The Architecture of Omah as an Expression of the Beauty of Javanese Culture

Abstract

Javanese people believe that between "containers" with "content" required the balance, alignment, and even harmony that created peace of mind, prosperity in welfare, and prosperity in life. The harmony between the container and the content is symbolized by the existence of the unity concept of the microcosm (human) with the macrocosm (the universe). This paper is intended to reveal the consciousness of Javanese people over the omah (Javanese traditional house) and symbolic meaning of local Javanese wisdom that is loaded with morality and spirituality of life through the expression of omah as an expression of the beauty of Javanese culture. Uncovering consciousness is like unpacking discourse. What is done or discussed in the discourse, as is the case with the architecture of omah, is always the will and power, which in this case is dissected using qualitative methods and descriptive qualitative and interpretive data analysis techniques that use a hermeneutic approach. The results of this study are two conclusions. Firstly, Javanese people put local wisdom into an important part in building the architectural identity of their residence which developed according to Javanese metaphysics and culture itself. Secondly, in Javanese architecture, especially in omah buildings, the symbol of inherent local wisdom is something that has functional and life value, even as an expression of the beauty of Javanese culture which embodies the philosophical message of Javanese view of life. Keywords—discourse, local wisdom, Javanese architecture