Sumbanese traditional house

A Sumbanese house is characterized by a high-pitched central peak on its roof and a strong connection with the spirits, or marapu.

This district includes everal traditional villages such as Wainyapu and Ratenggaro [id] on the south-west coast, and others inland.

This roof is made of thatched alang-alang and is somewhat similar to the central peak of a Javanese joglo, although much more high-pitched.

There is no window in a Sumbanese house, cross ventilation is provided from small openings in the wall, which is made of plaited palm boughs, areca sheath, or – among the very rich – buffalo hide.

[3] Traditional Sumbanese village is typically located on elevated sites, with houses (uma) forming two or more rows on either side of a central plaza.

[3] Tree trunks constitute the four principal house posts and other load bearing elements.

The upper space (roughly the high-pitched peak roof area) is where sacred heirlooms are stored.

The left side of the house is named the "cool house floor" (kaheli maringu); and is associated with female domestic activities, such as preparing a meal, dining, and sleeping (simple compartments for sleeping are built along the left wall).

In the Sumbanese society, women are considered "owners of houses" (mangu umangu) because they spend more time at home than men.

[3] These corpses are placed in a sitting position and facing towards the main (right front) post in the same way as a priest engaged in ritual performances.

[4] The front-left post is named "the post that scoops the rice" (kambaniru mataku) so called because this is where women prepare rice before passing it through a special aperture to a priest who formally offers the food to marapu in the right front part of the house.