2.0 History of Tradisional Malay House

2.0 History of Tradisional Malay House

Malay houses are traditional dwellings, which came before the arrival of foreign influences or modern, and built by the original inhabitants of ethnic Malays in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.

Traditional Malay house is one of the important components of the cultural heritage which has an additional system that allows the house to last longer. Malay house tradition through the process of free housing, which make use of self help and mutual cooperation, can be distinguished by the modernization of independent housing that is built based on the needs and requirements of users.

The importance of this type of house construction is that it can ease the burden of the poor and those wgo cannot afford housing. It can solve the problems of socio-economic and cultural needs of society. Historical architecture of Malay houses which was inhabited by the Malays is unclear, as is the history of the house they inhabit.

From the incomplete records it has proofed that the locals have had houses in small patches of communities that are usually built on the banks of the river or on the edge of the sea.

The way the houses are built is influenced by the environment and way of life at that time. In the architecture of the house, is very clear that the real similarity with the original architecture of traditional houses in Singgora and other areas in Southern Thailand, example are Rumah Tiang Dua belas in Kelantan and Terengganu.

In the 15th century, there is also the Malacca Sultanate which is based on religious rules of Islam. There are some records that describe the architecture of a building, the Palace of Sultan Mansur Shah, the ruler of Malacca in 1459 until 1477 through the Sejarah Melayu "Silalatus Salatin".

Records about the building of the palace is the earliest record of a building of the Malay community, after the Malays converted into Muslims and it is undeniable that the architecture of the palace of the kings have a very close relationship with the architecture of the houses of the Malays.

In Sejarah Melayu is a record that describes customs and prohibitions of the Malay rulers in relation to some government regulation in the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah in 1424 until 1447.

One of customs regulations is the banning for the commoners to build terraced houses and multiple floored houses which has a loft space with window and balcony. In the history of Johor, there are records that described the attack by Portuguese armed forces on the Johor’s Central Government which is based in the Kota Batu, Johor Lama.

The attack which took place in the year 1587 has resulted in most of the Malay houses to be burned down into nothingness.

An admiral of Dutchman origin named Cornelis Matelief who come to visit the Malay villages around Johor has reported that the houses of the Malays was erected on pillars that are available in the environment such as trees nibung , areca , bamboo , small pieces of wood and the roof are typically made of palm, thatch or bertam .