Rumah gadang (Minangkabau: "big house") or rumah bagonjong (Minangkabau: "spired roof house")

are the traditional homes (Indonesian: "rumah adat") of the Minangkabau. The architecture,
construction, internal and external decoration, and the functions of the house reflect the culture and
values of the Minangkabau. A rumah gadang serves as a residence, a hall for family meetings, and for
ceremonial activities. In the matrilineal Minangkabau society, the rumah gadang is owned by the
women of the family who live there; ownership is passed from mother to daughter.
The houses have dramatic curved roof structure with multi-tiered, upswept gables. Shuttered windows
are built into walls incised with profuse painted floral carvings. The term rumah gadang usually refers
to the larger communal homes, however, smaller single residences share many of its architectural
elements.[1]
Background

Location of West Sumatra home of the Minangkabau

Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world and since the time of Marco Polo has been referred to as
the 'island of gold'. It is the most resource-rich island of Indonesia, including its tea, pepper and rubber
plantations, and oil, tin and other mineral resources.[2] Lying on the equator, Sumatra has a monsoonal
climate and, although more rain falls between October and May, there is no extended rainless dry
season. Despite large-scale deforestation, Sumatra still has millions of acres of unexploited rainforests
that provide building materials. The great hardwood trees required for large scale construction are now,
however, in strictly limited supply.[2]
Sumatra is home to one of the most diverse range of peoples in the Southeast Asian archipelago.[2]
This diversity is reflected in a range variety of often dramatic traditional homes known as rumah adat.
The most common housing forms have traditionally been wooden and raised on piles, built of locally
gathered materials, with steeply pitched, roofs. In addition to the Minangkabau's rumah gadang, the
Batak of Lake Toba region build the boat-shaped jabu with dominating carved gables and dramatic
oversize roofs, and the people of Nias build the fortified omo sebua houses on massive ironwood pillars
with towering roof structures.
The Minangkabau are indigenous to the highlands of central Sumatra. Their culture is matrilineal, with
property and land being passed down from mother to daughter; religious and political affairs are the
province of men. The Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but also follow their own ethnic traditions, or
adat. Minangkabau adat was derived from animistic and Hindu beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and
remnants of animistic beliefs exist even among some practicing Muslims. As such, women are
customarily the property owners; husbands are only tolerated in the house at certain times and under
special conditions and must return to their sisters' house to sleep.[3] Complementing this practice is the
custom of merantau whereby many of the men will travel far afield for work, returning only
periodically to their village of origin. Money earned on these trips is remitted for the building of
contemporary rumah adat.[3]
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Form


The external walls of a rumah gadang are covered with motifs, each having a symbolic meaning
A communal rumah gadang is a long house, rectangular in plan, with multiple gables and upsweeping
ridges, forming buffalo horn-like ends. They normally have three-tiered projections, each with varying
floor levels. They are broad and set on wooden piles that can reach as high as 3 metres (10 ft) off the
ground; sometimes with a verandah running along the front face of the house which is used as a
reception and dining area, and as a sleeping place for guests. Unlike the Batak Toba homes, where the
roof essentially creates the living space, the Minangkabau roof rests on conventional walls. Cooking
and storage areas are often in separate buildings.

A rumah gadang and rangkiang in 1910

The house is largely constructed of wood; an exception being the rear longitudinal wall which is a plain
lattice woven in a chequered pattern from split bamboo. The roof is of a truss and cross-beam
construction and is typically covered with thatch from the fibre of the sugar palm (ijuk), the toughest
thatch material available and said to last a hundred years.[4] The thatch is laid in bundles which can be
easily fitted to the curved, multi-gabled roof. Contemporary homes, however, are more frequently using
corrugated iron in place of thatch. Roof finials are formed from thatch bound by decorative metal
bindings and drawn into points said to resemble buffalo horns an allusion to a legend concerning a
battle between two water buffaloes from which the 'Minangkabau' name is thought to have been
derived. The roof peaks themselves are built up out of many small battens and rafters.
The women who share the house have sleeping quarters set into alcoves traditionally odd in number
that are set in a row against the rear wall and curtained off by the vast interior space of the main
living area. Traditionally, large communal rumah gadang will be surrounded by smaller homes built for
married sisters and daughters of the parent family. It is the responsibility of the women's maternal uncle
to ensure that each marriageable woman in the family has a room of her own. To this end he will build
either a new house or, more commonly, annexes to the original one. It is said that the number of
married daughters in a home can be told by the counting its horn-like extensions; as they are not always
added symmetrically, rumah gadang can sometimes look unbalanced.[5] Adolescent boys traditionally
live in the village surau, a small mosque.
Architectural elements

Interior of the Pagaruyung Palace, showing the long common area of a rumah gadang. The two-level
floor is a symbolic element specific to the palace.
Each element of a rumah gadang has its own symbolic meaning, which is referred to in adat speech and
aphorisms. The elements of a rumah gadang includes:
gonjong, hornlike roof structure
singkok, triangular wall under the ends of gonjong

 pereng, shelf under the singkok

anjuang, raised floor at the end of one style of rumah gadang
dindiang ari, the walls on the side elevations
dindiang tapi, the walls on the front and back elevations
papan banyak, front facade
papan sakapiang, a shelf or middle band on the periphery of the house
salangko, wall enclosing space under a house that has been built on stilts
Some symbolisms of the house, for example, relate to the gonjong reaching to god and the dindiang
tapi, which is traditionally made of plaited strips of bamboo, symbolizing the strength and utility of the
community which is formed when individual Minangkabau become part of the larger community
instead of standing alone.
The pillars of the ideal rumah gadang are arranged in five rows which run the length of the house.
These rows divide the interior into four long spaces called lanjar. The lanjar at the rear of the house is
divided into bedrooms (ruang). According to adat, a rumah gadang must have at least five ruang, and
the ideal number is nine. The other lanjar are used as a common area, called the labuah gajah (elephant
road), for living and ceremonial events.
A number of rice barns (rangkiang) ideally accompany a rumah gadang, with each having a different
name and function. The rangkiang sitinjau lauik, contains rice for the family, particularly for adat
ceremonies. The rangkiang sitangka lapa contains rice for donation to poor villagers and for times of
famine in the village. The rangkiang sibayau-bayau contains rice for the daily needs of the family

2. How to Make Tomato Soup

To make a bowl of tomato soup, you must prepare all ingredients below:
4 large tomatoes
spices
1 small onion
teaspoon of salt
8 cups of water
teaspoon of pepper

small clove garlic

teaspoon of butter
Here are the steps to make a bowl of tomato soup:
Cut tomatoes, onions, and garlic into small pieces.
Fry them in a pan with butter for five minutes.
Add water, spices, salt and pepper.
Heat until the water boils.
Turn down the heat and cover with lid. Cook gently for one hour