Himalayan Traditional Architecture: With Special Reference to the Western Himalayan Region (History of Indian Science and Technology) by O.C. Handa

Author:O.C. Handa [Handa, O.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Infinity Foundation India
Published: 2020-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

The Khash Domestic Architecture

The Khash domestic architecture in this region forms a class by itself because of its distinctive ethnic character. Geo-climatic and biophysical diversities notwithstanding, the essential features of the Khash house-types have remained unchanged till date. Characteristically identical features of Khash architecture are found to repeatedly occur in Khash houses located in different terrains and valley areas, in entirely different geo-physical settings. Thus, the Khash houses in Giri-par or Jaunsar area of the sub-mountainous region, which have been discussed in Chapter 2, differ only in detail, from their counterparts in the mid-Himalayan region. The broad features of the Khash houses remain uniformly the same, namely, the same construction material – wood, the similar façade – the multi-storied trabeated elevation, and a similar layout pattern – a linear layout. The reason for that uniformity may not be far to seek: the Khash were originally one of the highlander people of the Himalayas, belonging to the wood-andwool culture. Those ethnic traits have remained intact in their traditional lifestyle. Thus, their houses have been wood-based, and they have remained intimately attached to their flocks of goats and sheep, following a mixed agro-pastoral routine. The ground floor or the basement of their houses is exclusively meant for the flocks. When a household has too large a flock to accommodate in the same house, the large penning enclosures, duly fenced against wild predators, are erected close by. Such independent enclosures for the flock are known as chhan in the Mandi-Kullu area. Sometimes, the sheep and goats may also be huddled in the natural caves found at many places near the village, in the interior, where proper security to the flock is available. Such a natural penning shelter is known as the dwar. Before the typical Khash houses in the mid-Himalayan region are studied, it may be useful to outline the salient features of these houses:

As in the village Osan, a slate-paved open threshing yard, called khwala or khalyan, is an essential part of a house in the entire mid-Himalayan zone, with only a very few exceptions. This threshing yard is normally circular in shape, rimmed by a parapet wall, topped with flagstone slabs or slates, so that nothing unwanted drops in from the sides. The floor of khwala and the inner side of the parapet wall are coated occasionally with cow-dung solution, so that the gaps between the stones are properly plugged. The khwala is a multipurpose open area, in which, besides threshing grains, innumerable household chores are performed. Besides, grains and clothes are spread there for drying, and people spend most of their leisure hours sitting and gossiping on the parapets. The khwala is a most convenient open space in front of the house, where people can occasionally congregate for community dancing, singing and feasting, and so on.

The author came across a unique supplementary use of the khwala in Nirmand area in the outer Saraj of Kullu district in the course of his fieldwork. During summers, when the khwala normally remain vacant, the women put seeds of okra in the gaps between the flagstones of the floor.

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