South Kalimantan is a province on the island of Borneo. This province covers 38,744 km2 and is inhabited by the majority of the Banjar population. Like other provinces, South Kalimantan has distinctive and unique traditional houses. The traditional house in South Kalimantan is called Bubungan Tinggi House. In historical records, the traditional homeland of South Kalimantan has existed since the time of the Banjar Kingdom ruled by Panembahan Sulaiman in the 19th century. However, another version claims that the traditional South Kalimantan house has existed since the beginning of the Banjar kingdom around the mid-16th century AD. Knowing the South Kalimantan Traditional House, The Origins of the South Kalimantan Traditional House As mentioned above,
the South Kalimantan Traditional House has been around for a long time. In fact, written evidence from Dutch archives shows that the Bubungan Tinggi traditional house on the Jingah River, Banjarmasin, is the oldest traditional house in South Kalimantan. This can be seen on the building permit stamp issued by the Dutch government in 1871. From this it can be concluded that the traditional houses of South Kalimantan existed in ancient times before the independence of Indonesia. Apart from Bubungan Tinggi, this South Kalimantan traditional house has another name. Such as the houses of Baanjung, Gajah Baliku, Gajah Manyusu, Palimasan, Palimbangan, Balai Bini, Balai Laki and Anjung Sarong.
However, it is the Bubungan Tinggi house that has the most complex and distinctive architecture and is known as the traditional house of South Kalimantan. The origins of traditional houses in South Kalimantan are really interesting to discuss. If you are interested in finding a typical South Kalimantan traditional house, various sources report that the South Kalimantan traditional house called Bubungan Tinggi has several unique and significant philosophies. This house symbolizes the unification of the world above and the world below. This can be seen in the carving of a disguised hornbill at the far end of the house's roof, symbolizing the wildlife above. For their part, the sculptures of dragons, also disguised, represent the underworld. Dragon carvings are found at the ends of the circles or boards that surround the floor of the house. The carvings are deliberately disguised because, according to the teachings of the Islamic religion to which the residents adhere, it is not allowed to sculpt living things clearly.
The general shape of the house represents the tree of life, and the tree itself represents the balance and harmony between man, man and nature, and man and god. As part of the river culture of the Banjar people living in South Kalimantan, the house deliberately faces the river. The river has many functions for the Banjar tribe, from transportation to providing drinking water.
