TRIBAL HOUSES OF WAYANAD

Sreelakshmi KV

TRIBAL HOUSES OF WAYANAD

• The tribal huts found in Wayanad are minimal in their spaces and structure.

• Locally procured bamboo, grass and mud are the basic materials of construction.

• Each plot is fenced with bamboo sticks to mark boundaries and for protection against wild
animals.

• Bamboo framed roof is covered with a thick layer of hay thatch. The roof slope is so steep
that there is no chance of rainwater seepage to the inside spaces.

• The edge of the thatched roof is hardly 150 cms from the ground – the roof being very deep
to protect the walls and plinth from lashing rain.

• The walls are made of woven bamboo screens and finished with a thick layer of mud on both
sides.

• Certain portions are left unplastered for the provision of ventilation. The mud walls keep the
inside spaces cool even during summers.

• The plinth is low, of about 10-30 cms height and is extended outwards by about a feet
wooden logs or stones, which protects the walls from getting damp during rains.

• The part of the extended plinth is known as’ thinna’ and forms the main social and activity
space.

• There is the ‘kolaya’ which is the side open verandah and the ‘akam’ , the inside private
space which has few openings and is used for living and storage.

• Separated ‘adukkala’ or kitchen space within the house. The floors are finished with cow
dung.

• Most of the houses have a ‘thattu’ or attic which is built as a part of the bamboo structure
itself.

It is necessary to understand that the forest, hill, river, ravine animals are all intrinsic parts of
the house. The stream is a bathing place, the brushwood screens as the toilet, streams and
land plants give food and medicine. Farm, forests and rivers are work places for sustenance.

some of the common features of majority of tribal communities in Wayanad are as follows:
– No script for their languages.
– Lack of technical skills
– Lack of interest in individual ownership of land
– Prefer community living
– Worship forest Gods
– Give respect to others
– Accept the leadership of the traditional leaders
– Marriage, death, reaching puberty age of girls etc. are considered as community events.
– Acceptance of different community obligation
– Have their own traditional art forms, folk dances
– During harvest seasons they perform festivals and rituals
– They are afraid of the souls of the departed
– They are afraid of the outside world
– They are fond of nature