There is no doubt that Malaysia is a country in the same family as Indonesia, namely the Malay family, but I did not expect that there was a moment when I was walking in a park in the center of Kuala Lumpur City that I found one of the typical Indonesian traditional houses displayed there. This building stands near the State Museum in that country. At first I was doubtful that my thoughts were wrong but it turned out that I was right that it was an authentic Acehnese traditional house displayed here. And this traditional Acehnese house was built very similar to the original, including every detail in the house.
This building, which is made of 95 percent wood with a dominant black color, is really well maintained. I didn't find any insects there. And the building was built on two floors, exactly like the original house, because Acehnese traditional houses are built on two floors to avoid natural conditions around them, for example flooding, animals around the house and the ground floor can also be used to place farming equipment for local residents. I walked around the house and everything exceeded my expectations, including the shape of an Acehnese grave there, but this is not a real grave but only a replica where they will only show the shape of the tombstones in the tomb. The gravestone carvings show the shape of Acehnese culture. And this tombstone is deliberately fenced so that no nosy visitors will kick the tombstone and so that visitors do not feel afraid of assuming that the tombstone is actually a grave containing a body inside.
To go up to the second floor there is a staircase with a stair railing that has carvings after I learned that the carving motif used on Acehnese houses in Kuala Lumpur is the Bungong Meurante motif in the local Aceh language itself which means Meranti flower motif. And this motif is one of the original motifs carved from Aceh. Almost all of the carvings use Acehnese motifs, which are not just one motif but there are also several other motifs on the side walls of the building.
Apart from the carvings which are so authentic to the original. I can also see the shape of the roof of the triangular attic building which is conical upwards with two layers there. However, what is different about the roof is that if the original Acehnese house in Indonesia comes from palm grass leaves, it is different from the Acehnese traditional house in Kuala Lumpur, they use earthen tiles as the roof. But that's okay because it doesn't change the original meaning of the Acehnese house replica. And I am very grateful that they want to accept our culture to be introduced in their country too.
And in the yard of the Acehnese house, I also saw a pillar with the same carvings, but this motif was not the Meranti Flower motif, but another motif which I myself have limited knowledge of. Obviously you can all find the different motifs here. However, the Acehnese carving motifs themselves have a general meaning, namely harmony between humans and nature itself and there are elements of religion and customs of the Acehnese people in them as well.
Apart from all that, I am quite proud of the existence of one of my cultural heritages in this country. Thank you for reading my blog and greetings from me maytom, Indonesia.
