Analisis Semiotika Pada Bangunan Bersejarah Rumah Gadang Mande Rubiah, Sumatera Barat

Abstract

Rumah Gadang Mande Rubiah is a historic vernacular building in Nagari Lunang, Pesisir Selatan Regency, West Sumatra, functioning as a museum that houses heirlooms of Bundo Kanduang, who is believed to have taken refuge in Lunang and changed her name to Mande Rubiah. Unlike most Minangkabau rumah gadang, this building does not display the curved gonjong roof resembling buffalo horns, a distinction attributed to the influence of Acehnese ethnic groups who settled along the southern coast. This study aims to explore the changes in form and function of Rumah Gadang Mande Rubiah as shaped by sociocultural dynamics, the presence of migrant ethnic groups, and the sociopolitical role of Mande Rubiah as heir to the Bundo Kanduang throne. A qualitative descriptive method was employed, combining field survey, literature review, and interviews with the users and custodians of the building. The findings show that the building has undergone three renovation phases, gradually shifting from a plain kampung-style roof toward a form that increasingly signals Minangkabau identity, while the number of original pillars continues to symbolize the ethnic groups (suku) of Nagari Lunang. The building has been formally registered as a Cultural Heritage Site (Registration No. CB.624) and now serves as both a museum and a venue for customary rituals, reflecting a layered process of cultural negotiation between local, Acehnese, and Minangkabau identities.