14 Javanese Traditional Houses Rich in Meaning and Philosophy

14 Javanese Traditional Houses – Traditional houses are now one of the historic houses. Apart from being a residence, these houses are also evidence of cultural wealth in Indonesia. Not a few traditional houses that are still preserved today.

Table of Contents

Java is no exception. Starting from Central Java, East Java and West Java, all of them have traditional houses with their own characteristics. The philosophical meaning of each house also shows the personality of each local community. The following are a number of Javanese traditional houses from each region, along with their characteristics and meanings that are believed by the community.

Central Javanese Traditional House

1. Joglo traditional house

The first traditional house is the Joglo house, which is an icon from Central Java. In ancient times, Joglo houses were made only for the upper middle class. Naturally, because building a Joglo house must meet many conditions.

First, the building materials used are not arbitrary. Joglo is built from various types of wood which are durable, and usually use teak wood. Therefore, the price is not cheap. So that for the lower middle class, on average they cannot afford to buy building materials.

Second, the process of building a Joglo house is also not easy. There are special customary rules that are trusted by the community. Both in terms of the architectural design of the house, to the ornaments or decorations needed for the inside.

Then, the Joglo house also has a wide terrace, and quite a lot of space division. So it will require land that is also quite extensive. The parts of the Joglo house include:

penda, which is used to receive guests and is located at the front
Omah Jero, as the name implies, Omah Jero is on the inside and is used to gather and chat with family members
pringgitan, a place in the middle of the house for entertaining guests from close relatives
senthong, namely the bedroom, which consists of senthong kiwo, tengen, and tengah
hermitage, namely a place to carry out worship

2. Limasan House

The second traditional house is the limasan house. As the name implies, this house does have a pyramid-shaped roof. The roof has four sides, and is almost similar to a house from South Sumatra. There are various Limasan houses, such as Gajah Mungkur, Klabang Nyander, Semar Pindohong, and Lawakan.

Generally, Limasan houses are made of red brick without any coating on the outside. The outside was not coated with paint. Well, now there are several modern houses that are made similar to the traditional Limasan house.

3. Pe’s Bake House

The next traditional house which is also unique is the Panggang house. The most recognizable characteristic of this traditional house is the six long pillars that support the roof at the front.

Based on history, this house was used to sell or was called a basic food house. The material used to build Panggang Pe is wood, then the roof is made of tile. There are six types of Pe-baked houses, namely trajumas, concurrent, empyak setangkep, cere gancet, gedang selirang, and gedhang setangkep. You can still find this traditional house, especially in the Yogyakarta and surrounding areas.

4. Village House

Fourth, there is the village house, which is one of the many residential houses used by the people of Central Java. In contrast to the Joglo which is mostly used by middle and upper class people, Kampung houses are more widely used by ordinary people.

Such as farmers, market workers, or breeders. Then based on history, Kampung houses have many types. Among them are Pacul Gowang, Pokok, and Gajah Ngombe. But in general, Kampung traditional houses have their own rules. Namely the poles used must be multiples of 4, with the number of small poles there must be 8.

This house is almost the same as other houses, where the division of the house consists of a living room, family room, bedroom and kitchen.

5. Tajug House

Lastly, there is still a tajug house from Central Java. This house is usually built as a place to worship. Therefore, a tajug house cannot be built by just anyone.

The main feature of Tajug is its square and layered roof. The end of this house is also sharp and will be decorated with a small dome. Like other Javanese traditional houses, tajug also has several types, such as Semar Tinandu, Mangkurat, Lambang Sari, and Semar Sinongsong. If you want to see the tajug house, you can visit the Great Mosque of Demak.

West Java Traditional House

1. Julang Ngapak House

The West Java traditional house that will be discussed first is Imah Julang Ngapak. The roof of this house is similar to a bird flapping its wings, so it is called the hornbill. The top of the house is triangular, then widens at the bottom. As for the two corners of the roof there are fork scissors which function as a preventer of seepage of rainwater.

In ancient times, this traditional house used a roof made from palm leaves of thatch or reeds. Even so, make no mistake, rainwater still won’t seep, and this house doesn’t leak easily. With the development of the times, this house has also been modified a lot. If you want to visit Imah Julang Ngapak, you can look for it in the Tasikmalaya area.

2. Parahu Kumurep Traditional House

The next house that also comes from West Java is Parahu Kumurep. As the name suggests, this Sundanese house comes from the word Parahu which means boat, and Kumurep which means lying down. The name was chosen because the shape of the roof of this Javanese traditional house is indeed similar to an overturned boat, where the roof is in the shape of a pyramid.

At first glance, this house has a fairly complicated design. Even more complicated than the traditional jolopong house. There are four main parts of the house which are divided into two big parts. At the front, the shape is made of a trapezoid, while the back is made of an equilateral triangle.

This house is quite unique, but in this modern era, quite a few have modified this house. Because this house is not very friendly with rainwater. Especially in West Java, the rainfall is quite high.

3. Imah Badak Heuay

The third West Javanese traditional house is the Heuay Badak, which means yawning rhino. Just like the previous traditional house, the name is adapted to the shape of the house. If you look at this type of traditional house from the front, especially the roof, it looks like a yawning rhinoceros, so it is called the Heuay rhinoceros. The roof which is made one big and one small is deliberately made like that. The goal is to protect the front porch of the house.

The terrace at the front functions as a place to receive male guests. So on every terrace of the house there will be a wooden table and chairs. If you want to see this traditional house, try visiting Sukabumi.

That’s where this house is still often found. As a cultural preservation, some communities also build housing by incorporating the Badak Heuay roof concept with modern architecture. This is one of the efforts to preserve the richness of Javanese culture.

4. Tagog Dog custom house

The fourth house is the Dog Tagog. The name Tagog Dog was chosen because this traditional house has a roof that resembles a sitting dog. In Sundanese, a sitting dog is called Dog Tagog. The shape of the roof consists of two fields which are bordered by the boundary line.

In the first area, the roof is wider than the other roofs, because the main roof covers the entire upper part of the house. Usually it is the people of Garut who use houses with this concept. So when you go to Garut and find a house like the one described above, it’s a traditional dog tagog house.

5. Jolopong traditional house

Finally, there is the Jolopong house which adds to the cultural richness of West Java. In Sundanese terms, Jolopong means to lie down straight, or lie down straight. This name was chosen because the design is simple, and shows the house as if it just lay there.

This simplicity can be seen from the design of the house which is not difficult, even without significant or varied indentations. The other name for Jolopong is the long Suhunan or the Jolopong.

This form of Jolopong can be said to be quite old. Because the roof is in the form of a hut or hut. The roof is made with two fields which are separated in the middle by a succulent line. For the division of space, there is a living room, terrace, kitchen and bedroom.

The designation for each room is different, the terrace is called emper, then the living room or imah, kitchen or pawon, and the bedroom is called pangkeng. You can still find this traditional house in the Sumedang area, Garut, West Java.

Traditional house from East Java

1. Joglo House

Just like in Central Java, in East Java there are also Joglo houses. For the mention, the house there is called Joglo Situbondo. The joglo there has the shape of a fat girl or a pyramid.

2. The traditional house of the Tengger Tribe

The Tengger tribe is a community group on the slopes of Mount Bromo, Ranupane, Lumajang, East Java. The main characteristic of the Tengger house is in its concept which is not in the form of a stage and is not terraced.

This house is composed of boards and logs. Then at the top of the ridge impressed steep and high. In accordance with prevailing custom, this house only has one or two windows. At the front of the house there will be a bale-bale which is used to chat with neighbors.

Uniquely, the traditional houses of the Tengger Tribe are made in groups. The streets on either side of the house are just wide enough for a patch of road. This is done to protect all the houses so that they are not exposed to strong winds.

When cold weather strikes, houses will be better protected because they are close together. This shows harmony among fellow colors that live close together.

3. Using traditional house

The third East Javanese traditional house is the Using house. This house can be found in Banyuwangi, the eastern part of the island of Java which borders the Bali Strait. If you want to feel the old Banyuwangi atmosphere, you can come to Kemiren Village, Glagah District, Banyuwangi Regency.

There lay ancient traditional houses that were built by the community. Using traditional houses consist of three types, namely Tikel Balung, Baresan, and Crocogan. All three have the same concept, the difference lies in the number of rab or roof areas. For Baresan’s house, there are three rabs, then Tikel Balung has four rabs, and finally Crocogan has two rabs.

In Using’s house there is also a division of space, just like other traditional houses. There are four areas of space in this house, namely hek or baleh, jerumah, ampet, and pawon. Ampet is tantamount to a terrace that functions as a place to entertain guests.

Then the baleh is the barrier between the private room and the common room, the jerumah or living room for family gatherings, and the pawon or kitchen for storing food and cooking.

4. Dhurung traditional house

Fourth, there is the traditional dhurung house, which has a hut-like shape. On the wall is not equipped with anything. The roof is made of natural materials, such as tassel leaves or tree leaves. According to Bawean terms, pohan leaves are the same as dheun. This dhurung house from East Java serves as a resting place for the community after working in the fields or fields.

This house is located at the front, making it easier to use before entering the house. Because of this position, dhurung is also used as a place to interact with neighbors. Some even make this house a place to find a mate. For the size, the dhurung house is made according to the wishes of the owner, it can be made big or small.

Book Recommendations & Related Articles

Those were some Javanese traditional houses that you can still find in Indonesia. All homes are built with trust. Traditions and beliefs of the people are also still upheld. So that each building is also built based on applicable customary provisions. All of that of course needs to be preserved. One way is to study history and culture.