THE LIVING HOUSE

ROXANA WATERSON

There are... two rows of houses (bale), flanked by a number of rice barns (lumbung) with a row of pavilions (berugag) in between. The latter are rectangular constructions, supported by six wooden pillars and without walls, but with a matted sitting platform about one metre above the ground.... The houses are large, square wooden constructions with bamboo walls and thatch of grass. They have no windows, are thus dark and are mainly used for sleeping and cooking food and as a storage for the heirlooms of the family. The daily social intercourse of the family does not normally take place inside the house but on the pavilion which is thus an indispensable appendix to the house. These pavilions are used for all kinds of social activities, and sometimes for sleeping as well, but they also have important ritual functions and serve as the place where deceased persons are put to rest before being carried to the graveyard. Their functions are thus much more diversified than those of the houses and they are truly ingenious constructions, admirably fitted to the climate and to the lifestyle of the people.