The relationship between the royal socio-culture and the residence palaces in Kedah

Abstract

Socio-culture is a basic and common law of a society which influenced, governed and dictated the life of individuals and society. The socio-culture of the royalties, who are the rulers as positioned on the highest social standing in a given society is more refined than the commoners and strongly influenced by the royal customs and traditions. Then the socio-culture of the royalties influenced the architecture of the palaces particularly the space organisation, consistent with the suggestion that socio-culture influenced the built environment. This research examined the specifics of the socio-culture of the Kedah royalties, in relation to the palace architecture in general and the space organisation in particular. Qualitative methods using analytical review of literature, historical and documentary sources, measured drawings and pictures, site observation and personal interview were employed to achieve the objectives of the research. The research is limited by availability of secondary information and the lack of references. The findings indicate that the socio-culture of the Kedah royalty according to the royal custom and traditions namely the activity system, privacy, family structure, the role and position of women and the social interaction influenced the specifics of the residence palace architecture particularly the space organisation. Occasional activities were found to be an important socio-cultural factor influencing the Kedah palace. Findings also found that the socio-culture of the consort who was of a different origin and external factors influenced the palace architecture. The findings of the research are consistent with other findings which support the relationship between socio-culture and the built environment.