Lahu Hilltribe: House

วันเสาร์ที่ 15 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2554

House

Characteristic of Lahu House

Mostly, Lahu houses are high raised from the ground because it used for keeping the firewoods. The poles of the house are wooden poles. Lahus have a strange way of roofing, instead of tying the sharp and tapering gress call “ Yah Ka” together, Lahus pile up the Yah Ka to make the roof thick. It is the same way of European roofing. This kind of roofing is durable and give warmth in winter. The house is divided into two parts, the first part is the terrace which is paved by strips of split bamboo and lead from the ground to the house by long wooden stair.

The second part is the 3-4 meter-width room and encloses with 1.5 meter strips of split bamboo. The house has no ceiling. In the middle of the house, there is a stove for cooking. The area around the stove is used as a bedroom and drawing room. The house of the headman is bigger than general villagers for two times. There are the bedroom for guests and themselves including two stoves because the guests who came to headman’s house first always visit and stay overnight there.

House (Yae)
Before building the Lahu house, we have to find these 4 main equipments.

Poles

Beam
Yah Ka (local sharp and tapering gress)
Strips of split bamboo (floor and wall)

After finding all equipments, Lahu will looking for the auspicious day and place for building their house. The aged can tell the suitable day for constructing the house because it was believed that the date of building the house can bring the hapiness to the family. Lahu people bring 3 rice grains and a pair of candle to pray to the spirits. They will dig a hole and put rice grains inside after that cover with the leaf. Then, they light the candle and take a lot. They will utter “ Let the rice stick together if I can build the house here and live happily. And if I build the house here and it will bring me unhappiness, let the rice separate”.

After of the outcome of the lot appears, all villagers will help eachother building the house. They pour the water in a hole because it is believed that water will bring peace to the members of the family. Then, they will put the first pole in a hole which is placed in the same plane as the sleeping position of the head of the family. After the building is done, there is the driving out the evils ceremony. It is believed that if this ceremony does not organize, all members of that family will live unhappily. There is the celebration for new house after the driving out the evils ceremony. They will kill one chicken to take a lot for indicating the future. Besides, they may kill more chickens depending on the financial status of the host. Afterwards, the owner of the house will move to the new house happily.