HOUSES IN INDONESIA

A typical village house on Java is small and rectangular and built on the ground rather rather than on stilts. It has a thatch roof, earthen floor, and small compartments that divided by movable bamboo panels.House styles are often defined by roof style. Village houses usually have have brick walls and a tiled roof. High status families tend to live in houses with large open pavilions in the front.

Traditional houses, built according to the customary styles of specific ethnic groups, have long served as markers of identity. While these structures are still found in rural areas, often in more or less “pure” forms, elements of their design have also been incorporated into urban architecture, including government offices, banks, markets, and private homes. [Source: Clark E. Cunningham, Countries and Their Cultures, Gale Group Inc., 2001]

However, the number of traditional houses in rural villages has been declining. During both the Dutch colonial period and after independence, authorities encouraged the construction of “modern” homes—typically rectangular buildings with windows and standardized layouts. Even so, in some regions such as West Sumatra, successful migrants returning from cities have financed the restoration or construction of traditional houses as a visible sign of prosperity.

Elsewhere, displays of status take a more modern form, with families building houses of stone and tile, often featuring expensive glass windows. In urban areas, older colonial-era homes are frequently renovated by wealthier owners, who update their façades with contemporary designs. Architectural features once associated with colonial public buildings—such as Roman-style columns—have become popular decorative elements in private residences, reflecting a blend of historical influence and modern aspiration.

House Construction in Indonesia

Building materials are typically drawn from the local environment—wood, bamboo, grasses, clay, and stone. Many houses are raised on piers or stilts, sometimes quite high in flood-prone areas. Their construction relies on post-and-beam techniques, with joints secured by pegs, joinery, or lashings rather than nails. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

Floors may have gaps between hand-cut boards, and walls—often made of woven palm leaves, bamboo, or grass—can develop openings over time. Structurally, vertical posts bear the weight of the house, while walls play a minimal role and are often added later as lightweight partitions for privacy. Because of this openness, animals such as chickens, cats, and dogs, and even insects like centipedes, can easily enter the home.

Structural posts play a crucial role in Indonesian architecture. In many regions—including Java, Sumba, Sumatra, Timor, and Lombok—four posts support the central roof. These are not merely functional elements; each carries symbolic and spiritual significance and is involved in rituals intended to ensure the well-being of both the house and its inhabitants.

In Java, construction rituals include carefully crafted joinery techniques, such as mortise-and-tenon joints, that are imbued with symbolic meaning. The “male” tenon fits into the “female” mortise, representing a union that reflects ideas of balance, harmony, and procreation. This symbolism may echo older Hindu concepts such as the lingga–yoni, though similar male–female dualities are also central to indigenous belief systems across Indonesia, even in regions less directly influenced by Indian traditions.

House Customs in Indonesia

Traditional buildings require more maintenance than modern constructions. The main problems are how to preserve wooden materials from decay due to tropical weather and termite infestation. As Indonesia continues its process of industrialisation, traditional skills used to construct and maintain traditional houses are gradually being lost. An effort to preserve the indigenous architectural styles of the Indonesian archipelago has been conducted through documentation and the creation of replicas in the provincial pavilions at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. [Source: Wikipedia +] According to expat.or.id: “People in Indonesia tend to use mothballs a lot, not only in closets but also in bathrooms as an air freshener. Frequently bathrooms are poorly ventilated and mothballs are used to cover up smells, inhibit the growth of fungus. You'll often see a few mothballs sitting on the drain cover to keep cockroaches at bay. [Source: expat.or.id ]

The notion of privacy—pribadi—is relatively recent, having been borrowed from European languages. Traditionally, Indonesian homes are lively and communal, filled with extended family members and frequent visitors rather than oriented toward individual seclusion. One Indonesian author describes what living in a Sumatran communal Minangkabau great house was like as a boy: My mother occupied one of the cramped rooms, and there I was born. I would say it was like being born in a barracks, since there were more than forty people living in that house at the time. The seven girls all had children, half of them themselves had children, and every night seven unfamiliar men came to the house, that is, the husbands of the seven women. One can imagine how noisy the place was, what with all these individual needs, dispositions, and behaviors colliding. Morning, noon, and night it was one big hullabaloo.

How Indonesians Perceive Their Houses

Indonesians tend to view their homes in ways that differ markedly from Western perspectives. While houses do provide shelter, they are often treated with a level of reverence usually reserved for living beings. Their construction—covering design, materials, layout, location, and the rituals that accompany them—must follow adat (customary law), ancestral traditions, and local beliefs about spirits. The people who live in these dwellings are also thought to influence their spiritual condition over time, shaping either a harmonious or troubled environment. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

Across Indonesia, the idea of a “house” extends far beyond a simple family residence. Many types of structures, including those serving non-domestic purposes, are still considered houses. An anthropologist from Timor, for example, identified 32 categories under the Tetun term uma, such as the “sitting place house,” “birth place house,” “amulet house,” “mother elder sister younger sister house,” “sea house,” and even the “ugly house.” In Indonesian, the general word rumah refers broadly to buildings, while rumah tangga specifies a household. The word tangga, meaning ladder, reflects the traditional use of ladders to access elevated homes—a practice that continues in some areas today.

Unlike Western homes, which typically combine all domestic functions under one roof, Indonesian households are often spread across multiple structures. These divisions may reflect practical needs, social hierarchy within the family, or beliefs about spiritually favorable or dangerous spaces. As a result, the meanings attached to “home” in Indonesia are layered and complex, differing significantly from the Western idea of a private, self-contained residence.

Tim Ingold, a British anthropologist, wrote: “The more effort is expended on built forms, the more architecture mediates our experience of the world, even as it may continue to mirror the social construction of cosmological ideas. In modern industrial societies, the process has reached such an extreme that buildings maroon us inside gigantic bubbles of artiﬁcial climate, within which we pass our whole lives without ever touching ground or knowing where food comes from. Among the animist peoples of the Austronesian world, however, the fragmenting of a holistic worldview appears to be deliberately resisted. In these cosmologies, humans still participate in nature on very much the same terms as everything else….The house, too, vegetal like its surroundings, shares in the life force which animates the universe; like everything else in the environment, it is viewed as a subjective entity with which interaction and communication are possible. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

A universal life force shapes the Indonesian concept of semangat, a term that conveys “spirit,” “vitality,” or “soul.” This energy is believed to infuse not only individuals but also gatherings, places, music, and even buildings, giving them a sense of life and positive force. Ideas about spirits, social rank, ancestors, and broader cosmological principles like semangat, together with the importance of ritual and adat (customary law), are deeply interconnected and underpin much of Indonesian social and cultural life. When these beliefs and practices are seriously disrupted, the balance of individuals, communities, and social order can break down.

House Designs in Indonesia

Across Indonesia, houses with ritual and cultural importance are known as rumah adat, meaning “customary” or “traditional house,” but also implying a ceremonial center. These structures follow precise and often ancient rules governing their orientation, location, construction methods, materials, proportions, and interior arrangements. They frequently house sacred heirlooms (pusaka), reinforcing their role as spiritual and clan centers. People tend to judge and admire such houses by their size, the intricacy of their carvings or painted decorations, and the dramatic flair of their architecture—especially the layered or sweeping forms of their roofs. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

In contrast, the interiors of these houses are more private and typically less ornate. While they may contain sacred spaces, symbolic posts, and important heirlooms, they also represent the everyday domain of family life. Compared to the exterior, interior decoration carries less status value. Much about the inside of a rumah adat remains intentionally concealed, including sleeping areas, the placement of sacred objects, and designs related to family crafts. Because of this, visitors may sense a certain unease when looking too closely inside, as doing so could be seen as intrusive or even disruptive to the household’s social and spiritual balance.

Daily life often unfolds outside these enclosed interiors. Many Indonesians prefer to sit and receive guests on porches, raised platforms, or open pavilions known as balé (or balai). When visitors arrive, hosts commonly lay out a woven mat, called a tikar, to welcome them.

In recent decades, the Indonesian government has promoted simpler, standardized housing as part of modernization efforts, particularly in the interest of public health. In places like West Timor, entire villages were relocated into such planned settlements, with houses aligned along roads—transforming traditional spatial organization and, in many cases, disrupting older patterns of community life. These newer dwellings, often referred to as rumah sehat (“healthy houses”), contrast with rumah adat.

Typically, rumah sehat are modest, single-story concrete structures with low, corrugated metal roofs and ventilated windows. They usually include a living room, a few bedrooms, and a small dining area, along with access to a well or running water. Kitchens and bathrooms are often located in separate structures at the back. In form and function, these houses resemble mid-20th-century low-cost suburban housing found in countries like the United States or Australia, reflecting a broader push toward standardized, modern living environments.

Rooms and Spaces in Indonesian Houses

Indonesian homes are often organized into three distinct levels: the space beneath the roof, the main living area, and the ground below a raised floor. The uppermost section—within the rafters or attic—is typically the largest and most symbolically important. It may serve as a sacred space for ancestral spirits and a place to store family heirlooms, while also expressing the status and prestige of the household. Striking examples of houses with elaborate roof structures can be found among groups such as the Minangkabau, Batak, Toraja, and communities on Sumba. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

The central living area is where daily life unfolds, while the open space beneath the house—elevated on stilts—often shelters animals such as chickens, pigs, dogs, and sometimes even water buffalo, or serves as a place where they forage for scraps. This vertical arrangement reflects both practical needs and cultural meanings tied to hierarchy and the relationship between humans, animals, and the spirit world.

Indonesians often live in close connection with their natural surroundings, and parts of their homes are frequently open to the outdoors. Although these dwellings are swept and maintained daily, they differ greatly from the more sealed and sanitized environments typical of many Western homes, reflecting instead a way of life closely tied to nature. The historian Anthony Reid wrote: Even in the biggest cities Southeast Asians lived in a dispersed pattern of single-story, elevated, wooden houses surrounded by trees. The disposal of household refuse was for the most part left to the pigs, chickens, or dogs which foraged beneath the house, and to the seasonal ﬂoods which carried everything away once a year. The open and elevated styles of house at least kept it free of the worst accumulations of decaying debris, in a way which was impossible in the congested cities of Europe, the Middle East, or China before the era of rubbish collection and sewage.

Spaces in Houses as Indicators Social Status in Indonesia

Social status in Indonesia is especially visible in the organization of domestic space. Status distinctions—based on age, rank, or social standing—are reflected in how people occupy and move within homes. In many regions, when a person of higher status arrives at a porch or seating platform used to receive guests, those of lower rank will shift from central or elevated positions to lower or more marginal places. Some may even step down from the platform entirely and sit on the ground, while a chair may be brought forward specifically for the honored guest, leaving others seated on mats. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

In Bali, where caste remains a key element of identity, such distinctions are subtly encoded in everyday interactions. People may inquire about one another’s social position by asking, “Where do you sit?”, referring to the level they would occupy in a shared space. Architectural design often accommodates these differences: pavilions may include multiple tiers or steps, allowing individuals of varying rank and age to be seated appropriately. Social hierarchy is deeply embedded in Balinese life, forming what has been described as a “hierarchy of pride” that underpins village organization, family relations, and broader social structures.

Similar patterns are found elsewhere in the archipelago. In eastern Sumba, for example, a rigid three-tiered caste system—comprising nobles, commoners, and slaves—continues to influence social behavior. Seating arrangements strictly reflect these divisions, with lower-status individuals occupying peripheral or lower positions, or sometimes remaining at a distance from elite households altogether. Shared meals across caste lines are rare, as such interactions can cause significant discomfort for those of lower status.

These practices are reinforced by beliefs about lineage and inherited status. In several regions, including Sumba, Bali, and parts of Sulawesi and Java, ideas about the purity of bloodlines underpin social stratification. Lower castes may be described in terms that reflect perceived biological inferiority, contributing to social distance in both symbolic and physical terms. Within households, this can extend to living arrangements, with lower-status individuals often relegated to less desirable spaces, such as separate kitchen buildings.

Bathrooms in Indonesian Houses

Bathrooms in Indonesia are typically simple and utilitarian, often lacking decorative features and sometimes marked by the presence of tropical mold on walls and ceilings. Many foreign visitors are struck by the widespread use of squat toilets, which, despite being made of the same porcelain as Western-style fixtures, can feel unfamiliar. Indonesian bathrooms—commonly called kamar mandi (“bathing room”) or kamar kecil (“little room”)—are frequently located at the back of a house or even in a separate structure across a yard. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

These spaces serve both for bathing and bodily functions. Bathing is usually done using a plastic dipper to pour water over the body from a cistern rather than through a shower. Indonesians typically bathe multiple times a day and place a strong emphasis on personal cleanliness. At the same time, bathrooms are often viewed as necessary but impure spaces associated with bodily waste, and are treated with a certain degree of reserve or discomfort. As a result, they are kept functional rather than decorative, and efforts to create aesthetically pleasing environments are uncommon outside more affluent, Western-influenced households.

In rural areas, toilets may consist of simple pits enclosed by basic shelters, always accompanied by a container of water for washing and flushing. Bathing may take place in rivers or inside the home using buckets, with water poured over the body and draining through gaps in the floor. In traditional homes, women may bathe in the kitchen area. Even in wealthier households where bathrooms are tiled and well maintained, the emphasis remains on practicality rather than design. Because bodily substances are sometimes associated with illness or even spiritual danger, people often rinse a bathroom before use, even if it appears clean.

Privacy in bathing is highly valued, as nudity is generally considered shameful in much of Indonesia. Bathrooms are therefore typically enclosed, often without windows. Historically, Indonesians have placed greater importance on bodily cleanliness, grooming, and dress than on the appearance of interiors or furnishings. Water is widely believed to purify and remove pollution, a belief reflected in everyday practices of washing. In the past, people commonly used rivers for bathing and sanitation, trusting the flowing water to carry away impurities.

Kitchens in Indonesian Houses

Indonesian kitchens, known as dapur, are typically located at the back of the house. Traditionally, cooking took place in a recessed area within the home, using a wood fire. Smoke would escape through openings near the roof or filter out through thatch or woven walls. During the colonial period, the Dutch encouraged the construction of separate kitchen buildings behind the main house to reduce indoor smoke and provide more space for cooking, storage, and cleaning. [Source: Jill Forshee, “Culture and Customs of Indonesia”, Greenwood Press, 2006]

In some parts of eastern Indonesia, traditional indoor hearths are still used, but most households today prepare food in detached kitchens. Many have also shifted from wood fires to propane stoves. Like bathrooms, kitchens are treated as practical, work-focused spaces with little emphasis on decoration, and they are generally not used for eating.

The move to separate kitchens has also influenced patterns of family life. Some observers note that it contributed to a greater division between men and women within the household. In many cases, older boys and men eat together in the main house or on a front porch, while women and children dine in or near the kitchen at the back. At the same time, many Indonesian homes—especially in urban areas—now include designated dining spaces, whether furnished with tables and chairs or simply a woven mat where family members gather to share meals.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources:“Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 5: East/Southeast Asia:” edited by Paul Hockings, 1993; “Culture and Customs of Indonesia” by Jill Forshee, Greenwood Press, 2006; National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Encyclopedia.com, Library of Congress, Indonesia Tourism website (indonesia.travel), Indonesia government websites, Live Science, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Google AI, Wikipedia, The Guardian and various websites, books and other publications.

Last updated April 2026