Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Sketch#5 The Traditional Malay House


I have a fond towards the humble traditional Malay house because it is based on our socio-culture and it shapes our identity. The traditional Malay house also accommodates the Malay women needs in terms of privacy, safety and responsibilities. Where would we find a house that celebrates a woman by naming its important space rumah ibu (mother of the house)?

In my recent trip to Kelantan, I found several bungalow houses (made of bricks and concrete!) built on pillars which I think either imitating the traditional Malay house or improvising in order to tackle the problem of flooding season. Either one, it looked to me that deep down, people will resort to traditional and vernacular way to adapt themselves with the surrounding environment.

It is my ultimate dream to build a house based on the traditional Malay house concept, maintain it like our ancestors did, and over time, extend it according to my family's growing needs. InsyaAllah.

Postcard - Traditional Melaka house. Photo by: Joseph Jacobs

A little nice postcard I bought in Central Market recently while showing around Kuala Lumpur to my Sri Lankan supervisor during her transit back to New Zealand.


As shared in Emila's Sketchy Sunday






3 comments:

emilayusof said...

very good!! great details.

CayaLah said...

teringat rumah tok wan dulu2...memang klasik

F said...

kak emila ~ details DO take some time, right. I spent three days finishing this because I got lazy in the middle. hehe

cayalah ~ memang klasik. once in a while, we have to look back at what we once have, supaya kita tak hilang tradisi