Relocating house Perlis style
KUALA LUMPUR: Back in the old days, moving house for the Malays literally meant carrying the whole house to its new location.
The practice called ‘ usung rumah’ (relocating the house) was very much a collective effort or ‘gotong royong’ in the villages. However, this traditional practice is moving into oblivion as the people adopt the modern way of life.
The increasing presence of modern houses made of brick and concrete in villages has put the brakes on the traditional house shifting practice.
A cultural observer, Mokhtar Abdul Karim, 74, shared that the house relocation activity usually involved short distances, though it might have to pass rivers or other hurdles along the way.
So what drives the people to bring along their houses to a new location?
“There are people who love their houses so much so that when they move they bring along their house with them,” he told Bernama.
Mokhtar, a veteran novelist who goes under the pen name Mokhtar AK, said another reason is that the house structure was purchased by another party and therefore needs to be transferred to a new location chosen by the buyer.
A majority of the youths today may not have heard of this practice, what more seeing it being done.
For senior citizen Sum Sanapi, 81, her house was carried over 500 metres from its original location in Kampung Belanga Pudak, Perlis more than 40 years ago.
The house was then situated on the outskirts close to a bamboo jungle and near a cemetery.
“After the house was carried across the canal to the new location, a smaller house like structure that served as a silo to store the paddy (in those days every house will have one of this) was also carried over to the same place,” said the woman who now resides in Telok Kachang.
She said the new location was more strategic as it was near a canal filled with fish and close to a palm forest, thus providing a source of income.
Preparations to relocate begun by building a crossing using palm trunks to carry the house across the canal.
“There was no modern machinery then so we had to do things manually, which included cutting down the palm trunks and carrying it one by one,” she recalled.
Based on Bernama’s observation, the distance for house relocation is limited to two kilometres. Houses that need to be moved further than this distance would have to be dismantled and carried by trucks before being reassembled at the same location.
The process of relocating the house begins with an announcement to the villagers that their assistance is needed to relocate a house. Sometimes this is done by the imam at the mosque after Friday prayers.
The house-owner would stand next to the imam when the announcement is made so that the congregation knows of the owner and his intentions.
Normally houses would be relocated a week after the announcement is made, but there were also occasions where the move was done earlier.
Besides making an announcement at the mosque, the owner would also seek the cooperation from the village heads or community leaders and neighbours to carry out the activity.
Before a house could be moved, bamboo poles were tied horizontally to the floor structure of the house and they act like a stretcher.
The house itself would be emptied of all furniture and belongings to lighten the load.
Bernama, who has witnessed and taken part in the activity before, found that despite of the weight it is still possible to carry the house.
However, those carrying the house have to be careful because if one of the bearers fall, he may be trampled by the others as once in motion there is no way to make a sudden stop.
This activity if viewed from above, would look like a swarm of ants carrying food.
The strength of at least 50 people are needed to move a small house, while a bigger house requires more helping hands.
Besides the bearers carrying the house, there is the ‘tekong’ or lead man who plays an important role in coordinating the move and ensure that the house does not hit a tree branch above or other obstacles.
The lead man would inform of any obstructions including tree stumps, uneven terrain, ditches and holes so the bearers can take precautions.
Loud cheers and cries also accompany them while they executed their task in a uniform manner, with the lead man’s voice being distinctively louder so that it could be heard by everyone taking part in the effort.
He would also let the others know when they have reached the new site while the others would lay the foundation for the pillars so that the house could be set at the location as planned.
When it is over, participants of the gotong royong will be served a sweet porridge or fried ‘beehoon’ and coffee as a token of appreciation.
Both the bearers and the owners have a reason to feel proud seeing the house standing in a new location, due to their collective effort and their physical strength.
Meanwhile, a number of house relocation activities have been detected i n Perlis since 2010 including i n Kampung Wang Belimbing, Kampung Sena, Kampung Jarak and Kampung Katong.
Besides relocating houses, residents also relocate the paddy silos with the most recent one taking place in Gial, Perlis in early March.
However, the days are numbered for this practice as the wooden houses are increasingly replaced with brick and concrete houses. - Bernama