung traditional house to

welcome guests. In ancient times, the indigenous people of Belitung making these
ornaments by using lais leaves. But today the ornament is made by zinc with the same
shape as the original one.

The houses with five parts and having large space is functioned for the house of Belitung
officials and nobles. This is different with other custom house for the ordinary people
who only have four parts of the house and smaller size.
The other ornaments that distinguishing between customs house for the nobility and the
common people is the amount of stairs. The traditional house for the nobility has more
than three steps. As for the ordinary people has maximum three steps.
It indicates the status or the degree of a person in the community. We can see the
position of a person in the community just by looking at its custom home building in the
ancient times.

According to the customs, just a man who can be accept the guest on the terrace. While
the female guests are directly into the central part of the house or even directly to the
kitchen. While the male guests are not allowed into the house, but only on the terrace.

While the main room is belongs to the family for doing activities. The visitors can see the
characteristic of Rumah Panggong that does not have room bulkhead. This room is also
becomes a bed with the whole family.

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