Pendopo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pendopo is a fundamental element of Javanese architecture; a large pavilion-like structure built on columns. Either square or rectangular in plan, it is open on all sides and provides shelter from the sun and rain, but allows breeze and indirect light. The word pendopo is a variant on the Sanskrit word mandapa ('hall'). The Dutch writer Multatuli in his colonial reformist novel Max Havelaar described the pendopo as "next to a broad-rimmed hat, an umbrella or a hollow tree, a pendopo is undoubtedly the simplest representation there is of the concept of 'roof'".
Derived from ancient Javanese architectural elements, pendopo are common ritual spaces primarily intended for ceremony, and also for a variety of purposes such as receiving guests in the compounds of wealthy Javanese, and even as cottage industry work spaces.
They once sheltered the institutions of ancient Javanese kingdoms, such as law courts, clergy, and for public appearances of the king and his ministers. They remain fundamental components of Javanese kraton ('palaces') with European influences often being incorporated since the 18th century. The majority of pendopo are constructed from timber but masonry versions are in existence such as used in the Kraton Kanoman in Cirebon. Wealthy modern day home builders, in attempting to design homes that draw on traditional Javanese experience of space, have dismantle, transported and re-assembled pendopo forming modern-traditional hybrid homes.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Schoppert, P., Damais, S., Java Style, 1997, Didier Millet, Paris, 207 pages, ISBN 962-593-232-1
- Multatuli (1860). Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company. Penguin Classics (Reissue edition (September 1, 1995)). ISBN 0-14-044516-1.
