Idea Transcript
GSTF Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.2, July 2015
DOI 10.7603/s4001-00-
Representation Of Harmony In Javanese Culture In Building Design Of Kauman Yogyakarta Cama Juli Rianingrum, Agus Sachari, Imam Santosa Received 30 Jan 2015 Accepted 27 Feb 2015
Abstract - Kauman Settlement in Yogyakarta, Indonesia is an urban village settlement located inside the complex of Kraton Yogyakarta (Palace of Yogyakarta). At first, the settlement was a facility provided by Sultan Hamengku Buwono for the abdi dalem (employees) of Masjid Gedhe (Great Mosque of the Palace of Yogyakarta). Social, political and cultural changes have occurred for approximately three centuries, from the Dutch Colonialism era up to now. These changes have both physical and non-physical effects to lives of the people and the shape of the settlement. Physically, the building designs have become more heterogenous, albeit without neglecting the basic concept of Javanese traditional architecture. The process of building and developing the settlement is supported by Javanese cultural values devoutly practiced by the settlers. The Javanese tradition does not fade out even though other cultures have interfered and influenced the traditional culture. In order to understand how the people of Kauman Yogyakarta shape their settlement in relation to the traditional Javanese values they are practicing, observation of literature, collection of field data and interviews for the purposes of analysis are conducted. Kauman Yogyakarta today is a settlement with a distinctive feature, a place of traditional Javanese culture amidst the business center of modern Yogyakarta.
political changes, it is still identified as a Muslim community with traditional Javanese atmosphere. Kauman Yogyakarta has also a distinctive historical value in the history of the Indonesian nation, particularly as the founding center of Muhammadiyah in 1912, whose founder Kiai Haji Ahmad Dahlan was an abdi dalem of Kraton Yogyakarta who resided in Kauman. Kauman is situated amidst the center of business and tourism of Yogyakarta, a city located south of the Central Java province with an area of 3,100 square kilometers, most of which are fertile farming soils due to tropical climate. Kauman covers an area of approximately 192.00 square meters and is an area of dense population and building arrangements (6080% building coverage according to Bappeda data in 1994). Kauman Yogyakarta was at first a residential area for abdi dalem (employees) of the Great Mosque of Kraton Yogyakarta, peopled by residents from the ethnic Javanese that are exclusive and related to one another due to endogamy. The education and activity patterns of the area adhere closely to the teachings of Islam. After Indonesian independence, the areas around Kauman have undergone extensive physical development in order to fulfill the needs for adequate infrastructures, following the growth and development of Yogyakarta as a city of tourism and education.
Keywords: design, building, Kauman Yogyakarta settlement, Javanese cultural values
I. INTRODUCTION Indonesia is an archipelago rich in natural resources and cultural diversity. The cultural diversity is reflected, among others, in the architectures of traditional houses across the archipelago, where each region has its own uniqueness and distinction, along with the cultural values that reflect the life philosophy of its people. A distinct traditional house in Indonesia is the Javanese house, a form of architecture that manifests a totality of a statement of life inspired by the manners of placing one’s self, norms and the Javanese value system within one’s surroundings. Javanese houses are still at large and are frequently found in many cities in Java including Yogyakarta, particularly in the Kauman Yogyakarta settlement that has stood for nearly three centuries. Even though this settlement has gone through various social, cultural and
Figure 1. Map of Kauman location within Kraton Yogyakarta complex, Indonesia
Seen from a historical perspective, the existence of Kauman Yogyakarta is inseparable from the influences of and connection to Kraton Yogyakarta, initiated since the sultan first had the Great Mosque (Gedhe Kauman Mosque) built
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GSTF Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.2, July 2015
within Kraton complex in 1773. During its inception, Kauman Yogyakarta was under the hegemony of Javanese culture (the Kraton), although the influence of the Dutch Colonial culture is not to be neglected, due to the settlement being built during Dutch occupation. After 1912, Muhammadiyah brought strong influences in the Islamic system. Suastiwi T. (2010: 90-107) concluded that in general, from the inception of Kauman Yogyakarta in 1775 up to now, the settlement has undergone four periods of social and cultural changes that are respectively influenced by the following: 1. Sultan and Kraton Yogyakarta. Kauman Yogyakarta was established under the auspices of Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. The residents of Kauman were at first entirely ethnic Javanese, related to one another and working as abdi dalem of religious affairs of Kraton Yogyakarta. 2. Growth and development of batik industry at the end of the 19th century (c. 1880-1930). Muslim traders and merchants emerged from within Kauman Yogyakarta and developed batik industry known as Batik Handle. 3. Founding of Muhammadiyah in 1912 by KH. Ahmad Dahlan. He was an abdi dalem holding the office of ketib amin (tibamin). The efforts of Muhammadiyah in purifying Islamic teachings brought about changes, particularly in religious norms. Kauman nowadays is still the basis of Muhammadiyah organization. 4. After the independence or the Republic of Indonesia era (1945-now), Yogyakarta has become part of the Republic of Indonesia and has since developed into a city of tourism and education. Even though Yogyakarta has undergone extensive physical development, Kauman Yogyakarta maintains well the cool and calm village atmosphere. This settlement has its own complexity of issues concerning the identity of Javanese cultural values as a lifestyle maintained by its people amidst the recession of Javanese tradition in the globalization era. These Javanese cultural values comprise intangible and tangible representation. The intangible representation is evident in the friendly manner towards visitors, mutual cooperation (guyub) and maintenance of intense relationship. The tangible representation is visible in the well-maintained architectures of the Javanese houses . Kauman Yogyakarta appears as a Javanese Muslim residential area with its own unique, distinctive character in the middle of modern Yogyakarta city.
Islam, kingdoms (kratons) in Java and life philosophy of the Javanese people. The Javanese culture is considered not homogenous; each smaller region develops its own culture, a combination of pre-Hindu, Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic elements that are extensively manifested in the lives of the Javanese. Cultural value system is a series of abstract concepts occurring within the minds of most members of a society, concerning both what is considered important and valuable and what is considered trivial and worthless in life. Cultural value system is part of customs, concepts practiced by most members of a society that are enforced on them since childhood. These concepts are rooted in the individual minds and become the attitude of an individual soul in reacting to his/her surroundings (Koentjaraningrat, 1990). In the Javanese cultural values, there are two highly upheld values in the everyday life of the Javanese: harmony and respect. Javanese people always attempt to maintain harmony with his environment, which means a Javanese human must live in harmony with the nature and other individuals as part of a greater society. Javanese cultural values are reflected in the tolerant character of the Javanese: always striving for world peace, in which they assume that everyone has similar world views (although differences do not matter), and realizing that life is a highly spiritual world reflected in their nrima (resigned), rila (sincere) and sabar (patient) nature. The Javanese people believe that God is the center of the universe and all aspects of the human life. They view life as a process determined by the Almighty and they just have to go through it as He wills. However, they are also inseparable from the numerous myths that color their way of thinking in interpreting the lives they are going through. A physical manifestation of culture is a house, an artifact that embodies a system of cultural values: function, meaning and symbol. A house for a Javanese person is a complete dwelling for his position as a human being and as part of a community. The process of constructing a Javanese house is based on the rites, religion and faith manifested in form of a physical building of functional and aesthetic reasoning. Scheme 1. Proses of Constructing T raditional Javanese House
II. LITERATURE REVIEW JAVANESE CULTURE Koentjaraningrat (1994: 30-97) stated that the Javanese culture has started from the prehistoric era, evidenced by the discovery of artifact remains in form of axes that are dated as 800 thousand years old on a site near Pacitan, East Java. It is estimated that during that time, the hunters in Java island have established a culture. Much later, Java is the place where different races and cultures meet since the 40th century BC. According to the history of Javanese culture, the elements of the Javanese culture are formed from the history of the Javanese people from prehistory up to the introduction of
The scheme above depicts the process of constructing a traditional Javanese house, which is influenced by a number of factors and Javanese cultural values as its basis. The
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GSTF Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.2, July 2015
construction of house is not based merely on necessity; constructing a house is a cultural activity based on the result of the budhi (behavior) of the Javanese people who make precise calculations to maintain harmony between the residents of the house and its surroundings in order to achieve safety and prosperity in life and beyond.
people of various occupations: civil servants, army officers, caterers, traders and even landlords who transform their houses into guest houses. V. RESEARCH RESULT Kauman Yogyakarta from Javanese Culture Perspective A house as a place to live and do daily cultural activities is supposed to impart comfort, calmnes s, and happiness for its residents. The people of Kauman Yogyakarta have attempted to maintain their unique residential identity over the course of approximately 250 years. Even though nowadays they have become part of the modern Yogyakarta citizens, the traditional Javanese values are not supposed to fade away, and is maintained in, among others, the shape of their house. Historically, a house for the Kauman people is not merely an architectural concept, but it is also a representation of its owner’s personal identity as a Javanese man that strongly hold Javanese cultural values in his everyday life. His way of life is still influenced by the Javanese cultural values rich in philosophy of life represented in the design of his house, along with its interior. Even though the area has physically transformed into more architecturally heterogenous, the basic concept of tradition is still maintained.
III. RESEARCH METHOD Historically speaking, the development of Kauman Yogyakarta for nearly three centuries (1775-2014), from its beginning until today, needs to be scrutinized, in order to obtain historical knowledge in understanding and interpretin g argumentation from the interviewees during field research and interviews related to the process of the social and cultural formation and transformation experienced by the residents of Kauman Yogyakarta. This study employs the qualitativedescriptive research method based on both the synchronic and diachronic approaches, in order to observe a string of events within a socio-cultural system that produces cultural artifacts as events of cause-and-effect nature. Data analysis is conducted on descriptive data in form of verbal and written words from the people interviewed and observer. In order to obtain the primary data, an on-location field observation is conducted in form of direct observation of research objects and interviews with several respondents to ob tain their reasoning and explanation of the attitude, perception and action of the Kauman Yogyakarta community seen from the perspective of its people. To support the primary data, the secondary data in form of relevant literatures are obtained from the library of Kraton Yogyakarta, bureau of statistics, and related previous studies.
Residential Urban Planning Site Plan Javanese architecture commonly covers an area built into a complex consisting of various buildings that serve different functions. The complex are bordered by fences and gates/regol as the accesses. Kauman Yogyakarta area is circled by buildings that were built around the fences. Inside the area, aside from residential houses, there are also a number of public facility buildings that serve to support the activities of the community as a santri (student of religious studies) community.
IV. RESEARCH OBJECT Kauman Yogyakarta: People and Settlement In many areas in Java, there are many places called Kauman, such as Kauman Surakarta, Kauman Kudus, Kauman Semarang and Kauman Malang. These Kaumans follows the same typology: an area situated behind a mosque that serves as a residential area for abdi dalem of religious affairs or affairs related to the mosque. Pengulu (head of religious affairs) and the abdi dalem pamethakan of Kraton Yogyakarta, along with their families, at first lived around the Kauman Great Mosque (Masjid Gedhe Kauman) in an area called Pakauman which means “the land of the Kaums.” Later, they were called Kauman, from the Arabic word Qoimuddin, which means enforcer of religion. The people of Kauman Yogyakarta belong to the ethnic Javanese that live in Yogyakarta. The ethnic Javanese is the largest ethnic group in Indonesia with its own language and many subcultures. At first, all Kauman men were abdi dalem of the mosque, whose wives produced batik as a part-time job. Kauman was an exclusively Muslim community that piously practices the sharia law of Islam with the Masjid Gedhe Kauman Yogyakarta as their center of activities. After many decades, due to changes in cultural and religious domination, development of thinking and globalization, the people of Kauman Yogyakarta have also changed. Many of them are not abdi dalem of the kraton, but
Figure 2. Map of residential area and public facility building that support the activities of a Muslim community
Entrance to the area is provided by the gates that can only be accessed on foot or on two-wheeled vehicles. Inside the area, vehicle engines must be turned off. Everybody has to walk on foot, carrying along their vehicles, resulting in very minimum level of air and sound pollution. This is intended to maintain silence in the area, so that the students can study and do their
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other activities peacefully. The gate, or regol in Javanese, is a tall wall that provides access into an area. The gate has a symbolic value in Javanese culture: it serves as the symbol of the differences in levels of the Javanese cosmology system and as the symbol of a guardian that possesses both physical and spiritual powers. Psychologically, the regol or the gate might make one feels reticent to go inside if one does not have certain business to attend to or an errand to run. In this respect, the gate has a function to control the flow of people going in or out of an area. Figure 4. Site plan orientation of Kauman following Yogyakarta site plan (Javanese orientation: Cosmogony concept - Sangkan Paraning Dumadi Manunggaling Kawula Gusti)
Accessibility There is hardly any distance between one building an another, some even share one same wall. The pathways are narrow alleys of approximately two meters wide that forms an impression of long tunnels, typical of alleys in urban villages in Indonesia, also known as jalan rukun. Due to its density, the area lacks open spaces and socialization spaces, so that the alleys function not only as accesses, but also as spaces for trading activities and socialization for both the Kauman residents and the comers. The narrow verandahs in front and on a side of the house are filled with live plants, a reflection of the natural outdoor, the true form of nature; it signifies honesty and appreciation towards nature. The plants also functions as filters of wind, dust and sunlight.
Figure 3. Entrance Gate/Regol into Settlement Area
Orientation The orientation of the Javanese houses is governed by the myth of the wind directions. Kraton Yogyakarta was constructed based on a cosmogony concept stemmed on the belief of the equality between the macrocosmos and microcosmos, between the universe and the human world represented by the king and his kingdom. Cosmologically, the north face of Kraton Yogyakarta faces Mount Merapi while the faces toward the South Sea. This north and south orientation is a spiritual axis or longevity axis, symbolic of the process of human life towards eterntiy. The buildings located along this axis are buildings of high spiritual value. The west east is the abscissa axis that symbolizes worldliness, a warning of the human limitation before nature. The orientation of the Kauman Yogyakarta site plan follows the cosmogony concept of Kraton Yogyakarta. ● Yogyakarta city: The north-south axis lines up kraton, PalPutih monument and Krapyak stage. These three buildings were constructed along a spiritual concept. The west-east axis consists of worldly buildings, such as houses, shops, offices and public facilities. ● Kauman Yogyakarta: The north-south axis consists of the main gate to the residential area with the Muhammadiyah insignia and Masjid Gedhe Kauman. At both ends of the west-east axis stand the smaller side gates. The entrances and the corridors of Kauman Yogyakarta are always arranged along the north-south and west-east axes and are always in straight lines. The area has no turns or circles. This orientation follows the imaginary line that is considered the best orientation that may bestow welfare to the residents of the area.
Figure 5. Life in Kauman: Alleys or corridor as both access and trading and socialization area
Architecture and Interior Planning Form of Javanese Architecture A Javanese house is a result of acculturation, as evident in its constructing and supporting elements. Javanese architecture is a combination of Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Western elements, in synergy with each other to strengthen the harmony of the distinctively Javanese house (Imam Santosa, 2006:387). Kauman Yogyakarta has been around for approximately 250 years and still maintains a lot of old buildings in their original physical states. The buildings in the area are mostly Javanese village house and Javanese hou ses
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GSTF Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.2, July 2015
teachings are based on the concept of triloka (three spaces): kamadhatu, rupadhatu and arupadhatu. According to the Javanese concept, the triloka are jana-loka (the realm of human beings), guru-loka (the realm of emotions) and hendraloka (the realm of the mind, the heaven of the senses).
influenced by colonial (Indies) architecture, besides a minority of smaller modern buildings. The percentage of area used for housing is 71.6%, for shops 11.8%, for homestays 9% and the rest 7.6% is for musholas, offices and village hall. The area nowadays is 83.59% private, 10.26% belonging to kraton Yogyakarta and 6.15% belonging to the village government (Data from Bapeda Yogyakarta in Ahda Mulyati, 1995).
Figure 8. Triloka of Javanese architecture in Kauman Yogyakarta house
d. Elements of Space Javanese buildings use walls merely as barriers between rooms, not as structural parts of the buildings. Removable or non-permanent walls are used, such as gebyok (traditional carved wood partition) or other wooden partitions. However, some permanent walls are also built around rooms with a higher level of privacy, such as the Sentong. The surrounding walls of a house symbolize the separation between the outer environment and the inner environment. The floors of a Javanese house are usually flat without elevation; elevation occurs only because of transition between rooms. The difference in elevation or in flooring pattern and material marks a territorial border and is intended to limit movements. A Javanese traditional house is a house of wooden construction. The high ceiling gives a spacious impression.
Figure 6. T ypes of house in Kauman Yogyakarta: village house and Indies house
Sketch and Facade A circular or oval-shaped house has never become a reference for a Javanese house. The typology of a traditional Javanese house is generally rectangular or square. The sketch for the building interior consist of manipulation of geometrical planes that forms a quadrangle. The sketch of the house creates the perception of stability and balance.
Figure 7. Plan of Javanese house for residence and plan of a house in Kauman area
The book Kawruh Kalang consists of guidelines on the construction of Javanese traditional buildings; these are an abstraction of the relationship between man and his environment. The sizes in a Javanese house is determined by its owner’s body scale, position and ideals. According to Hindu perspective, a Javanese building is vertically divided into three parts like the human body: head, torso, and feet. The roof is the head of the building and its main part has five shapes of roof construction; the post that stands on a stone umpak (level) is both part of the building body and the support of the roof structure. The stone foundation is the foot of the building that strengthens the whole building. Buddhist
Figure 9. Usage of room elements made of wood in a house in Kauman area
VI. CONCLUSION Culture is not mere words; culture is the result of interpretations, memory and meanings within human beings
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GSTF Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.3 No.2, July 2015
obtained from a learning system passed on from generation to generation as tradition. Every culture has a system, a living concept within human minds. This concept in the cultural system is an abstract one; it consists of values on what is considered important and valuable in living a life according to social agreements in a society. In social life, this value system is closely related to human traits and behavior, thus human actions and products of material culture are always adorned by cultural values, both directly and indirectly. Javanese cultural values are based on the relationship scheme of Human – God – Nature – Ancestor, which is reflected in the Javanese architecture. The Javanese architecture is a representation of human characters in constructing a place to live. A house has many definitions. In history, ethnography, anthropology and sociology, a house is not a mere architectural concept. A house is an individual’s personal identity, a self-improvement facility, a medium of peace and a center of cultural activities. A representation of Javanese architecture is expected to be in dialogue with its owner and be one with its environment. Javanese architecture has a philosophical meaning as a manifestation that reflects or represents an aspect of life in creative work as a main activity of a living human being; it is safe to say that the architecture is represents creative work. A Javanese traditional house is a reflection of Javanese culture, which in turn reflects relation between human beings and the universe, a relation between microcosmos and macrocosmos. A Javanese man realizes that he is part of the universe, thus requiring to be one with his Creator. Life in Javanese philosophy aims to achieve perfection in life, to seek balance to create harmonious relationship among nature, human, and God.
buildings are of various shapes and sizes, but they are harmonious with each other. The tangible harmony is based on the values of the intangible in its manifestation. The growth and development of the Kauman Yogyakarta community are mainly caused by the transformation of domination and the shift in the perspective of Islamic practices initiated by the Muhammadiyah organization. However, the shift occurred only in the religious norm, while the Javanese value system and everyday life in the community has not changed significantly. The indicators of the longevity of Javanese culture in Kauman Yogyakarta are the following: 1) the considerable amount of Javanese cultural artifacts, such as houses and other buildings, 2) the social life and community behavior that demonstrate Javanese cultural tradition, such as kinship, mutual cooperation, nrimo (resigned attitude), unggah-ungguh (speech levels), tolerance and hospitality, and 3) the strong relation between the community and Kraton Yogyakarta and the maintenance of respect and obedience towards the Sultan. The history of Kauman Yogyakarta for approximately 250 years has become part of the everyday of life of the Kauman community that manifests in the construction of a physical environment that is natural, harmonious and unified, a cool and calm Javanese Muslim residential area that is distinct and unique. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Scheme 1. Javanese architecture in Absolute Balance (Harmony)
[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
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Ahda Mulyati (1995), Pola Spasial permukiman Di Kampung Kauman Yogyakarta, T esis-Studi T ehnik Arsitektur UGM Atmojo, K. & team (2004), Kraton Jogja: The History and Cultural Heritage, Yogyakarta, Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Publisher. Ahmad Adaby Darban (2010), Sejarah Kauman–Menguak Identitas Kampung Muhammadiyah, Yogyakarta, Surya Sarana Grafika. Ahmad Adaby Darban (1984), Tipologi Kampung Kauman, Yogyakarta, Fakultas Sastra UGM Franz Magnis Suseno (1984), Etika Jawa: Sebuah Analisa Falsafi tentang Kebijaksanaan Hidup Jawa, Jakarta, PT Gramedia Geertz, Clifford (1994), Abangan, Santri, Priyayi Dalam Masyarakat Jawa, Yogyakarta, Pustaka Jaya Koentjaraningrat (1994), Kebudayaan Jawa, Jakarta, Balai Pustaka. Suseno, F.M. (1984), Etika Jawa: Sebuah Analisa Falsafi tentang Kebijaksanaan Hidup Jawa, Jakarta, PT Gramedia Spradley, J.P. (1979), The Ethnographic Interview, Belmont California, Wadworth Publishing Company Suastiwi T riatmodjo (2010), Pemufakatan Dan desakralisasi Ruang Di Permukiman Kauman Yogyakarta. Disertasi Doktor. Yogyakarta: Universitas Gajah Mada. AUT HORS’PROFILE
Cama Juli Rianingrum is a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Design of T risakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia. She is PhD candidate for the Design Program in the Bandung Institute of T echnology (IT B), Bandung, Indonesia. Her promotor is Dr. Agus Sachari, MSn. And second promotor is Dr. Pribadi Widodo, MSn. Her research focuses on the architecture and interior of Java, and Javanese society. Cama is member of the Association of Interior Designer Indonesia (HDII) since 2005-present.
A physical human work of cultural activities, particularly architecture, should be aesthetic and give physical and non physical comfort to its owner. Aesthetics and comfort in architecture can be realized if they are in harmony. Harmony is part of aesthetics, which in Javanese culture is emphasized on rasa (feeling). An architectural work is considered harmonious if it does not intangibly ignite social conflict and gives feelings of comfort, peace, and calmness. The harmony is complete when it causes no tangible visual conflict; the
Dr. Agus Sachari, MSn is an Associate Professor of Faculty of Art and Design in Bandung Institute of T echnology, Indonesia. Dr. Pribadi Widodo, MSn is the Head of Doctoral Programme in the Deaprtment of Fine Arts and Design, Bandung Institute of T echnology, Indonesia.
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