1. Background

Sasak tribe is the native inhabitant and constitutes the majority in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. As a native inhabitant, the tribe had a cultural system as it was recorded in the book of Nagara Kartha Gama written by Empu Nala of Majapahit. In the book, the Sasak tribe is called “Lomboq Mirah Sak-Sak Adhi.” If the Sasak tribe had the system when the book was written, its ability to keep exist until now would be one of the proves that the tribe could maintain and preserve its tradition. One of the Sasak tribe traditions is its traditional house.

A house has an important role in human‘s life, that is as a place of shelter and fulfillment of spiritual need. That is why if we look at a traditional house carefully, we will find it is built based on the esthetic values and local wisdom, as the Sasak tribe traditional house is built. The Sasak people have kinds of traditional buildings as a place to stay and to hold either traditional or religious ritual.

The house roof is made of straw and the wall is made of plait of bamboo (bedek). The floor is made of clay which is mixed with buffalo dung and ash of straw. Such mixture makes the floor as solid as cement. The Sasak people learned this  from their ancestors.

All the materials (such as woods and bamboo) are gotten from their surrounding. Even to connect the wood, they use nails made of bamboo. The traditional house of Sasak only has one narrow and low door, and does not have any window.

In Sasak society, a house is in both sacred (holy) dimension and secular dimension at the same time. It means that besides as a place to stay, a house is also a place to hold a sacred rituals which are the manifestation of their faith to God, the ancestors‘ spirits (papuk baluk), the house keeper (a spirit; epen bale), etc.

The improvement of people‘s knowledge, the increase of population, and the change of external factors such as security, geography, and topography, cause the changes on the traditional house‘s function and shape. Nevertheless, the building concepts such as architecture, room layout, and pattern, still present the traditional characteristic which is based on the philosophy values transmitted from one generation to the next.

To keep their traditional houses from the wheel of modernity, the elders would usually say to the youths: “If you want to stay here, you have to build a house with the same model using the same materials as other houses in the village. If you want to build a permanent house similar to houses in other villages, you can leave this village.” That is how the Sasak people maintain the existence of their traditional houses, entrusting and transmitting the knowlwdge and values of building the traditional house.

2. Equipments, Timing, and Location

a. Equipments to Build The House

The equipments needed to build the Sasak traditional house are:

• woods for beams
• bamboo
• bedek, plait of bamboo for the walls
• straw and wild grass for the roof
• buffalo‘s and horse‘s dung as a mixture materials to solidify the floor
• sap of banten wood tree and bajur
• ash of straw, as a mixture material to harden the floor

b. Timing

 A house  has a crucial role amongst Sasak society, thus, it needs careful calculation for choosing the right time, day, date, and month to start building a house. To decide the right time, the Sasak people seek guidance from warige board which comes from Primbon Tapel Adam (divining manual) and Tajul Muluq. Because not everyone has the ability to interpret the guide, they ask help from the one who can read it (local leader).

The Sasak people believe that the best time to start building a house is the  3^rd and 12^th month of Sasak calendar, that is Rabiul Awal month and Zulhijjah month of Islam calendar. Some people choose the best time based on the name of the one who is going to build a house. While the bad time is Muharram month and Ramadhan month, as local belief says, if people build their houses in those months, misfortune such as disease, fire, and poverty will come to their house.

c. Location

Besides timing, locating the house is a very important matter. The Sasak people choose the location selectively. They believe that wrong location causes bad things to the inhabitants. They will not build a house on a land which was once a fireplace, garbage disposal, well, or and a land whose position is tusuk sate/ susur gubug. They will also not build a house whose direction is the opposite of and the size is different from the already existing houses around it. They believe that breaking the concept is a taboo (maliq lenget).

3. Sasak Tribe Traditional House Building

The Sasak traditional building has a mountain-shaped roof. It dives downward about 1,5 to 2 meters from the ground surface (foundation). The roof and the ridge (bungus) are made of wild grass and the wall is of plait of bamboo (bedek). The house is small and has no window. The room (rong) is divided into inan bale (main room) including bale luar/outside room (bedroom) and bale dalem/inside room (a room to keep valuable things, for a mother when giving birth, and to lay a dead body before it is buried).

The Bale dalem has these in it: amben (bed), kitchen, sempare (to keep food and household tools) which is made 2 x 2 meters square bamboo, and sesangkok (living room) and the entrance door (it is opened by moving it from one side to the other, not by pushing it). Between the bale luar and the bale dalem, there are door and ladder (3 stair steps), and the floor is made of the mixture of soil, buffalo‘s / horse‘s dung, sap, and the ash of straw.

Undak-undak (ladder), used to connect bale luar and bale dalem.

Another thing that is interesting to notice is the building pattern. For building a house, the Sasak people adjust with the need of family or group. It means, the building is to fulfill not merely the family need, but also the group‘s. For that concept, the Sasak traditional house complex looks arranged/ in order, describing the harmony amongst the locals.

These are kinds of house buildings in Sasak housing complex: bale tani, bale jajar, berugaq/sekepat, sekenam, bale bonter, bale beleq bencingah, and bale tajuk. People name the buildings according to their functions.

a. Bale Tani

The Bale tani is a home for the Sasak people whose job is farmer. It has soil/ground floor and two rooms: one room for veranda (sesangkok) and another for bedroom (dalem bale). Although the dalem bale is a bedroom, it is used to keep valuable things as well. Only daughters allowed to sleep in that room, whilst the other family members sleep in the veranda (sesangkok). For cooking, a kitchen called pawon is built in special place.

The foundation of the house is made of soil, the roof which is designed in jurai style where the top of the veranda‘s roof is very low, the height is only reach an adult‘s forehead and is made of wild grass. The wall of dalem bale is made of bedek, while the sesangkok does not have wall. The dalem bale‘s position is higher than the sesangkok‘s, that is why to enter the dalem bale, a ladder (undak-undak) which has 3 stair steps and a door which is called lawang kuri are made.

b. Bale Jajar

It is a home of middle-high class people. The shape is almost the same as the bale tani, the difference lies in the amount of the dalem bale. The Bale jajar has 2 dalem bales, and 2 sesangkoks. The dalem bales and sesangkok are separated by a corridor from the sesangkok to the kitchen at the back of the house. The sizes of the bales are not the same, the ladder‘s and door‘s position is in the third of bale jajar‘s body.

The materials that are used to make the bale jajar is beam (wood), bedek wall, and wild grass for the roof. Nowadays wild grass is changed with tiles but the  room arrangement and ornament are not changed. The bale jajar can be found in a vast housing complex. It has a sambi which soars high as a place to keep household needs. There is small building that is called berugaq/sekepat in front of it and a building that is called sekenam (a building like berugaq with 6 beams) at the back.

c. Berugaq/Sekepat

It has a square shape without wall, the beams are made of wood and bamboo, and the roof is made of wild grass. It is usually located in front of the bale jajar/ bale tani at its right or left side. Before building it, a foundation is made first and then the beams. The floor is made of board (wood)/ bamboo blade which is plaited with twine (peppit) and its height is 40-50 cm above the ground.

d. Sekenam

Its shape is just the same as berugaq/ sekepat, but the sekenam has 6 beams and it is located at the back of the house. It is a room for teaching manners and cultural values and learning activities, and family internal meeting.

e. Bale Bonter

It is a Sasak traditional building that usually the village officials (perkanggo) have. It is built in the middle of the housing and/or in the village administration center. It is used for trial (temopat pesangkepan) to solve the violation toward the traditional law problems.

It is also called gedeng pangukuhan and used to keep historical objects or family legacy. Bale bonter has a square shape, at least 9 beams, and 18 beams the most. The building is surrounded by bedek wall so it looks like a hall when we enter it. The roof does not use nock/sun, only at the top of the roof there is a cover shaped like rimless hat colored in black.

f. Bale Beleq Bencingah

It was an important part of a Kingdom. It was a place for holding big Royal activities. It is often called “Bencingah”. The Royal ceremonies usually held there were: the inauguration of the Kingdom officials, the coronation of the Prince, the affirmation/ inauguration of Kiai Penghulu/ Pendita (religion leader), a place to keep the Royal heirloom such as weapons and the kingdom‘s documents/ scripts, etc.

g. Bale Tajuk

it is a supporting means for a house which has big family lives in it. It is a five sides shaped house with 5 beams. It is usually in the middle of Santana family neighborhood. This is a place to hold a big family meeting and a macapat takepan training to broaden knowledge and learn manners.

h. Bale Gunung Rate and Bale Balaq

These bales are built based on special conditions. Bale Gunung Rate is usually built by those who live in mountainside, and Bale Balaq is built to avoid flood (that is why it is shaped stage house).

4. Supporting Buildings

a. Sambi

People keep their crops in Sambi. The sambi has various types. One of them is rice barn type whose shape is stage house. The upper part of this sambi is used to keep crops, while the lower part is used as bedroom/ living room. Another type of sambi, the roof is widened so that the lower part can be used as a place to pound rice (lilih) and sitting place whose seat is made of bamboo blade and wood board.

Generally, a sambi has 4, 6, or 8 beams. The sambi with six beams is called ayung because the upper part is often used as bedroom. The 8 beams sambi, is sometimes called sambi jajar because its shape is stretched along a length. All sambis are always equipped with ladder to go up and in the inside of the sambi there is a ladder to go down.

b. Alang

Just like rice barn, alang is for keeping crops. It is just that alang has a unique shape. Its roof which is made of wild grass curves about ¾ circle but egg-shaped and the edge is stood and sharp. The lower construction uses 4 beams whose tips are joined together with jelepeng. The lower part is usually used as a resting place at day and night. It is usually located at the back yard or closed to the stable.

c. Lumbung

The lumbung is a place to keep the daily needs. It is  not the same as sambi or alang because it is located inside the house/ room or in a special place outside the house. The lumbung is round and made of bedek kulitan scroll with the diameter 1,5 m for the lumbung inside the house, and 3 m for lumbung outside the house.

The materials to make the lumbung is bamboo, bedek, and wood board for the floor. Under the board floor, a foundation from soil and rocks is made on the four corners. The roof is supported by beams/ bamboo, and it is shaped like the usual house‘s (house to stay) roof.

5. Plants Must be Avoided

The sasak people take plants around their house very seriously because they believe that some plants can cause someone misfortune. These are the plants that mustn‘t be planted around the house:

• Lolon Nangke (jackfruit tree)

The Sasak people believe that the lolon nangke is a great tree that must be placed in higher place. If the tree is planted near the house, the root will mingle with the house foundation (under the house= under the people). If this happens, the house‘s inhabitants will get an ache or pain in their bodies.

• Lolon Sabo (sapodila tree)

The Sasak people believe that lolon sabo has a cold and hot characters. With these characters, it will cause disharmony in the house‘s inhabitants‘ marriage which may result in the divorce.

• Nyambung Aer (rose-apple tree)

The Sasak people believe that this plant has a sensitive character that makes it easy to influence human‘s soul and is the favorite of all people especially children. Because the children like it very much, they will climb the tree to get it while their parents are under the tree. That will bring a curse to the children (tulah manuh).

• Lolon Kelor (Merunggai tree)

The Sasak people believe that this plant has a sensitive character and its leaves quickly fall off of the tree. If this is planted near the house of a shaman/ belian, the spells they cast will not work (mentere pondal).

• Kedondon (kedondong tree (a tree with edible but fibrous, sour, and plum like fruit))

This tree must not be planted around the house because it brings disaster to the cattle.

• Ceremi (ceremai (small red fruit) tree) 

This tree is believed poisonous, that is why people must not plant it near the house.

• Lolon Johar (johar tree)

This tree is believed having a high gravitation that can influence human‘s soul. According to the Sasak‘s belief, the existence of this tree “shrinks” the owner‘s heart.

• Lolon Bile (Maja tree)

The Sasak people also avoid planting this plant for hedge because they believe the tree causes fights among the villagers/ the house inhabitants.

6. Values

Home is the most real expression of someone‘s or a group‘s thought for manifesting relationship with the other human beings (community/society), nature, and God (faith and belief). The shape, room layout, and the structure of Sasak house have symbols which are full of sacred and high values of philosophy. These are those values:  

• The roof is designed very low and the door is small so that the guests bend over when they enter the door. The bending is a symbol of respect and honor between the guest and the host.
• Building the house faces the same direction with the same size as the rest of the houses in the village shows that the people live in harmony. If the villagers build their houses differently, it means they do not live in harmony.
• Ladder with three stair steps has a message that the level of faith, knowledge, and riches of every human being will not be the same. So, people must recognize their strength and weakness as blessings from God. Some say that three stair steps symbolize human‘s life cycle, that is being born, growing up, and dying. And some other say that they symbolize the family (father, mother, child).
• Four beams in berugaq/ sekepat means: the truth is prioritized; be confident in carrying a mandate; be honest and plain for telling something; as a believer, be smart in dealing problems. While the roof shows faith to God who knows all. Some say that the four beams are the symbols of Islamic law: Koran (Islamic holy book), Hadith (Oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad), Ijma‘ (Islamic Ulema consensus), Qiyas (analogical reasoning). The berugaq is also a manifestation of thanks giving for the bless that God bestows and the place of interaction with society.
• Bale tajuk is generally five-side shaped house with five beams which symbolizes the people‘s strong faith . They believe that every living things will finally die and every thing that is born will be over too.
• Lumbung means the people of Sasak have to be thrift. The daily needs that have been stored in there, can only be taken in a certain time (once a month) or in a special occasion for the preparation if something unexpected comes up (harvest failure, funeral for dead family member).

If we keep digging, there will be much more values we can find from the Sasak traditional house.

(TL/DW/ter/24/01-08)

Translated from the Indonesian version by (DW)

Reference :

• Arsitektur dan Tata Ruang Rumah Tradisional Sasak Lombok, http://labulia. blogsome.com/2006/12/10/arsitektur-dan-tata-ruang-rumah-tradisional-sasak-lombok/, Diakses pada tanggal 28 September 2007.
• Herry Mohammad, “Puasa Berdaun Sirih”, dalam Gatra Edisi Khusus, Senin, 16 Oktober 2006.
• Menengok Perkampungan Tradisional Suku Sasak di Limbungan; Melihat Tradisi Berenang di Arus Modernisme, dalam http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0503/19/humaniora/1629812.htm, diakses pada tanggal 29 September 2007
• Rumah Tradisional, dalam http://sasak.org/2007/07/24/rumah-tradisional/, diakses pada tanggal 29 September 2007
• Rumah Tradisional, dalam http://lalu.sasak.org/2006/10/10/rumah-tradisional/, diakses pada tanggal 29 September 2007
• Rumah Suku Sasak dan Budaya Kawin Lari, dalam  http://www.republika.co.id /koran_detail.asp?id=134761&kat_id=166&kat_id1=&kat_id2=, diakses pada tanggal 29 September 2007
• Turyanto, Rumahku Istanaku, dalam http://jurnalnasional.com/?med=Koran% 20Harian&sec=Utama&rbrk=&id=16154, diakses tanggal 2 Oktober 2007.
• Tinjauan Filosofi Rumah Adat Sasak, http://wirangpatut.blogspot.com/2007/06/ tinjauan-filosofi-rumah-adat-sasak.html, diakses tanggal, Diakses pada tanggal 28 September 2007

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