Influences on woodcarvings of Negeri Sembilan traditional Malay houses

Abstract

Woodcarvings can be found in many different cultures and civilizations throughout history. Woodcarvings in traditional Malay houses of Malaysia in particular are applied in many different states around the country which correlates to the influences found in each of the states in Malaysia. Thus the aim of this research is to find the influences on woodcarvings of Negeri Sembilan traditional Malay houses. The research methodologies taken were case studies of existing traditional Malay houses in Negeri Sembilan which were collected through Center of Built Environment in the Malay World (KALAM) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), precedent studies of traditional Malay houses in Negeri Sembilan and interviews of professionals in the woodcarving industry. The findings implied that the influences vary and the arrival of different religions brought about different movements of people from around Asia to Malaysia to Negeri Sernbilan.