The Ancestral Heritage: Sundanese Traditional Houses Of Kampung Naga, West Java, Indonesia

Interior Design Department, Art and Design Faculty, Maranatha Christian University, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

^a tessaeka82@gmail.com

Abstract

Sundanese are the largest indigenous ethnic group in the western part of Java Island. Sundanese culture closely relates to Animist, Hindu-Buddhist, and Islam philosophies. It led to the unique creation of the Sundanese traditional houses called Rumah Adat in Kampung Naga where the ancient tradition from their ancestor were upheld until today. Kampung Naga was listed as one of the Sundanese traditional villages known as Kampung Adat in West Java. This village has its own characteristics which enable the conveyance of tremendous tradition from the past, since the reign of Padjajaran Kingdom to the present. Additionally, it has the ability to accelerate globalization of culture these days. The objectives of this paper are to reintroduce and observe the in-depth meaning of Sundanese traditional houses within Kampung Naga. This paper employed qualitative investigation with the support of exploratory literature review. The result of this study portrayed that Sundanese traditional village are depicted as sacred spaces when the founder, the belief, and the nature spirit are interrelated. Thus, the creation of traditional houses in Kampung Naga does not only serve as shelters, but it also has “breath”, “soul” and may embody cosmological value. This paper is prominent in the documentation of Sundanese traditional buildings as one of cultural identity of Indonesia, which will deliver the cultural knowledge to the world wide.