Sumba is one of three big islands of East Nusa Tenggara (Flores Island, Timor Island and Sumba Island). Sumba is widely known to have strong megalithic culture which can be seen to this day through the relics, such as stone tomb or sarcophagus, dolmen and menhir. The characteristic of settlement in Sumba village are the arranging of traditional houses in circular pattern surrounding the open space. In the open space, which is called as talora, Sumba people place the cemetery in form of sarcophagus then erect a dolmen on it as offering table. Sumba people place the cemetery in the settlement open spaces because of their belief on Marapu, the spirit of ancestor and the dead.
The architecture of the Indonesian island of Sumba is to this day strongly based on vernacular traditions, which include buildings of rectangular layout, constructed from wood and bamboo with large, grass-thatched roofs. There are physical factors and non-physical factors that support the formation of the history of Sumba architecture, inter alia:
- HISTORY : The name of the island of Sumba appeared in the 14th century in the Majapahit Kingdom.Sumbathemselves have an oral tradition regarding the name of the island of Sumba, originally located around Bone Bay in the south of Sulawesi Island. Sumba Island is moving south due to escape tectonics.
- SITE PLAN : Landmass is 10,710 m2, The slope of the land varies from 14° to 40°, Land elevation ranges from 200 to 600 meters above sea.
- GEOGRAPHY: The Sumba Strait to the north, the Indonesian Ocean to the south, West Sumba Regency to the east, the Indonesian Ocean to the west
- RELIGION: Since ancient times, most of the population has embraced Marapu animism and Christiant, both Protestant and Catholic.
- SOCIAL: Maintaining a three-tiered caste system consisting of nobles (maramba), commoners (kabihu), and slaves (ata)
The Marapu Religion
Selamat Datang di Bumi Marapu!
That's the phrase that the people of Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara, always say to tourists.
Marapu can be interpreted as a belief in the ability of ancestral spirits to connect humans with the God. Majority of the people of Sumba believe that ancestors who have passed away can communicate with God. Because of their supernatural powers, ancestral spirits become intermediaries between humans and God. Marapu adherents convey their petitions to God through the spirits of their ancestors through traditional ceremonies.
Men and Women in Sumba Tradition
The social structure of society which divides the roles between men and women often harms women. Women are expected to be able to take care of and do various household chores, even though they work outside the household, on the other hand the responsibility of men in managing the household is very small but that is not the case in the traditional Sumba house, especially in Tarung village, men have the greater responsibility of women can be seen in their position and access in a wider house so that they have more roles in traditional houses.
Women's understanding of customary rules makes them understand that if these rules are violated and eliminated, then the customs of Sumba, in this case Uma Mawine and Marapu 's beliefs will also disappear and collapse, the above statement is even more convincing that indeed the role of women is in maintaining the symbolization of their power through the Uma Mawinne and maintaining the integrity of the marapu is very real, namely by following these rules.
With women's understanding of their position in the traditional house, it can be said that Sumbanese women, in this case their wives and daughters-in-law, already understand their position in the traditional house long before they get married and enter the traditional house, because they have been informed about their position in the traditional house since childhood. . Their understanding of their position in the traditional house makes them comfortable and never thinks of leaving these traditions and customs. From the women's understandings above regarding their position and role in the house, it can be said that women already understand very well their position and role in the traditional house. So in page I want to explain how this understanding is seen from the perspective of space in a traditional house. In the division of rooms, it can be seen that the position of women and men is divided into a domestic space for men and a domestic space for women. Women are prohibited from entering men's domestic spaces. On the other hand, men are not prohibited from entering women's domestic spaces.
But, why is gender also important in architectural aspects especially in Sumba?
Architecture materializes gender in their elements as expressed in how people called architecture as “a man-made environment”. The use of the word “man” can lead to the dominance of a particular gender (Rendell, et al, 2000). That leads to the objective of discussing gender and architecture in traditional architecture. Architectural theory, especially theory about space and place, are mostly constructed by western or based on western perception. While people in other region, like in Indonesia, perceive and understand space in different ways.
Some people think that household chores and child care are a woman's job, even though the woman is working. This domestic activity has long been attached to women. It then becomes culture and customs. Women are always connoted as domestic workers who are considered unable to contribute actively outside the home so that their role is no more than just activities at home. However, this view is different from what is happening in the Sumba, in the context of Sumba women the role played by women is not only in household activities but they have a bigger role in the survival of Marapu itself. Their role can be seen when they maintain the customs contained in the marapu by following the rules related to the sacredness of the marapu in the traditional house.
The separation of space in the traditional Sumba house does not completely complicate the role of women, they continue to carry out normal activities like housewives in general, such as cooking, taking care of children, even farming and feeding livestock. In the decision-making process, usually men are more dominant, this cannot be denied and occurs in Sumbanese society. As is usually the case at every negotiation, women are given the right to speak and be consulted, the aim is to have input from women regarding the matters being discussed and in the end a joint decision can be made. From this we can see that in every decision-making process that is carried out in traditional Sumba negotiations, even though women are given the opportunity to speak and be asked for opinions, in the end, the decision weighs more heavily on men's decisions.
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