Balinese traditional house

Balinese traditional house refers to the traditional vernacular house of Balinese people in Bali, Indonesia. The Balinese traditional house follows a strict ancient architectural guide which is a product of a blend of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, fused with Austronesian animism, resulting in a house that is "in harmony" with the law of the cosmos of Balinese Hinduism.

As most traditional houses in Indonesia, spatial orientation and hierarchy are crucial considerations in Balinese architecture. The concept is based on the Hindu dharma principle: every objects in the universe is conceived as having an ideal location; this must be correctly aligned at all time in order to achieve harmony with the universe, and thus moksha – the point of liberation where a human achieves a perfect state of being – can be achieved. The placement of objects in Balinese architecture naturally plays an important role to achieve this.

The principle of Balinese architecture — such as the proper size, location, and alignment of building types — is written in the Asta Kosala Kosali. The Asta Kosala Kosali are eight guidelines for architectural designs originally inscribed in ancient Javanese on a lontar (palm-leaf manuscript). According to the Asta Kosala Kosali, the universe is divided in three: buhr (underworld, realm of the demons), buwah (human realm), and swah (heaven, realm of the gods). This cosmic division is reflected in the geography of Bali: the central mountainous area (especially Mount Agung) is seen as the abode of the gods, while the sea is associated with malevolent spirits; the in between coastal plains and foothills represent the human realm.

This hierarchy of realm is reflected in the Balinese cardinal direction. There are two main cardinal directions of Balinese universe: kaja and kelod. Kaja means "to the mountain" (Mount Agung) and refers to anything that is higher or sacred. Kelod means "to the sea" (abode of the demons) and indicates low and profane places. As most of Bali's population live to the south of Mount Agung, the main cardinal direction corresponds to a north-south axis running between the central mountain range (Mount Agung in particular) and the sea; however this can be different with the northern Bali Aga. The secondary directions of Balinese cardinal direction are kangin (where the sun rises, East) and kauh (where the sun sets, West), in this instance kangin is associated with life, and therefore sacred, while the kauh is identified with death and is considered profane. Thus the northeast (kaja kangin) is regarded as the most auspicious direction where family shrines are built, while the southwest (kelod kauh) is the most impure. This cardinal direction concept plays important roles in organizing many aspect of Balinese culture including a Balinese house layout.

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Wikipedia