Leuit
Leuit is a type of vernacular rice barn found in the Sundanese architecture of Western Java, Indonesia. It used to store rice after harvest for future and daily use. A leuit is an essential part of Sundanese agricultural tradition, especially during annual Seren Taun harvest ceremony. In Sundanese tradition, leuit symbolizes sustenance and livelihood.
History
The stilted rice barn structure with its variations is common throughout Indonesian archipelago. It can be found in Minangkabau tradition as Rangkiang, also in Batak, Toraja, and Sasak traditions. A leuit, or similar structure of it, is believed as an ancient structure which was quite common in agricultural society of Java. A study of bas-relief from the hidden foot of the 9th-century Borobudur in Central Java revealed that the ancient Javanese rice barn is remarkably similar to the Sundanese leuit lenggang, which demonstrate a continuous tradition of rice barn construction in the island.Form and materials
Leuit take basic form of triangular gable roofed structure, made of thatched materials covering wooden frames and beams, woven bamboo walls, and its structure is built on stilts either short or long. The leuit took form of rectangular structure with upper section is slightly wider than the lower section. The door of the rice barn is located on the upper section, and to reach it requires bamboo stairs.Leuit with short stilts is called leuit tetepakan, usually has 8 or 10 short stilts, while the more ancient and rarely found leuit with four long stilts is called leuit lenggang. In leuit lenggang the gaps between the stilts pole and the leuit structure contains round logs that serves to block rats from rising into rice storage.