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A Craftman's
Marvel: The Wooden Palace of Seri Menanti
One of oldest cultural
traditions among the Malay people of Malaysia is the art and craft of
woodcarving. In centuries past in this heavily forested country, woodworking
was an essential skill, as wood was used for everything from building homes
to creating weapons. Though woodworking has become far less essential today,
visitors to Malaysia can still find a thriving continuation of this craft,
from tacky souvenirs in the Central Market to exquisite carvings made by
artists displayed in pricey art galleries. For those who appreciate true
craftsmanship however, the pinnacle of the Malay woodworking craft is
undoubtedly the traditional wooden palaces of the state rulers.
Unfortunately, these days
there are very few wooden palaces left in the country. By and large, the
royalty of the country have moved on to concrete and marble mansions and
those few wooden palaces remaining are still private property. For visitors
looking to appreciate a traditional wooden palace, the only really
accessible – and some say the most beautiful – example left is the old
Istana Seri Menanti, or Seri Menanti Palace, located in the royal town of
Seri Menanti in Negeri Sembilan state, just two hours away from Malaysia’s
capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
Set in a a quiet green
valley and surrounded by padi fields and forest, the Istana Seri Menanti is
a strikingly unusual structure, an unabashedly traditional building in this
rapidly modernizing state. The current building was constructed between 1902
and 1908 for Tuanku Muhammad Shah, the 7th State Ruler or Yang Di-Pertuan
Besar of Negri Sembilan. The Istana served as the official residence of the
royal family until 1931, before it was converted to a Royal Museum in 1992.
The Craftsmanship of Seri
Menanti
Though often touted as a
tourist attraction, the Istana Seri Menanti might be better thought of as a
cultural treasure, a showcase of the Malay woodworking craft. The palace was
designed entirely by two local Malay master carpenters and was constructed
the traditional way, without using a single metal nail, and the entire
four-storey building is literally held together only by mortise-and-tenon
joints and hardwood dowels and rivets.
The single most
noticeable feature of the palace is its roof. To most western eyes, the
steeply upturned, layered gables are strikingly peculiar, recalling the
majestic sweep of a buffalo’s horns. The unusual roofline is a fairly common
feature of more traditional village houses in the state and is emblematic of
the local Minangkabau culture, one of the few matrilineal cultures still
thriving in the world and to which about a quarter of Negeri natives belong.
The Minangkabau originated in Sumatra, which lies directly across from
Negeri Sembilan over the Straits of Malacca. In centuries past, the Minang,
as the people were known, migrated across the water, bringing with them not
only their culture but also their architecture. Little wonder then that when
the palace was first built, its design would include the iconic upturned
roofline of the local Minangkabau culture.
Even before entering the
palace, visitors can examine one of the most noted features of the palace:
its 99 pillars. The unusual number of pillars was deliberately chosen to
represent famous warriors from the various clans in the state. More
remarkable however is that the pillars are delicately and intricately carved
with stylized images of flowers, holy verses from the Quran, geometric
shapes and other abstract designs. The carving is noteworthy because the
pillars are made of cengal wood, which is extremely tough to carve, easily
dulling even the sharpest of blades. One can only marvel at the patience and
dedication of the craftsmen who had to deal with such a difficult material.
Faded Grandeur in the
Istana
Once inside, the Istanda
often strikes visitors more used to the extravagant palaces of Europe as a
little bare. The first floor mostly consists of reception rooms and a long
verendah; there are no grand, gold encrusted audience halls or fantastic
ballrooms. An ancient Malay court was a relatively simple affair compared to
the elaborate courts of the West, especially as Malays traditionally had
little use for furniture. The courtiers would sit on cushions on the floor
in the audience hall, while the royal family would sit on a rather grander
platform at the end of the room. Instead of fancy furnishings, much of the
grandeur of a Malay court would lie in the sumptuous thread of gold clothes
of the royals, the gold ornaments they flaunted and the many other gold
items the courtiers habitually used – after all, the Malay Peninsula was not
called the Golden Chersonnese for nothing! Many of these artifacts are on
display in the palace, though unfortunately many of the explanation cards on
the display cases have no English translations.
The first level of the
palace was used for official functions, while the second level was used for
private, family affairs. Much like the first level, most of the scant
furniture in the rooms above have not survived, but in one of the visitors
can see the one of few remaining pieces – a large gilded bed, raised on a
platform. The third floor of the palace was reserved for the Yang Di Pertuan
Besar’s private apartments. The topmost fourth floor is is known as the
Tingkat Gunung, or Mountain Level, and once served as the ruler’s study and
treasury, where only he could ascend. Today however, the topmost floor is
out of bounds, as the old wood has become increasingly fragile.
The inaccessible, slowly
decaying Tingkat Gunung is a fitting symbol for the fate of Malaysia’s few
remaining wooden palaces. Though wood is an imminently practical building
material in the tropics, compared to the more durable stone of European
palaces, wood perishes much more easily. The grand palaces built from it
last practically no time at all, being suceptible to fires, floods or
neglect. The Istana Seri Menanti was itself a replacement for an older,
grander palace that was destroyed in a fire. Today, as with so many
traditional crafts, there are very few young carvers with the skills and the
backing to reproduce such a masterpiece. Despite all the careful
preservation work done on the Istana Seri Menanti, eventually, inevitably,
time will take its toll and Malaysia will lose another irreplacable
treasure.
Lembaga Muzium Negeri
Sembilan
Taman Seni Budaya
Jalan Sungai Ujong
70200 Seremban.
Tel: (+606) 763 1149
Fax: (+606) 761 5355
Admission: Free
Weekdays: Daily: 9.30am -
6pm; Fridays: noon - 2.50pm
Weekends & Public
Holidays: 9.30am - 6pm
Thursdays (From 1pm
onwards) : Closed
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