The Iconography ofSonaf Nis NoneTraditional House in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Abstract

TheAtonitribe is a native of Timor, inhabiting the western and central parts of Timor Island. Its traditional house functions as a place for dwellings and for performing certain rituals. The form of the house is unique and contains rich meanings that could be studied. There are someAtonitraditional houses that are still maintained in Maslete Village, North Central Timor Regency in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. There are four types ofAtonitraditional houses namely,Sonaf, UmeKbubu, Lopo andUme Knat/Kanaf. This research will focus on studyingSonaf Nis None, the house with the highest hierarchy in Maslete Village. It is qualitative research with the method of descriptive analysis and using Panofsky's approach of iconography that was conducted through two stages. The first stage was pre-iconography stage which was conducted to obtain the textual meaning and the second was the iconography stage, performed to discover the contextual meaning. Findings reveal that the traditional house of theAtoniTribe has a rich meaning, conveying life values. The house was a manifestation of the outlook and philosophy of a harmonious life, articulated through the form of the house and its surrounding environment as a microcosm in accordance with the rules of the universe or and the wider world (macrocosm), by using a double pattern (pairs) in the architecture and interiors of the traditional house. The set of pairs as a whole is represented by the masculine and feminine nature of the fetomone couple (female-male), that have two opposing qualities but complement and enliven each other. These meanings have been the sources of inspiration for the design of today's homes. Their form and appearance may be modern, but the concept of the value presented is the continuity of Atoni's preserved cultural values.