1. Background

Musi River is the artery of Palembang city in South Sumatra Indonesia. In the Dutch`s record, in the beginning of 19^th century, the city was called “Venice of the East” or the water city because more than 100 rivers and tributaries flowed in this city. According to Palembang statistics, 52,24 % of the areas are water. With that condition, the society use water (river) transportation as their means of transportation whether transporting in the city or transporting to another town.

The environmental condition does not only influence people`s choice of transportation, but also the house architecture. The location of a house, for example, usually considers several factors such as the distance to the water source (well), food source, and work place. For Palembang people, the rivers` functions are for food source, means of livelihood, and especially as a well. For an architecture which has been built on environmental concept, the building (house) is always influenced by the environmental conditions. In other word, environmental condition influences people`s behavior, including for designing their houses` architecture.

One of the buildings that become a specialty of society that lives near the river is Rakit (rakit means raft) House. The rakit house is a floating permanent house (not nomadic). It is made of woods and bamboos with kajang (nipa palm) roof, shingle roof, and recently zinc (it is lighter). The rakit house, whether made of woods or bamboos, is built on a raft. Usually, there are two doors in the rakit house, one faces the river and the other faces the land. The windows are usually in the left and right sides of the house walls, but sometimes also in the left and right sides of the door. Rakit house is not merely an emergency house. Some rakit houses were passed on from many generations and could survive tens of years with periodic change for the bamboos (foundation) and the tether beams.

To make the house stay in the spot, four strong beams are set in the four corners. Sometimes, the house is tied to a strong beam in the river bank with a big rope made of rattan, to strengthen the house`s position. This is done to anticipate if the beams in the four corners of the house are broken or decayed.

The rakit house is the oldest house shape in Palembang and probably had been existed since Crivijaya Kingdom era. In Palembang Sultanate era, all foreign citizens (British, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, and Thai) had to stay in Rakit House. Even the first Netherlands commerce office including the storehouse, was on a Rakit (Raft). The Rakit House`s functions, beside as a place to stay, are also as a storehouse and a place for economic activity.

Because of the change on people`s point of view and the limited amount of rakit house materials, there are only few rakit houses left nowadays. Moreover the government thinks that Rakit Houses make the river look dirty (slummy) and become the source of water pollution because the houses` inhabitants throw their waste in to the river. Those things become the reason for the government to condemn the houses.

If the government managed the houses well, their existence could support the regional economy by being tourism commodity for instance. This has to be done with consideration that it will help the inhabitants or give them profit. Or else, the idea will only drive the original inhabitants out. Worse than that, with the reason of supporting tourism, the houses are condemned and destroyed and businessmen replace the inhabitants. The houses will be changed for the sake of global tourism issue.

The rebuilding of rakit houses by the local government to support the regional tourism is for sure a good move to preserve rakit house, but if the original inhabitants are not involved in the process, it is not impossible that the building becomes a disaster for them.

2. Materials and Human Resources

a. Materials

• Bamboo. The main material for building a rakit house is bamboo, manyan kind. This kind of bamboo lasts for a long time and is big so that it is good enough to be the buoy to make the house float in the water. Bamboo is not only used as the foundation, but also walls (by chopping and stretching it (pelupuh/ the pounded bamboo).
• Beam of wood. People sometimes use beams of wood to make the buoy.
• Board. To make the wall, people also use boards besides bamboos.
• Ulit (plaited leaves). This material is used to make the roof.
• Rattan. There are two kinds of rattan that are used for building Rakit House, they are selinep rattan and sago rattan. Selinep rattan is a small rattan that is used to tie the upper part of the house up, while sago rattan is used to tie up the bamboos that are for buoy.

b. Human Resources

The human resources that are needed for building Rakit House are just the same as the common houses. They are:

• Designer.

Before building a rakit house, people ask the elders (designers) about what the design that will be appropriate and good for them.

• Experts.

After getting information from the elders about the design of the house, they contact the experts to build the house.

• Relatives and Neighbors.

For finishing of some parts, they need many people to do, such as the down part/ the buoy and the roof, they ask their relatives and neighbors for help.

3. Location

The location of the house would be on the river, that is why the localization depends on the availability of the space in the river. At the beginning, the houses always face the land. Now, because of the tourism consideration for instance, the houses face the middle of the river.

4. The Stages of Building Rakit House

a. Preparation

1) Discussion

Before building a house, the spouses/the ones who are going to build the house have to discuss it firstly. The discussion is about the financial preparation. After the discussion between the spouses, it is continued with a meeting with the close relatives and neighbors. In the meeting, they inform their plan for building the house.

2) Collecting The Materials

To collect the main materials (bamboos), ones can go to the forest and collect them by themselves or order them from a bamboo seller. The size of the bamboos must fit the usage.

b. The Stages of Building

After all the materials are collected, the building is begun. There are three stages for building rakit souse: building the down part, the middle part, and the upper part.

1) The Down Part

The down part of the house is the most important part of the house. This part determines whether a Rakit house is strong or not. That is why, this part needs a careful attention from choosing the materials to set it for a buoy. These are the processes:

1. The tip and the base of the bamboos that are prepared for the buoy are holed.
2. After that, they are joined together by a piece of wood as a fastener pin. Each of them has 8 to 12 bars of bamboo. The process of joining the bamboos together is called mengarang (arranging/composing).
3. There are 6 to 8 joins of bamboo that are made.
4. Those joins are piled into one arranged tie. There are 48 to 96 of it. To strengthen the bamboos, besides using fastener pins, they also use rattan.
5. Those joined bamboos are connected to the wood beams that are set across so that they make them as lanting (floor).
6. To make the tie stronger, every half to one and a half meters, the lanting will be tied using rattan.
7. After that, the building of the down part is finished.

2) The Middle Part

1. After finishing the down part, the next stage is setting the sako. Sako is stood on a partition which is on the upper part of the lanting. But before that, a hilt is put on the sako.
2. The setting of long partition. It is put on the upper part of the sako.
3. The setting of door/window frame. Just like sako, a hilt is put on the edge of the frame to connect the upper part with long partition.
4. The setting of sento-sento. Sento is where the walls attached.
5. After the frame and sento are set, the next is the wall. The wall is made of pounded bamboos whose tip, base, and body are given clamps. The pounded bamboo is nailed to the frame and sento-sento.
6. The setting of door and window. In this stage, a room for kitchen is also made, especially if the kitchen is made inside the house.
7. After the above stage is done, the building of the middle part of Rakit House is finished.

3) The Upper Part

The building of the upper part is begun with the setting of long partition, rafters, and roof. The process of the building is as follows:

1. The setting of long partition above the sako and the frame.
2. The setting of kuda-kuda. It is set above the long partition and connected by sunan partition.
3. The setting of the rafters. After they are all set, the edges are cut so they are even.
4. The setting of the roof. The roof is made of nipa leaves. The leaves are attached to the sako using rattan. Some people also use zinc to make roof.
5. The setting of the ceiling. It is made of the pounded bamboos.

After setting the ceiling, the whole building process is finished. But before the owner starts to live in the house, the owner has to hold a thanks giving feast and looks for a good day to move in.

5. The Parts of Rakit House

The rakit house is a permanent floating house. Generally, the house is divided into two parts: a bedroom and a room for daily activities. The daily activities room is also used as living room. The kitchen, if it is made inside the house, is usually in the outside of the bedroom. But sometimes the kitchen is made outside the house.

6. Kinds of Decoration

Basically, the Rakit house does not have decorations. It is just the modern Rakit house that has the carving of leaves and flowers (Palembang specialty) pink and gold.

7. Cultural Values

The building of the Rakit house is the manifestation of adaptation to the environment of Palembang people who live near the river. The knowledge to the architecture and building materials is the results from `reading` and understanding natural and social phenomena in the area.

The discussion that starts from the whole stages of building between husband and wife shows equality. The next discussion with relatives and neighbors is one of many ways to maintain the social interaction. If one built a house without telling anyone or discussing it with anyone, that person would be considered impolite or rude. The elders would felt disregarded and the younger would felt being left behind. In the discussion forum, they discuss about what the prohibition is and what the customs that need to be done. The discussion forum is a means of preserving the local tradition. It is a means to pass on and bequeath the society values.

(TL/DW/ter/21/01-08)

Reference:

• Mahyudin Al Mudra, 2004, Rumah Melayu; Memangku Adat Menjemput Zaman, Yogyakarta, Balai Kajian dan Pengembangan Budaya Melayu bekerjasama dengan Penerbit AdiCita.
• Moh. Alimansur, dkk., 1990, Arsitektur Tradisional Daerah Sumatera Selatan, Proyek Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan tahun 1990 / 1991.
• Andre Kusprianto, “Rumah yang Mengapung di Atas Air”, dalam http://home.unpar.ac.id/~ars/arjau/indonesia/pustaka/borneo.htm, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Muhammad Husein, “Eksistensi Rumah Rakit Terancam; Lebih Kedepankan Program Pariwisata”, dalam http://www.indomedia.com/sripo/2007/06/24/2406H04.pdf, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Musi di Sinilah Hidupku, dalam http://www.indosiar.com/v2/culture/culture_read.htm?id=29753&tp=teropong, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Nur Hidayati, “Membangun Kehidupan di Rumah Rakit”, dalam http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0304/23/daerah/242817.htm, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Nur Hidayati, “Menyusuri Kisah Tepian Sungai Musi,” dalam http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0409/04/Pon/1248243.htm, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Puluhan Rumah Rakit Dipindah, dalam http://www.sumeks.co.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24116&Itemid=56, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Rumah Rakit Sungai Musi, dalam http://mycityblogging.com/palembang/2007/07/14/rumah-Rakit-sungai-musi/, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Rumah Rakit, dalam http://www.bappeda.palembang.go.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=26, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Rumah Rakit, dalam http://kotapalembang.blogspot.com/2007/06/rumah-Rakit.html, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007
• Rumah Rakit, dalam http://www.palembang.go.id/2007/?mod=12&id=36, diakses tanggal 24 Oktober 2007

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