Kg Ayer, reflection of true Bruneian culture: Scholar
Tourists boarding the tourist water taxi after visiting a house in Kampong Ayer in this file photo. According to Remy LeBlanc from Victoria University of Wellington, the "messy clusters" of Kg Ayer houses represent something culturally important to its inhabitants their social organisation. Picture: BT
BY LOW LENG MAY
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN - KAMPONG AYER is not a clutter of unorganised houses, but rather a reflection of a true Bruneian culture, said a PhD scholar who is currently doing studies on the water village's historical development and urbanism.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Remy LeBlanc from Victoria University of Wellington, said the "messy clusters" of Kampong Ayer houses represent something culturally important to its inhabitants their social organisation.
"Like now, it looks messy, it looks completely unorganised but there is an organisation and this organisation reflects the people's culture and belief (on) how they should live on Earth," he said.
He gave an illustration of a household, whose children moved out of the house after marriage but would still settle near the home of the head of the family. Hence, the main house will spread to a cluster of two or more houses around it.
"So they have these 4 groups of houses that are distanced... When each (family) has a son that wants to build a house, then he will settle around the main house so now we see a kampong, very dense with houses everywhere," he explained.
The clusters of families in the village represents a family link and the close-knit culture of the community in Kampong Ayer.
LeBlanc added that the living space arrangements within the house also play an important representation to the Malay culture in Kampong Ayer. The way the people organise their living spaces symbolise their priorities in social relationships.
"You see these living rooms that are used only once a year but it is very important in the society relationship," he said, as the living room plays great significance in family gatherings. This suggests the emphasis of the strong family ties within the Kampong Ayer community.
Asked if the development in Kampong Ayer has any link to the developments on land, LeBlanc said: "There is no shift by people moving from the water to the high rise buildings."
When inhabitants migrate from the water village to land, they will take along their culture into the new homes as long as they are given the chance to change their space. "Space represents the culture of the people. Therefore, space is important to people, it's going to change their culture."
He said that as long as the people are given the possibility to change their living quarters, the culture of the Kampong Ayer community will be carried on by its people, regardless of whether they are on water or on land.
-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times
