The Rumah once belonged to Hajjah Embun binti Mad, lovingly called Mak Embun. Her child-less aunt raised her here after her parents passed away six months apart of each other in 1921, the year she was born. She was just six months old then.
The original rumah, much like any typical Malay traditional peasant family house in the 1900s, was much smaller and constructed using plants and trees that were part of the immediate surrounding. The roof were from woven attap material, walls were made of thatched bamboo, while floor were from wood and nibong palm.
Mak Embun, together with her husband, Haji Kamis bin Rahiman, better known as Pak Ngah Kamis, whom she married at the tender age of 16, raised all their 8 children here. Mak Embun supplemented her husband’s income as a barber by tapping rubber or tending the paddy field seasonally. Their meager combined household income then did not allow for substantial renovation to the house but it remained in pristine condition, as Pak Ngah Kamis was quite the able handyman.
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| Mak Embun (standing on the extreme left) and three of her children (first, second and third from right) posing with relatives from Singapore. One of the earliest photo in the family possession taken in 1974. |
A major renovation took place after their first-born started working and was able to help supplement the family income. Thatched bamboo walls were replaced with wood while the attap roof was replaced with zinc. This was also when they added the Tangga Batu (concrete steps), a structure unique to traditional Melaka house.
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| Rumah Bawah (or Rumah Dapur) is yet to be added. Pic taken in early 1980s |
Afterwards, the kitchen and pelantar (raised platform for washing and drying) were replaced with Rumah Bawah (or Rumah Dapur) a larger semi-concrete structure attached to the back of the main house.
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| The Tangga Batu for Rumah Tengah was a favourite place for posing for photo. Here, Mak Embun pose with some of her grandchildren on the morning of Hari Raya in 1994. |
Throughout the years, the house structure would also be strengthened with occasional addition of new pillars (tiang), floor beams (rasuk) and flooring.
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| A concrete Rumah Bawah was added following another round of renovation in 1987. View of the Rumah in 2002. |
Mak Embun continued to live in the house alone well after her husband passed away in 1992, as her children had all left for work, marriage or studies, returning only during festive seasons or special occasions.
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| Grandchildren playing fireworks during the festive Hari Raya of 1999 |
With hardly anyone to look after the Rumah the way her husband did, it soon started to deteriorate.
Mak Embun succumbed to stroke in 2007. She left the house to live with her children and with that, the Rumah was left unattended.
By that time, so many of traditional houses in the kampung had already been neglected, abandoned or entirely replaced with modern brick structures. Rumah Mak Embun too, was almost at the brink of collapse before the family decided to revive it in 2011.
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| The latest renovation saw the replacement of the Tangga Batu in Serambi with a Pangkin. |
The restoration, meant to bring family members together to share memories and stories and to remind the young ones of their humble roots, retained most of its original features and took nearly two years to complete.
With so many requests from those wishing to experience staying in a traditional Malay house in a real kampung setting, the family decided to open the Rumah to others.
Mak Embun passed away peacefully on the 1st Ramadan of 2014. We know she would be proud that her house is now still standing strong and can be enjoyed and shared by others.
Once again, we welcome you to Rumah Mak Embun.
