Rumah Melayu Melaka in Melaka

Continue with my blog again, let me introduce another kind of Malay houses. Rumah Melayu Melaka, is basically located in Melaka. Rumah Melayu Melaka can be divided into 4 parts. First is rumah ibu, which is where daily activities is carry out as mentioned in my second blog post. Next, rumah dapur for the cooking, dining and washing. Then, there is anjung and serambi which functions as relax area and also to greet and treat the guests (Mohd. Sahabuddin, M.F., n.d.). The roof of this house is tall and steep. The thatched roof is made from rumbia or ijuk, a type of plants (Chee, 2013). This type of roof can keep the interior temperature low as it does not absorb heat from the sunlight. The house is made of wood that can easily be found in the forest nearby, using the most traditional way, with bare hands. The uniqueness about Rumah Melayu Melaka is the stairs are made from stones that are unlike other Malay houses that uses wood for the stairs. The materials used to build this house are natural and does not pollute the environment. A win-win situation for both humans and the environment. 

Rumah Melayu Melaka in Kampung Melekek Dalam, that has stone stairs covered with tiles. (Source: http://rumahwarisanmelaka.blogspot.my/)

 Rumah Warisan Kampung Bukit Godek, wood carving for Rumah Melayu Melaka.

(Source: http://rumahwarisanyaacobbuangbukitgodek.blogspot.my/)

This type of houses can be found in the whole of Melaka and also in Kota Tinggi, Johor as Melaka and Johor are located next to each other. Thus, the influence of Rumah Melayu Melaka spreads to Johor. Generally, architects of Malaysia consider these type of houses to be the original Malay houses in Malaysia (Chee, 2013). This house is decorated with carvings related to flora, fauna and geometry motifs (Yahya, W.Z. et al, 2014). This reflects the great skills of people of the olden days. The carvings that are very delicate shows good workmanship. However, in the modern days, these high quality carvings seem to be reducing. Awesome carving skills should be passed down from generation to generation because tradition is something precious given by our ancestors. Thus we, as Malaysians must make an effort to keep the tradition alive.

References: 

Chee, K. (2013) "Perkembangan Seni dalam Budaya Kebangsaan- Bahagian IV Seni Bina". Focus 4U Pendidikan Seni Visual SPM. Bangi: Penerbitan Pelangi Sdn. Bhd. Translated from Bahasa Melayu by E. Tan.

Mohd. Sahabuddin, M.F. (n.d.) "Chapter 2: Malaysian Vernacular Architecture and Its Relationship to Climate". Available at: 

http://www.academia.edu/2377416/Chapter_2_Malaysian_Vernacular_Architecture_and_Its_Relationship_to_Climate  [Accessed 7 June, 2016]

Yahya, W.S.Z. and Md Noor, M.F. (2014) "Melestarikan Rumah Melayu Melaka: Produk Pelancongan Warisan Masyarakat Desa". In Nazarudin Zainun and Darlina Md. Naim (2014) Merekayasa Kearifan Tempatan: Budaya, Pelancongan, Arkeologi dan Sejarah. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Image Sources:

Rumah Melayu Melaka in Kampung Melekek Dalam. [Image] Available at: 

http://rumahwarisanmelaka.blogspot.my/ [Accessed 6 June, 2016]

Rumah Warisan Kampung Bukit Godek. [Image] Available at: 

http://rumahwarisanyaacobbuangbukitgodek.blogspot.my/ [Accessed 5 June, 2016]