Cultural Continuity and Change: The Influence of Marapu on Traditional Settlement Continuity and Change in Prai Ijing Village, Sumba

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-420-4_16How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Prai ijing; Vernacular Settlements; Marapu Religion

Abstract

The influence of religion on vernacular settlements is profound, shaping both their physical environment and cultural fabric. On Sumba, an island in Indonesia's East Nusa region renowned for its diverse cultural villages, Marapu animism is a foundational belief system, manifesting differently in each settlement. Prai Ijing village, situated on the island's western side, offers a unique case study. While increasingly open to external influences, the village remains rooted in Marapu's core tenets, which significantly inform its social and spatial dynamics. Despite a predominant adherence to modified Christianity, Marapu's enduring presence is palpable in the village's architecture and layout, subtly evolving. Unlike many vernacular Sumbanese villages, Prai Ijing has witnessed notable changes in its housing and settlement structures. The comparative analysis was conducted utilizing data acquired through on-site observations and a thorough review of literature studies. Through an analysis of selected houses and the broader village layout, this study explores the intricate interplay between Marapu animism, and other external beliefs in shaping the architectural fabric of Prai Ijing. By documenting and analyzing four distinguished sampled houses and the whole settlement of Prai Ijing, this study will describe the relationship between buildings and settlements with the Marapu Religion and external religion that affect the changes inside the village. This argument focuses on the effect of Marapu, and other newer beliefs on modifying the Prai Ijing houses and settlement.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Nina Carina
AU  - Ganesha Pratama Adi
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/26
TI  - Cultural Continuity and Change: The Influence of Marapu on Traditional Settlement Continuity and Change in Prai Ijing Village, Sumba
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Religious Architecture (ICRA 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 220
EP  - 249
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-420-4_16
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-420-4_16
ID  - Carina2025
ER  -