Visiting Woloan Village, Minahasa Traditional House Craftsmen

Helloindonesia.id – There is a different view when crossing a village on Jalan Raya Tomohon, namely a series of Minahasa traditional houses lined along the left and right of the road. From around the houses the sound of chainsaws burst out, this is where the workers are busy with the wood which is the raw material for making houses.

The community knows him as Woloan Village, a village in West Tomohon District, North Sulawesi, where most of the residents work as makers of Minahasa traditional houses. Fari, one of the craftsmen, said that the houses were made to be sold, not to be lived in by themselves. The price is fantastic, because it reaches hundreds of millions of rupiah.

“Usually, if you want to buy, you order first, the size, the motive. If people buy it still in the Minahasa area, we take it by truck, we unload the finished house, then install it again at the destination. If outsiders buy it, we take it with us. containers. There are also many orders from abroad, such as Japan, the Philippines,” Fari continued.

Generally, Minahasa traditional houses are made of iron wood, considering that this type of wood is considered to have a strong structure and can last for hundreds of years. The raw material for iron wood, which is supplied from the Bolaang Mongodow area, is then processed and arranged, starting from making the foundation, stakes, to the shape of a house with several rooms in it.

Minahasa traditional houses generally consist of several rooms, including a dining room, living room, bedroom, as well as an additional bathroom and kitchen. According to the book History and Culture of Minahasa written by Jessy Wenas, in the past, Minahasa traditional house buildings were made with the tie technique, which is attached to a tall tree. This is done to avoid flooding and disturbance of wild animals.

In 1850, a researcher from the Netherlands, DR WR Van Hoevell, noted a change that occurred in the traditional house used by the Minahasa tribe. Starting from a house attached to a tree, then turned into a long house, and what has survived until now is the Minahasa traditional house in the form of a stage. The Minahasa traditional house in the form of a stage consists of two types, namely stone pillars (Wale Weiwangin) and wooden beam pillars (Wale Meito’tol). This second type is the model for the Minahasa houses that are traded in Woloan Village.

The stilt house is smaller than the long house. This house is only inhabited by one family. An open front room without walls is called loloan (fores). Going deeper, you will find several rooms, such as the living room, bedroom, and attic which are used to store crops or also used as a place to dry clothes. At the back there is a kitchen room (rarampoan). Uniquely, the kitchen is made attached to the back of the main house to avoid fires.

The Minahasa stilt house has two stairs, namely on the left and right. The main pillar of the house is called Ari’i, which has an entrance at the top. On the body of the house there is a window (tetemboan), on that part carved decorations in the form of pictures of flowers or plants. The construction of a beam that crosses over a longitudinal beam is called kalawit. While the construction in the form of the letter ‘X’ is called sumpeleng. These constructions are interrelated and form a solid foundation for the house. Uniquely, even though the construction parts are glued together without using a single nail, when an earthquake occurs, the Minahasa traditional house will only shift without experiencing any collapse of the parts.

source : indonesiakaya.com

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