Moving houses can be a problem at times. From the strategy on how to pack your possessions to calling the lorry guy to move your belongings to unload things after you move to somewhere else.
While some may at present ponder if it is even possible to move a house ‘in a real sense’, people in Sulawesi with the assistance of tourists had lifted a 6-ton house to around 150 meters from its original area with their bare hands. Around 150 individuals joined the task where they effectively lifted the 80-year-old house.
In reality, these individuals did not just sort out this task for entertainment. The task depended on a genuine tradition of moving house in Sulawesi that is famous among the Buginese.
In this article, we will talk more about the Buginese tradition of moving house. In case you are intrigued, go check it out down below.
Information on Buginese Tradition of Moving House
- Stage House
Stage house has been broadly adopted by the customary house of different clans in Indonesia, for instance, Minangkabau Gadang house, Aceh house, Joglo house, Tongkonan house, Lamin house, and Bugis ancestral house. The state of the house expands in reverse with the expansion close to the main structure and the front.
The house also has a prism-shaped rooftop and has its own significance for the Buginese. The Buginese believe that the universe is partitioned into three sections: the upper (botting langi), the middle (alang tengah), and the lower (pertiwi).
This conviction is then reflected in the structure of a traditional Bugis stage house. The structure of the house is intentionally made ‘loose’, so it tends to be easy to move it from one spot to the next.
It is definitely one of the popular traditional houses in Indonesia.
- Sacred House
As indicated by the Buginese, a house is something beyond shelter with all its beauty, but also a sacred thing. It is a sacred space where the occupants experience born, marriage, passing, and different religious experiences.
Mortgage holders in Sulawesi usually do the moving house tradition on the grounds that the land used to assemble a house on stilts has been sold. Along these lines, they have to move their house to another spot.
You might want to read traditional houses of North Sumatra.
- Houses Showing Ranks
Most Buginese has held their traditional types of unique houses, now and then three meters or more off the ground, with board walls and floors. Only the most unfortunate have thatch walls.
Rooftops are presently quite often made of folded iron. The quantity of tiers showing up on the front peak demonstrates the position of the householder.
- Two Ways to Move the House
In the Bugis tradition, the convention of moving the house is alluded to as “Mappalette Bola” and there are two different ways to move a house. The first method is by way of push.
This is done when the new home position is adjacent to the old house position. While the second method is by way of lift.
This is done if the distance of the new house position is very far from the old house position.
- Preparation
Before the tradition starts, there are arrangements made by the mortgage holder, for example, holding ritual salvation, cutting down broken house furniture or those that can influence the heaviness of the house at the hour of lifting to introducing bamboo on the legs of the house on braces as handles and holders for people to carry. Before the house is moved, people who are happy to help will usually be hosted by the proprietor of the house.
Traditional Buginese snacks, for example, barongko, bacon cake, suwella, and some hot tea and espresso will be introduced before the people who will assist with moving the house. All these snacks are appetizing Indonesian traditional snacks.
- Celebration
The subsequent host is done after the tradition of moving house is finished. This is as an end-result of their assistance in moving the house and as a “cure” for the tiredness subsequent to working hard.
Regular foods that are served on this occasion are soup and milkfish that are seasoned with peanut sauce. The Buginese consider this cycle as a festival or a big party.
- Maccera Bola
After the said house was moved to another area and was one year old, then a ceremony called Maccera Bola was held. This ceremony is meant to dismiss the ‘lack of good fortune’ in the new spot by sweeping the chicken blood on the posts of the house.
By and by, this ceremony is driven by a local shaman or craftsman who manufactures a house on stilts.
So, this is the information on the Buginese tradition of moving house you should know. While you are at it, check out the local cuisines of North Sulawesi and delicious Indonesian staple foods.
