Rumah Aceh

photo courtesy by Rania Moda

The Rumah Aceh or Acehnese (traditional) house is a style of architecture formerly common in Aceh.

In Acehnese tradition, the house is oriented North-South. It has been suggested that this is a pre-Islamic Hindu practice, to avoid facing the setting sun and death.Acehnese now interpret that the gable of their houses face Mecca (west).

photo courtesy by Rania Moda

infront of Rumah Aceh.

The Acehnese traditional house is built on stilts, providing shelter for people working or walking underneath it. Family heirlooms are stored in the roof of the house, considered the most sacred part of the building. The house is divided into a front and back, plus a middle section, slightly elevated above the front and back. The middle section contains the bedroom and storage space, the front is where guests and special meals are served, and the back section, containing the kitchen, is where children sleep and where women meet their female guests. In some Rumah Aceh, there are female stairs to the back section in addition to the main stairs at the front of the house. (by Wilkipedia) and thanks to Ms Rania Moda for the pictures, she recently visited Province of Aceh, part of North Sumatra which struck by Indian Ocean  Earthquake and Tsunami in December, 2004.