with a small terrace (ture) on each and stairs leading up to the house. The ture serves as a place to bathe children and to chat at night. The traditional eight-family Karo longhouse contained four kitchens, each shared between two close families, and containing two stoves each. The stoves was made using five stones as a symbol of the Karo merga silima (five Marga). The house was structured so that the pengulu (leader) of the house occupies the front-left room, with his sembuyak (parents) in the room to the right. In a mirror image, his anak beru and kalimbubu would occupy the corresponding rooms entering from the rear of the house. The four rooms in the middle of the house were of lower status and each contained a kitchen, which was shared with the rooms on their outside. Keben The keben or rice barn is an important part of Karo culture, since rice represents a store of wealth, and the size of the keben therefore demonstrates one's wealth. Gallery See also Architecture of Sumatra Architecture of Indonesia Vernacular architecture References External links Architectural styles Batak Batak Karo Rumah adat Vernacular architecture