Traditional Buildings

Rumah Terengganu

Origin : Pulau Rusa, Kuala Terengganu
Age : About 100 years (exact year not known)

This Terengganu house belongs to the "Rumah Tiang Dua Belas" type named after the 12 posts (3 rows of four) which extend from the foundations to the roof.

The main house (Rumah Ibu) is reserved for social ceremonies and served as a sleeping area for the unmarried members of the house. Guests are often entertained in an open verandah at the front of the house ( Serambi or Selasar).

An elaborate process is needed to get suitable materials, especially timber, from the dense jungle of the old days. It is also difficult to transport timber. Thus a house may take up to five years to complete.

The owner may later decide to make additions to the house whenever the need arises and when he has enough money to pay for building materials and labour. The additions for the Terengganu house, the kitchen (Dapur) in the middle house (Rumah Tengah), previously had been move to another location in the village of Pulau Rusa where they are still in use.

The house is built entirely from chengal ( Neobalanocarpus heimii ), one of our best hardwoods which is durable even without treatment. The roof of this house is made of clay tiles known as Singgora , originating from South Thailand . Clay tiles allow for rain water to be absorbed, thus, cooling the inside of the house.

In the cooking area, the inside of the roof is usually covered with soot. The Malays believe that the tiles can be made stronger by the soot. Thus, they would not bother to clean up the blackened tiles