Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on Domestic Designs for LivingJames J. Fox ">The eight papers in this volume examine the spatial organization of a variety of Austronesian houses and relate the domestic design of these houses to the social and ritual practices of the specific groups who reside within them. The houses considered in this volume range from longhouses in Borneo to the meeting-houses of the Maori of New Zealand and from the magnificent houses of the Minangkabau of Sumatra to the simpler dwellings of the population of Goodenough Island in Papua New Guinea. Together these papers indicate common features of domestic design from island South-East Asia to Melanesia and the Pacific. This volume is a publication of the Research School of Pacific Studies' Comparative Austronesian Project. The eight papers in this volume examine the spatial organization of a variety of Austronesian houses and relate the domestic design of these houses to the social and ritual practices of the specific groups who reside within them. The houses considered in this volume range from longhouses in Borneo to the meeting-houses of the Maori of New Zealand and from the magnificent houses of the Minangkabau of Sumatra to the simpler dwellings of the population of Goodenough Island in Papua New Guinea. Together these papers indicate common features of domestic design from island South-East Asia to Melanesia and the Pacific. This volume is a publication of the Research School of Pacific Studies' Comparative Austronesian Project."--Publisher's description. |
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Common terms and phrases
adat Amarasi ancestor associated Atoni Australian National University Austronesian houses Austronesian languages bathing bilik bilik-family Borneo built carved central tiang pemun chant concept construction cooked cultural dalek dapur Dayak dead defined domain domestic downriver eastern Indonesia entry ladder female Figure floor front gallery Gawai Antu Gerai longhouse Goodenough Island guests hearth household husband-givers husband-takers Iban Iban longhouse Indonesia inner house inside Kajang Kayan Kenyah kinship kitchen Lahanan lawang Lévi-Strauss linau living located longhouse longhouse community Malay Malayo-Polynesian male manua Maori marae meeting-house Minangkabau ndolu neighbours Nuaulu organization orientation origin Otherworld outer house Paku platform referred relations relationships represents rice ridge-pole rites ritual river roof Roti Rotinese house ruai rumah sa-kampuang Salmond Sarawak Sather sawah shaman sleeping social societies soul space spatial spirits structure symbolic tapu tempuan tilung Toraja traditional house ujong upriver veranda village whare women
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Page 109 - Iban long-house must be conceived of not as a unified group, but rather as a territorial aggregation of discrete units, not as a communal pavilion, but as a terrace of privately owned houses." The agricultural and related activities of these household groups ("bilek families") are discussed throughout the rest of the report, which includes sections on land tenure, agricultural techniques, the economics of agriculture, Iban methods of land usage, and the...
Page 215 - ... thatch made of long Grass. The door is generally at one end, and no bigger than to admit of a man to Creep in and out; just within the door is the fire place, and over the door, or on one side, is a small hole to let out the Smoke. These houses are 20 or 30 feet long, others not above half as long; this depends upon the largeness of the Family they are to contain, for I believe few familys are without such a House as these, altho' they do not always live in them, especially in the summer season,...
Page 13 - ... loan ? It may be assumed that the building on piles with a separate floor platform (typical for the entire Sepik Basin) belongs to the non-Austronesian elements. The hut on piles with supports carrying both the roof and the built-in floor seems to belong to Austronesian cultures. On the North Coast both elements are combined: the first floor platform is supported by its own poles, whereas the upper floors are slotted into the horizontal beams. In areas settled by non-Austronesian groups, all...
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Page 13 - ... On the North Coast both elements are combined: the first floor platform is supported by its own poles, whereas the upper floors are slotted into the horizontal beams. In areas settled by non-Austronesian groups, all parts of the building are traditionally lashed with lianas. The Middle Sepik houses are masterpieces of this highly developed binding technique. Pin and peg techniques are only known in those regions where Austronesian languages are spoken. The Middle Sepik cultures took over the...
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Page 13 - ... piles with projecting gables belong to the original "equipment" of the non-Austronesian speaking groups or does it represent an Austronesian loan ? It may be assumed that the building on piles with a separate floor platform (typical for the entire Sepik Basin) belongs to the non-Austronesian elements. The hut on piles with supports carrying both the roof and the built-in floor seems to belong to Austronesian cultures. On the North Coast both elements are combined: the first floor platform is...