TTLA: Joglo House of the Jawa people in Indonesia

Author name: Hoang Thi Giang

Thesis title: Joglo House of the Javanese in Indonesia

Dissertation field:

Major: Southeast Asian Studies Code: 62 31 06 10

Name of the postgraduate training unit: University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU

1. Purpose and research objects of the thesis

* Research purpose: - The thesis is conducted to provide a general, comprehensive, panoramic picture of the Joglo house of the Java people in Indonesia. Through the factors of house structure characteristics, customs and rituals in the process of building a house, thereby clarifying the cultural identity of the Java people through that house. At the same time, finding out the changes between traditional houses and modern houses today, initially proposing conservation directions, in order to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values ​​of the Java people in particular, of the Austronesian ethnic groups in general.

* Research object: is the Joglo house of the Jawa people in Kotagede village, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

2. Research methods used

To achieve the set objectives, the author of the thesis uses a synthesis of many different scientific research methods.

First of all, it is the synthesis and analysis of documents. The sources of documents are articles and books in Vietnamese, English and Indonesian. The process of analyzing and synthesizing documents will help the author inherit the research results of predecessors, take advantage of documents and opinions of scientists to serve the implementation of his specific research topic.

Descriptive method, this is an indispensable method in the process of writing a thesis because housing belongs to the category of material culture, so the description will show the shape as well as the overall structure of the house.

Comparison and contrast are methods that will also be applied to find out similarities and differences in housing structures and house-building customs of ethnic groups, thereby contributing to clarifying ethnic cultural identity.

Fieldwork method, while doing this thesis, in 2012, on the occasion of studying in Jakarta, the author had time to do fieldwork in Kotagede village, Yogyakarta province. Due to time constraints, the fieldwork only lasted for a short time, therefore, the author could not obtain in-depth and complete documents as required by an ethnographic researcher or sociological investigator, but the author was able to directly observe the traditional house of the Jawa people and also contacted and interviewed an architect, a researcher working at the cultural heritage preservation center of Kotagede. That was Pak Suryanto. Later, during the thesis, due to the remote conditions, the author also exchanged emails and received enthusiastic help from him. More fortunately, when returning to Vietnam, the author also met and contacted Mr. Le Van Tho, a Javanese living in Hanoi, currently working at the VOV5 Foreign Affairs Department of the Voice of Vietnam. The guidance and contributions of everyone were also a valuable source of information for the author when writing this thesis.

3. Main results and conclusions

3.1.Main results

• Reconstructing the picture of Joglo house of Javanese people in Indonesia through house structure, customs and house building rituals.
• Analyze, find out the cause and transformation of traditional house with modern Joglo house today
• It is the basis for comparison with the housing of other Austronesian ethnic groups in Vietnam in particular and in Southeast Asia in general.
• From there, propose solutions to preserve and promote traditional cultural values.

3.2. Conclusion

• Firstly, housing is an extremely important cultural element in human life. Normally, each ethnic group will have different types of housing architecture. Housing not only shows material cultural values ​​through architectural works, technical level, aesthetic sense... but it also shows the spiritual cultural values ​​of an ethnic group that takes place in that house.
• Second, through research, we see that there are 5 types of Jawa houses, which are Kampung, Limasan, Panggangpe, Tajub and Joglo. Of which, Tajub is a house for prayer, and Joglo is the traditional house of the Jawa. Compared to the above types of houses, Joglo houses are built on a large area, using a lot of Jati wood materials, which are expensive. In Indonesia, Joglo houses are very diverse and rich. The houses of the poor are simple, mainly consisting of 3 main parts: Pendapa, Pringgitan and Dalem. As for the aristocracy, those with economic conditions, their houses are more complete, in addition to the 3 parts above, there is also a secondary part called Gandhok. Each different part of the house has a separate function.
• Third, to build a Joglo house as desired, the Jawa people must carry out customs and rituals very carefully. For the custom of building a house, the Jawa people pay attention to choosing the day, choosing the time, choosing the land, choosing the direction of the house, choosing a good time to build the house. They calculate based on the Jawa calendar, at the same time they avoid and avoid bad things during the house building process. For house building rituals, they perform all the rituals before, during and after the house building is finished. They believe that if they choose and prepare well for the above steps, the house building process will go smoothly, and the homeowner will have a lot of luck and happiness.
• Fourth, through comparison with the traditional houses of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan - Vietnam, we see that the traditional houses of the Jawa and Cham people have many similarities and differences. The similarity is that the structure of the house depends on the conditions of the homeowner. The houses of the poor are simple, the houses of the noble class, with economic conditions, are more complete. Or the similarities in house-building customs such as choosing a good day and time, good wood, good time to build a house; rituals during the house-building process, as well as decorative symbols in the house. However, there are also differences in the house-building process of the two ethnic groups, that is, the Jawa people calculate based on the Jawa calendar, while the Cham people rely on their calendar.
• Fifth, due to changes in natural conditions and socio-economic conditions, the Joglo house of the Java people in the past and present has also changed a lot in size, shape, layout, customs and rituals...
• Finally, with the basic contents developed as above, the thesis Joglo House of the Javanese in Indonesia has some new contributions. In terms of academics, the thesis contributes to the system of academic research documents, teaching about Southeast Asian culture in general, about the housing culture of the Javanese in Indonesia in particular. In terms of practice, the thesis will contribute to enhancing mutual cultural understanding between Indonesia and Vietnam in particular, between Indonesia and Southeast Asian countries in general.

SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

Author: Hoang Thi Giang

Dissertation's name: The Joglo house of Javanese in Indonesia

Major: Southeast Asian studies Code: 62 31 06 10

Postgraduate training institution: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi

1. Objectives and research subjects of the thesis

• Objectives: The thesis is aimed at providing a comprehensive and general picture of the Joglo house of the Javanese in Indonesia. By dissecting the structural features and construction customs and rituals, the thesis detects the cultural identity of the Javanese through this kind of house. The thesis also elucidates the transformations of traditional the Joglo house into its modern counterpart, thereby suggesting solutions for preverserving, protecting and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of the Javanese in particular and the Austronesian peoples in general.
• Research subjects: the Joglo house of the Javanese at Kotagede village, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

2.Research methods:

To fulfill the objectives of this thesis, the author combines different research methods.

First is information synthesis and analysis. The sources of information are books and articles written in Vietnamese, English and Indonesian languages. The process of analyzing and synthesizing sources helps the author recognize and inherit the findings made by previous researchers, and make use of the materials and opinions of other scholars to develop personal observations.

Descriptive methods are essential to making the thesis, because houses belong to the category of tangible culture so descriptions can show their physical features and overall structures.

Compare and constrast is a method that aims to find the similarities and differences in terms of the structures and construction patterns among different ethic groups, thereby helping to demonstrate different ethnic identities.

A field trip was paid by the author of this thesis in 2012 to the village of Kotagede, Yogyakarta province, Jakarta. Due to time restrictions, the duration of the field trip was short, so the author was not able to obtain detailed and profound information as required of an anthropologist or social surveyist, but had a chance to directly observe the traditional houses of the Javanese and conduct an interview with an architect-researcher working at the center for cultural heritage preservation at Kotagede. While working on the thesis, due to geographical distance, the author contacted via emails and received enthusiastic support from him. More fortunately, upon returning to Vietnam, the author was able to meet with Mr. Le Van Tho, a Javanese living in Hanoi and working at the VOV5's Section of Foreign Affairs, VOV. The instructions and feedback of these people are also useful sources for this thesis.

3. Main results and conclusions

3.1 Main results:

• Reconstructed the image of the Joglo house of the Javanese in Indonesia through its structure and construction patterns and rituals.
• Analyzed and identified the causes and transformations of the traditional Joglo house into its modern counterpart.
• Provide criteria for comparing the houses of the Austronesian peoples and those of the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian peoples.
• Suggest solutions for the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values.

3.2 Conclusions

• First, houses are an extremely important cultural component of human life. Normally, each ethnic group has its own architectural styles. Houses reflect not only material values ​​through their architectures, aesthetics and construction skills, but also the concomitant spiritual values ​​of each ethnic group.
• Second, it can be seen that there are 5 types of Javanese houses, Kampung, Limasan, Panggangpe, Tajub and Joglo. Among them, Tajub houses are used as religious sites, while Joglo ones are traditionally used as living places. Compared to other types, the Joglo house is constructed on a large platform and mostly by Jati wood, which is expensive. In Indonesia, Joglo houses are diverse and varied. The houses of poor people are simple, consisting of only three parts: Pendapa, Pringgitan and Dalem. For noble people, who are economically wealthy, their houses are more elaborate and include another part called Gandhok. Each part of a house has its own function.
• Third, to build a desirable Joglo house, the Javanese has to conduct intricate customs and rituals. Regarding customs, the Javanese carefully choose the appropriate time, site, location and direction of a house. They calculate these facts with the Javanese calendar, and avoid taboos and bad sayings during the process. Regarding rituals, they make all of the rituals before, during and after the construction. For them, the careful selection and preparation of these steps contribute to neat constructions and bestow ample luck and happiness upon the owners.
• Fourth, by comparing Joglo houses with the traditional houses of the Cham in Ninh Thuan-Vietnam, we can see both similarities and differences. One similarity is that a house's structure depends on the economic being of its owner(s). Houses of the poor are simple, while those of the noble are more exquisite. Another similarity is the careful selection of time, wood and site to build a house; as well as construction rituals and decorative symbols. However, differences exist, such as when the Javanese use Javanese calendars while the Cham use Cham calenders.
• Fifth, due to many changes in natural and socio-economic conditions, the Joglo house of the Jawanese today has transformed in terms of its size, shape, furniture arrangement, and construction customs and rituals.
• Finally, giving the above results, the thesis has made some new contributions. Academically, the thesis becomes another reference for studying and teaching Southeast Asian culture in general and housing culture of the Jawanese in Indonesia in particular. Practically, the thesis contributes to increasing mutual cultural understanding between Indonesia and Vietnam in particular, and between Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries.