The Role of Herbal Gardens in Chinese Peranakan Traditional Houses in Kampung Tirok, Terengganu: Health, Culture, and Ecology
List of Authors
Azizi Bahauddin, Mohd Azri Mohd Jain Noordin
Keyword
Herbal Gardens, Chinese Peranakan Traditional Houses, Culture Heritage, Kampung Tirok Terengganu, Malaysia
Abstract
The traditional Chinese Peranakan house has always featured an essential: the herbal garden, which unites building and culture with health and environment. It examines the significance as well as the contribution of the plantations located in Chinese Peranakan houses in Kampung Tirok, Terengganu towards health, cultural heritage and ecological sustainability. Traditional landscape practices are at risk of being lost or marginalized as a result of modernization and urbanization; the relevance and sustainability of current herbal gardens to current lifestyles is being examined in this study. It conducts its research using qualitative case study method through in‐depth interviews with houseowners, architects and historians, in‐field observations and small-scale focus group study with 30 residents. This study analyses the recorded participants’ data via simple descriptive analysis and thematic analysis to produce emerging themes under the health benefits, cultural value, and environmental impact of herbal gardens. The investigation offers significant insights on the role of herbal gardens, more than serving as a commodity for medicinal plants, having significance for formulating community identity and sustainability. The architectural consideration indicates that these gardens are inseparable components of the Peranakan houses which function aesthetically, functionally and environmentally cohesively. The findings from this study contributes important knowledge to the discourse on architecture and sustainable practices and the value of preserving and reincorporating herbal gardens into new residential development. It is case study material for architects, urban planners and conservationists interested in integrating old world green spaces into 21st century urban places. The study further brings out the fact that the herbal gardens have cultural and ecological value, and these should be conserved in heritage policy and sustainable urban planning. The outcomes from the study guide towards a map for melding traditional guardian knowledge with 21st century sustainability actions, ensuring that these amazing landscapes will remain with us long into the future.