Indonesia Conference Directory

A culture is a process of human learning in meeting the needs of life. It is a human cultivation effort towards the advancement of civilization that unites the whole nation. The richness of Dayak art culture is one of the national assets that can strengthen the identity of Indonesia as a nation of Unity in Diversity. It is not only the beauty of architectural forms that are interesting objects of study, but also the philosophical values that lie behind them. Longhouses or also called lou in the Dayak Benuaq language, represents the reality of the traditional cultural values of the Dayak Benuaq community in the past. The unity between home and culture is manifested in the form of an architecture which is integrated with all the activities of human life that live in it. This reality serves as the background of this research. The objective of this research is to discover the intrinsic meaning based on the cultural wisdom of traditional Dayak Benuaq house by using the iconological approach of analysis. Findings reveal that the Dayak Benuaq longhouse contains concepts about the relationship of family life, peace and harmony within the community. In addition, it also contains harmony between common interests based on religious-magical cosmology that considers every resident to have the same value, position and rights in the community. The longhouse also strengthen unity in economic activities that are closely related to the food sources provided by the natural surroundings.