Abstract
This paper discusses the modified functions of Minangkabau traditional house, called Rumah Gadang (large house), in which a large extended matrilineal family lives. Because of its resemblance to a buffalo-horn shaped roof, alternatively it is called Rumah Bagonjong, appreciated and interpreted as a powerful symbol of the Minangkabau, the world’s largest matrilineal society. Using previous researches, including Usman (1987), Riza (2001), and Elfira (2013; 2015) as its foundation, this paper argues that as a result of current cultural and social situations, and economic needs, the essence of Rumah Gadang, a major symbol of Minangkabau ethnicity, to some degrees, has been reconstructed and modified in contemporary Minangkabau society of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Mainly based on qualitative data, collected in Minangkabau land between 2017 and 2018, it is argued that one of its daily functions has been changed into a social condition that is kind of more “living with it,” than “in it”.
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