FORM AND MEANING OF DAYAK TRADITIONAL HOUSE IN EAST KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA (Case Study: Lou Pepas Eheng Dayak Benuaqs House)

East Kalimantan has 74 family tribes out of 405 Dayak family tribes in Kalimantan. In the past, the dwellings of Dayak tribes were known as lamin or amin (Dayak Kenyah), luuq (Dayak Tunjung) or lou (Dayak Benuaq). This research aims to specifically discuss about the Dayak traditional house with lou Pepas Eheng Dayak Benuaq as the research object. The research uses the Erwin Panofsky�s method of Iconology to analyse the hidden meaning of the architectural and interior form configurations of Lou Pepas Eheng. Based on the analysis of data, findings reveal that the hidden meanings behind lou relate to the cosmology of the Dayak tribe regarding the harmony of human life with the universe. A house is the embodiment of the process of human life from birth till death, a representation of family values, gotong royong (an Indonesian cultural term for assisting each other), unity and social life. It is also a representation of the physical values of domestic protection and safety. A house is also a spiritual symbol of life views, norms, beliefs, philosophies and local genius of the Dayak Benuaq society that can be symbolically analysed from the building form, spatial organisation and containments.