Tibetan Houses: Vernacular Architecture of the Himalayas and Environs 9783035608687

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TIBETAN HOUSES

TIBETAN HOUSES

Vernacular Architecture of the Himalayas and Environs Peter Herrle Anna Wozniak with contributions from Daniel Rudolf Becker, Peter Berten, Nadja Borschewski, Giacomo Ceccarelli and Lena Marike Wellmann

Birkhäuser Basel

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 INTRODUCTION

About this book  ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������8 Geographical setting  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 10 The making of the book  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  16 Missionaries – explorers – researchers  �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 LADAKH  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  24

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  28 Dakchanga House in Tar  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 40 CENTRAL TIBET: U-TSANG  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 48

House in Lhasa  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  52 Gye Tsang House in Lhoka  ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 60 Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo  �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  70 EASTERN TIBET: KHAM AND AMDO 

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 80

Wooden house near Parlung Tsangpo  �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 86 Timber log house near Lhagu Glacier  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 94 Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa   ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  104 Langtse Tsang House in Chatreng   �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  116 House in Kandze  �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  128 Gesang Tsang House in Dawu 

�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  138

Tchare Lumbu House in Minya  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 148 Stone house in Gyalrong  �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  156 Rammed earth house in Chentsa  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 166

4

BHUTAN 

�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  176

Stone house in Ura  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   180 Rammed earth house in Eutsa  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   190 KHUMBU  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  200

Stone house in Thame  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  204 DOLPO 

�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  214

Rammed earth house in Khoma   ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 218 Stone house in Ringmo   �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  226 STRUCTURAL DESIGN

Enveloping the interior: structural diversity   �������������������������������������������������������������  234 Levels and covers: ceilings   ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 237 Bearing the loads: posts and beams  �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  238 The outer shell: stone – mud – timber  �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  242 Opening the wall: doors and windows   ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 248 Decorating the facade: ­crowns and cornices  ���������������������������������������������������������� 276 Closing the top: flat and sloped roofs  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 278 Up and down: stairs and ladders 

�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  282

TIBETAN HOUSES – VANISHING OR CHANGING?  ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 284

References 

��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 294

The project team  ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 298 Picture credits  ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  300

5

This book is dedicated to Dr. André Alexander, co-initiator of the research project which forms the basis of this publication. He died unexpectedly on January 21, 2012.

Acknowledgements

work in Ladakh and Bhutan and who has been our knowledgeable companion and close friend throughout the entire project. Finally, Hans-Dieter Nägelke, head of the Architecture Museum at the Technische Universität Berlin allowed us to make excessive use of his technical facilities for digitizing all manually produced drawings for this publication. Without the enthusiasm of our students and their thirst for adventure, most of the measurement sketches forming the backbone of our work would not exist. They produced the bulk of primary information and data that helped us to capture and understand the details of the architectural heritage in a region stretching over more than 2,500 km along the Himalayas. Different groups of students shared the adventure of traveling and working with us on the high plains of Central Tibet, in the rugged terrain of eastern Sichuan, remote parts of Nepal and the barren landscapes of Ladakh. Their names deserve to be mentioned: Rachel Barthel, Kerstin Bedan, Thomas Bolenius, Sabine Diehl, Mansour El-Khawad, Martin Erchinger, Rainer Frenzel, Anne Groß, Karen Helbig, Carmen Minßen, Heike Rindt, Christoph Schirrmacher, Guido Schmidt, Holger Schulze-Seeger, Christos Stremenos and Anja Ulrich were involved in the first round of field work in Ladakh as early as 1995. Annika Becker, Nadja Borschewski, Mario Hörcher, Katharina Laekamp, Sean Neubauer, Qian Ying, Luisa Schäfer, Jonathan Zimmermann, Tsebtrim Rinchen and Yeshi Dorje were the members of our Sichuan Team in 2012. Giacomo Ceccarelli, Madine Delhommeau, Sabine Hoffmann, Mathias Kupke and Merret Schnarr were working under the guidance of Peter Berten in Ladakh in 2012. Sonam Tashy Tamang and Dip Pandey, assisted Daniel Becker during his travels and the field work in Dolpo, Nepal in 2013. Annika Becker, Ladislaus Freiherr von und zu Frauenberg, and Fabian Pfitzinger helped us throughout the field work in the Tibet Autonomous Region in China in 2013. Yeshi Dorje established the contacts to local people in U-Tsang and Kham and assisted us to carry out interviews. Tulsi Kumar Kawai and Bishwodev Bhattarai were of indispensable help for Giacomo Ceccarelli in Khumbu, Nepal in 2013. For our field work in Bhutan in 2014 we feel greatly indebted to Choening Dorji from the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs for organizing the field trip and for helping us with translations. We also owe our thanks to Chosang Drolma, Sonam Zangmo, Karma Wangchuk, and Lena Marike Wellmann for their contribution to the field work. Last but not least Henriette Mueller-Stahl from Birkhäuser Publishers and Miriam Bussmann as graphic designer deserve our recognition and admiration for guiding us through the critical process of making a book out of a plethora of texts, drawings and photos resulting from four years intense research.

This book presents selected results of a four-year research project generously supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG). We wish to express our gratitude to the DFG also for the financial support for this publication. Numerous persons have been involved in different stages of field work and in documenting the results. We wish to emphasize that without their help, dedication and meticulous work the challenge to capture the broad variety of vernacular rural houses in such an extremely large region as the Himalayas could have never been achieved. We feel deeply indebted to a great number of colleagues, students, and supporters from various government departments in our host countries and friends who have contributed to this book in many ways. In particular, we owe special thanks to the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University in Shanghai, namely Li Zhenyu and Chang Qing for valuable advice and support for our work in China and to the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of Bhutan, especially to Ms. Nagtsho Dorji, Head of the Division for Conservation of Heritage Sites for paving the way for the success of our field work and inspiring discussions in Bhutan. Marc Dujardin, one of the most reputed scholars in Bhutanese architecture, opened his archives for us and provided us with invaluable information and practical advice for our field work in Bhutan. Our sincere thanks also go the countless families too numerous to list here, for their overwhelming hospitality, their unbelievable patience and willingness to answer questions and for opening their homes to students creeping into every corner of their houses. Out of the many people who contributed to this book, there are some individuals who formed the ‘core group’ of the research project. They deserve special mentioning, because they took the responsibility for one of the regions or accompanied the project over a longer period of time with their input and advice: Daniel Rudolf Becker, carpenter and architect traveled together with Nepali friends through Dolpo, Nepal, and provided us with sketches, knowledge and photographic material. Giacomo Ceccarelli brought us – with the help of Nepalese students – valuable raw materials from remote areas off the well-worn paths of trekkers and mountaineers in the Khumbu region in Nepal. Moreover, he accompanied the project over more than three years, providing his profound expertise and knowledge for analysis and drawings. He deserves our deep thanks and appreciation for the isometric views he produced for most houses. Lena Marike Wellman joined us on our trip to Bhutan and worked with the project throughout the first three years, setting a high benchmark for the large-scale drawings. She also helped drafting several texts. Nadja Borschewski was not only accompanying our field work in the Kandze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, but brought in unrivalled skills for final drawings, fine details and colored renderings of architecture elements. Credits also go to Peter Berten, who greatly contributed to the field

Berlin, July 2017 Peter Herrle and Anna Wozniak

7

Introduction

About this book There is much to learn from architecture before it became an expert’s art. The untutored builders in space and time – the protagonists of this show – demonstrate an admirable talent for fitting their buildings into the natural surroundings. Instead of trying to “conquer” nature as we do, they welcome the vagary of climate and the challenge of topography. (Bernard Rudofsky 1965 from the introduction in Architecture without Architects.)

TIBETAN CULTURE Tibet and the adjoining Himalayan regions are known for their outstanding Buddhist religious architecture manifested in monasteries, forts, stupas and mani walls. Buddhist temples have been known in Tibet since the foundation of the empire under the legendary King Songtsen Gampo in the 7 th century. From Central Tibet, Buddhist culture and architecture spread over a vast area of the size of Central Europe. While the spread of Buddhism has been traced by historians and Tibetologists, there is only sparse evidence of the ordinary people’s residential houses or farm buildings (Dotson 2009; Sørensen & Hazod 2005). This is mostly owed to the fact that the interest of the visitors before the 20th century was primarily directed at religious buildings and art, overlooking the rich material culture of everyday life. Although vernacular houses may have gradually changed over the centuries there is reason to assume that building styles and techniques, the use of building material as well as rituals around house building and maintenance have survived into the 20th century – and in remote parts of the vast region influenced by Tibetan culture even into the 21st century. We believe that the documentation of vernacular farmhouses in the Himalayas deserves special attention: not only do they represent the most widespread authentic cultural asset of a specific culture, they are also a rapidly vanishing species. In contrast to religious buildings such as Buddhist monasteries and temples that have attracted a huge amount of international attention and academic research, the vernacular farmhouse architecture of the Himalayas has been grossly neglected until recently. A proper documentation seems urgent not only because of the architectural value of vernacular architecture but also because, with increasing modernization, even remote areas experience rapid changes in terms of accessibility, building materials, values, styles etc. In some regions (such as Qinghai and the Tibet Autonomous Region) the traditional farmhouse architecture is on the verge of extinction. Since the heyday of the Tibetan Empire from the 7th to the 9th century, a distinct and coherent culture has spread over a vast

area in Central Asia including the Tibetan Plateau and the adjacent mountain ranges. Its persistence is mainly attributed to the remoteness and isolation of the area preserving Buddhist and in some parts pre-Buddhist beliefs and practices from outside influence. Tibet maintained independent political relations with China and Nepal over a long period of time benefiting from its isolation resulting from the barrier of the Himalayan Mountain Ranges in the south and east and deserts in the north. While the central part of the Tibetan Plateau has been secluded for centuries and thereby sustained its unique culture until the 20th century, numerous separate kingdoms have formed early on along the fringes, such as Ladakh in the west, Mustang in northern Nepal as well as Sikkim and the territorial units of Kham and Amdo in the east. They have become parts of neighboring countries or, in the case of Kham and Amdo, became parts of the contemporary Chinese Provinces Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The term ‘Tibetan culture’ as it is used in this book refers to a range of social values, religious beliefs and material aspects of people’s daily lives based on one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Even though split into various sects, Tibetan Buddhism endured the change of political systems, waves of migration, wars and the influence of competing cultural values as a strong undercurrent. It obviously provides a reliable cultural reference reinforcing a common identity for people living in an area stretching over more than 2,500 km of the Himalayas, fragmented into local kingdoms and nationalities and home to people with various ethnic backgrounds. The vernacular farmhouse architecture as part of this identity is a distinct and extremely rich architectural tradition that shows a surprising diversity and flexible adaptation to local climatic conditions, economic necessities, the availability of building materials and the influence of local ethnic groups. In contrast to a widespread belief, there is neither a single type of house nor a construction method applying to all regions under Tibetan influence. In fact, not only structural details and building materials vary from region to region – and even from one valley to anoth-

8

Gilgit Baltistan

Ladakh

Mongolia

Ngari

Kyrgyzstan Pakistan

Xinjiang Province

Tibet Autonomous Region Gansu Province

Tsang

Tajikistan Gilgit Baltistan

Nepal

Qinghai Province

Changthang

Ladakh

Jammu and Kashmir

India Tibet Autonomous Region Tsang Nepal

Sikkim

Kham

U

Bhutan

80° E

75° E

Tibetan cultural region national boundaries disputed territories

80° E

Tibetan cultural region national boundaries disputed territories

85° E

90° E

Bangladesh China Yunnan Province

Bangladesh

75° E

Sichuan Province

Arunachal Pradesh

India

70° E

Bhutan

Arunachal Pradesh

Ngari

Pakistan

70° E

Amdo Sikkim

Kham

Laos 90°

Myanmar 85° E 95° E

30° N

Afghanistan

U

40° N

Jammu and Kashmir

Kazakhstan

Qinghai Province

Changthang

35° N

Tibetan cultural region

25° N

Afghanistan

E

95° E

105° E

100° E 0 0

800 km 800 Km

The Tibetan cultural region. It may be worth noting that the boundaries of this region have been changing over time resulting in overlaps with other ethnic and religious groups.

the material culture and prevalence of stylistic and structural elements rather than a pre-fixed age of the buildings. We also preferred occupied buildings to vacant buildings in order to gain access to the ‘lived space’ and the underlying social fabric. Finally, the focus of our research on areas under the influence of Tibetan culture led to additional limitations. There is a wealth of vernacular architecture in the northern parts of Pakistan, the Indian Himalayas and in parts of China that roots in traditions other than Tibetan Buddhism and is therefore not represented in our documentation. The various species of vernacular farmhouse architecture in the Himalayas are endangered for a variety of reasons: 1) with an ageing population the local body of knowledge about building materials, craftsmanship and rituals is vanishing; the young generation often moves to urban centers supporting those who stay behind with remittances; 2) the variety of solutions and intricate adaptation to local conditions gives way to uniform styles brought in by modern communication and market mechanisms; 3) in some cases, natural resources such as timber that have been available for centuries become depleted; 4) modern media bring in new lifestyle concepts and values eroding local traditions and preferences; 5) traditional vernacular architecture has not been recognized as something valuable, but often bears the stigma of ‘backwardness’ and is seen as something that needs to be overcome.

er, depending on natural factors and traditions –, but also floor layouts and the use of rooms show striking regional differences. Vernacular architecture cannot be understood by derivation of architectural form from physical factors such as climate and terrain alone. Beyond the mere technical adaptation to local conditions there is always a cultural factor that Amos Rapoport emphasized as early as 1977 in his book on House, Form and Culture. This factor adds an additional dimension to the physical manifestation by providing meaning, social coherence, depth and certainty in an environment lacking the modern facilities and infrastructure we have become used to. Vernacular architecture has never been static. This becomes clearly visible for example in the case of Bhutan where new architectural styles have officially been introduced to further develop the building traditions (Dujardin 2003). What looks old and traditional may in fact have been built only ten years ago. In other parts of the Tibetan cultural region such as the TAR and Qinghai Province the influence of Chinese policy, values as well as transportation and communication systems have dramatically changed the basic patterns of architectural form since the 1950s and partly dried up the aforementioned undercurrent of Tibetan culture. This process is leading towards a new form of vernacular architecture which has not been subject of our studies. Although our focus is on ‘traditional’ structures, our approach towards delineating what falls in this category refers to

9

Myanmar

Introduction

Geographical setting

Mark Aldenderfer and Zhang Yinong (2013, p. 6) portray the plateau as being “among the most extreme and difficult highland environments on the planet.” The extreme severity of environmental conditions and the rugged topography of the surrounding mountain ranges have been key factors for developing and sustaining a unique culture over centuries, reflecting a striking degree of physical and ecological diversity. Despite the barren landscape that large parts of the plateau display, its water reserves are feeding a significant part of Southern and Eastern Asia. The Himalayas and adjacent Tibetan Plateau are the sources of major Asian rivers supporting large and diverse ecosystems in the east, west and south. Three of Asia’s major rivers have their origin on the Tibetan Plateau near Mount Kailas in the vicinity of Lake Manasarovar: the Indus, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and the Ganges. The origins of the Yellow River are located south of the Kunlun Mountain Range in the north-eastern part of the plateau. The central-eastern part of the plateau hosts the headwaters of the Salween, Mekong and Yangtze Rivers. Typically, the rivers leaving the plateau have carved deep gorges through the main ranges of the Himalayas. Hundreds of both freshwater and saltwater lakes are scattered over the high plateau. The largest lakes are the Qinghai Lake and the Nam Tso.

The geographical region is characterized by two distinct elements: the Tibetan Plateau and the adjacent mountain ranges, mainly the Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountain System.

THE TIBETAN PLATEAU The Tibetan Plateau is the world’s highest and largest plateau. It stretches approximately 2,500 km from east to west and about 1,000 km from north to south, forming an area of about 2,500,000 km² which is about the size of Central Europe. With elevations between 3,500 and 4,500 m the plateau’s central regions are quite homogenous in elevation, interspersed by some mountain ranges rising to the west on the Changthang Plateau. This is the coldest region of the plateau with some parts covered with permanent frost. It is interspersed with hundreds of lakes, both fresh and salt water. The largest lake is the Nam Tso with an elevation of 4,718 m, covering an area of 1,920 km². The east of the plateau stretching into the Hengduan Mountains is slightly lower and covered with alpine steppe and meadows. The Tibetan Plateau is one of the most sparsely populated regions on earth. In the south, the plateau borders on the massive Himalayan and the Karakorum Mountain Ranges. The width of these ranges varies from 400 km in the west to 150 km in the east. Within this narrow strip the mountain ranges rise to an average of more than 6,000 m, featuring many of the world’s highest peaks including Nanga Parbat in the west and Dhaulagiri, Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga and Namche Barwa marking the eastern edge of the range. In the north the plateau is embraced by the Kunlun Range, separating the plateau from the Tarim Basin, and to the north-east by the Qilian Range, which separates it from the Hexi Corridor and the Gobi Desert. In the south-east the plateau gives way to the forested gorge and ridge systems of the mountainous headwaters of the Salween, Mekong and Yangtze rivers. These three rivers run in deep parallel valleys separated by mountain ranges that are parts of the Hengduan Mountain system marking the boundary to the Sichuan Basin in the east.

CLIMATE CONDITIONS Mountain ranges and deserts not only protected the Tibetan Plateau against invaders, the natural conditions also have a fundamental impact on the region’s climate. Shaded by the Himalayan ranges, the Tibetan Plateau receives only limited precipitation. When the humid air is driven towards the mountains from the south-east it rises at the face of the mountains while the temperature falls. This results in heavy precipitation on the southern slopes, while the Tibetan Plateau receives much less rain. The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. The heavy regular seasonal monsoon rains create a complex and unique fauna and flora system, ranging from tropical con-

10

Gobi Desert

oun tain r ange

- Ga ngetic Plain

Gyalmo Ng u

Brahm

apu

35° N

t ra

85° E

90° E

95° E

g

80° E

er Riv tse Yang

Mekon

75° E

Sichuan Basin

30° N

Yarlung Tsangpo

Salween

70° E

C hu

25° N

g es

Ma

u Ch

G

an

C

u Ch

Ind o

Dz a

o

hu

Hi ma lay an m

He ng

Dr i

Ri v er

Changthang Plateau

l Yel

w

Ind us

Qilian moun tain ran ge

ins unta mo an du

Karakoru m

range ntain mou n u l Kun

40° N

Hexi Corridor Tarim Basin

100° E

rivers national boundaries disputed territories

0

105° E 800 km

The Tibetan cultural region with surrounding mountain ranges and river systems.

Tibetan cultural region Tibetan cultural region Vegetation and waterbodies

Source: Broxton, P.D., Zeng, X., Sulla-Menashe, D., Troch, P.A., 2014a: A Global Land Cover Climatology Using MODIS Data. J. Appl. Meteor. Source: Broxton, P.D., Zeng, X., Sulla-Menashe, D., Troch, P.A., 2014a: A Climatol., 53, 1593-1605.http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0270.1 Global Land Cover Climatology Using MODIS Data. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 53, 1593-1605.http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0270.1

25°25° N N

30°30° N N

35°35° N N

40°40° N N

Vegetation and waterbodies

70° E 70° E evergreen forests deciduousforests forests evergreen mixed forests deciduous forests mixed forests

75° E 75° E shrublands grasslands shrublands ice and snow grasslands ice and snow

80° E 80° E

90° E 90° E

85° E 85° E

rivers national boundaries rivers national boundaries

95° E 95° E

105° E 105° E

100° E 100° E

0 0

0

800 km

800 km 800 km

The Tibetan cultural region. Vegetation and water bodies (Source: based on data from Broxton, P.D., 2014, and USGS, 2014).

11

Introduction

March

September

30° N

December

30° N

December

40° N

September

70° E

80° E

90° E

100° E

70° E

80° E

90° E

40° N

30° N

June

30° N

June

40° N

March

40° N

Village in Kandze region in Kham at an altitude of 3,500 m with Dza Mountain Range in the background.

70° E

100° E

80° E

90° E

100° E

70° E

80° E

90° E

100° E

Monthly precipitation in March, June, September and December.

Monthly mean temperatures in March, June, September and December (Source: based on R. J. Hijmans et al., 2015, with data from Worldclim, 2005).

ditions at the base of the mountains via subtropical, alpine forests to permanent ice and snow above 5,500–6,000  m. The tree line is at 3,000 m or above. Depending on moisture and precipitation the vegetation on the plateau consists of forest (south-eastern valleys), meadow (eastern plains), alpine steppe or desert. Large tracts of alpine deserts are located in the western and north-eastern regions of the plateau, such as Changthang or Quaidam Basin. The Yarlung Tsangpo Valley and its tributaries form an ecosystem of arid steppe. Mean annual

temperatures on the plateau range from 4 to 8 degrees Celsius and reach 16 degrees Celsius in the Lhasa Valley during July, the warmest month of the year. As the following chapters show, micro-climatic conditions, and as a consequence the availability of building materials, have a decisive impact on local building culture and its diversity throughout the entire region. The following images give an idea of the variety of ecosystems and settlements.

12

Geographical setting

Houses in the village of Jiaju, Gyalrong, eastern border of Kham at an altitude of 2,200 m.

Houses near the monastery of Gartar Jampa Ling, Dawu County, Kham, at 3,560 m altitude.

13

Pangong Tso, a salt lake at an altitude of 4,400 m at the border between Ladakh (India) and Tibet (China) with barley field in the foreground.

Settlement along the bank of frozen Kyi Chu about 120 km east of Lhasa at an altitude of 3,900 m.

14

View from Karsha Gompa over the valley of Padam at 3,500 m altitude, Zangskar, Ladakh.

The village of Manang at 3,560 m altitude in the upper Marsyandi Valley, Nepal.

15

Introduction

The making of the book

Surveying team in Ladakh.

From Peter Berten’s sketchbook in Bhutan 2014.

As early as 1995 we started to survey farmhouses in the Ladakh part of the Himalayas. But only in 2011 this initiative received substantial funding by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG). Based on our previous experience in Nepal, Tibet and Ladakh and with funds from the DFG for a more sustained research we extended the scope to a wider geographical region. Initially together with André Alexander, who had just finished his dissertation on traditional houses in Lhasa, we started a project aiming to capture the immense richness and diversity of Himalayan and Tibetan vernacular farmhouse architecture by documenting selected buildings in a cross-country approach. From 2012 to 2014, we

surveyed and documented typical buildings in the Tibetan cultural region, assisted by small groups of enthusiastic students of the TU Berlin. Wherever possible, measurements were complemented by interviews on the social contexts and an exploration of anthropological aspects regarding traditional building and craftsmanship. Aided by extensive photo documentation and countless detail sketches, all measurements have been transferred into handmade ink drawings of plans, elevations and sections at a scale of 1:50 as they are presented in a reduced format in this book. We consciously resisted the quicker and more comfortable CAD option for one simple reason: with handmade drawings it was possible to render more detail and

16

Locations Locations of of surveyed surveyed houses houses Geographic overview

Source of base map:Tom Patterson, US National Park Service Source of base map:Tom Patterson, US National Park Service

40°NN 40°

Geographic overview

Chentsa, Nara Chentsa, Nara

Ladakh Ladakh

Amdo Amdo

Changthang Changthang

Ngari Ngari

35°NN 35°

Khalsi, Nurla Khalsi,Tar Nurla Khalsi, Khalsi, Tar

Kandze, Sushede Kandze, Sushede Dawu, Dzuri Dawu, Dzuri Zhake Gyalrong, Dolpo Gyalrong, Zhake U Tsang Dolpo Kongpo, Tashi Gang U Tsang Kongpo, Tashi Pome, Gang Metu 1 Lhasa, Dopo Dolpo, Khoma Minya, Tchare 1 Lhasa, Dopo Dolpo, Khoma Minya, Tchare Dolpo, Ringmo Pome, Metu Dabpa, Sumdu Lhoka, Mendru Khang Pome, Dzhongsa Dolpo, Ringmo Dabpa, Seragung Sumdu Khumbu Bhutan Lhoka, Mendru Khang Pome, Dzhongsa Chatreng, Chatreng, Seragung Khumbu Bhutan Khumbu, Thame Bhumthang, Ura Khumbu, Thame Bhumthang, Phobjikha, Eutsa Ura Phobjikha, Eutsa

25°NN 25°

30°NN 30°

Kham Kham

70° E 70° E

tropical forest tropical forest temperate forest temperate forest savannah savannah

80° E 80° E

75° E 75° E

grassland grassland desert desert highland highland

tundra tundra polar polar glacier glacier

rivers rivers national boundaries national boundaries

85° E 85° E

90° E 90° E

surveyed and presented in this book surveyed and presented in this book

95° E 95° E

100° E 100° E

105° E 105° E 0

800 km

Geographic overview and location of surveyed houses.

our stay. In some cases house owners were absent, astrologers on a ‘retreat’ far away, master builders were busy in another village and so on. Not only were the possibilities to cross-check information limited, the information itself, its content-related focus and level of depth varies widely between the cases presented in this book, resulting in an unequal level of detail when it comes to additional information. In our view, whatever information was available helping to understand the building culture of the region deserved to be included in the case studies. All aspects taken together, our selection of buildings raises no claim whatsoever to deliver a representative picture of the richness of vernacular architecture of the Himalayas. Our selection has been informed by our previous knowledge, experience and a scanty literature base; we take full responsibility for the arbitrariness of our selection. The intention was to raise awareness for the variety and beauty of approaches and solutions, and document some examples of a unique and diverse architectural heritage that may soon vanish. We hope that our research contributes to a better understanding of what may be called a ‘traditional ecology of building’ that is based on an intricate balance of locally available resources, energy consumption, investment and their social, economic and cultural benefits.

to take advantage of the wealth of first-hand visual knowledge gained during field work. For obvious reasons, it was not possible to cover the entire gamut of vernacular architecture in such a vast region as the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. The houses presented in this book have been selected on the basis of their potential to represent a certain type prevalent in a particular region. This of course led to an unequal distribution of our samples. The distribution and clustering of surveyed houses mirrors the high degree of differentiation particularly in the mountain areas surrounding the plateau in the east and south. In addition, not all the houses surveyed found their way into the documentation of this volume. On the basis of the quality of the source materials and representation for a specific region, we selected 19 houses for the presentation in this book – out of 34 surveyed in-depth. Another limitation emerges from the subject itself and the resources available for field studies. With a few exceptions all materials generated through the project were gathered during one field stay only. In practice this led to a situation where the amount and quality of additional information gathered in interviews to complement the measurements and building studies depend on the availability of knowledgeable people such as inhabitants, craftsmen, master builders, astrologers etc. during

17

Introduction

Measuring sketch for the section of the house in Kongpo, Kham (see p. 70).

RENDERING LOCAL TERMS point is the name of the Autonomous Prefecture Garze, (Wylie:

Rendering local terms has been one of the major difficulties. Some of the terms used by the villagers did not exist in written form before and our local informants often did not have the writing skills to take down those terms in their local language let alone in Wylie (1959) or any other transliteration method. With the help of interpreters, we tried to get a more or less correct phonetic rendering of terms in our interviews, which in some cases may be far from correct spelling. In addition, parts of Bhutan and today Sichuan have their own traditional terms and local spelling to describe rooms and parts of the house. Together with our interpreters we prepared lists of words mentioned in the interviews and with their help tried to convert the results into written Tibetan and later on into Wylie, relying on dictionaries and other literature. Finally, in Central Tibet, Kham and Amdo, Chinese spelling also has an influence on the pronunciation and spelling of place names. A case in

dkar mdzes khul) alternatingly transcribed as Ganzi, Ganse or

Kandze. Throughout this book we use the phonetic terms and wherever possible also their transcription following the Wylie system in italics without capitalizing the main consonant. A guiding principle was to document local terms rather than classical Tibetan ones and keep the phonetic transcription as close to the local pronunciation as possible. This is why we gave preference to the pronunciation of our local informants over dictionaries for classical Tibetan. We hope that the inevitable inconsistencies deriving from this approach are outweighed by a better focus on local cultures and building traditions. We believe that the difficulties mentioned here reflect what becomes apparent in our studies of the houses: Tibetan vernacular architecture comprises a variety of styles, details and traditions.

18

The making of the book

Measuring sketch for the floor plan of the Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa.

19

Introduction

Missionaries – explorers – researchers

a mission in Shigatse; others took the western route through the Indian Garhwal Himalaya, like the Portuguese Jesuits Antonio de Andrade and Manuel Marques who managed to establish a permanent mission in Tsaparang in 1625. Both missions were closed less than ten years later. The 18th century brought an increasing number of Jesuits, Capuchins and emissaries from the East India Company exploring trade opportunities to Tibet providing the Western World with a wealth of details about landscape, customs and politics (see Markham 1971). George Bogle reached Shigatse in 1774 for the East India Company. He was one of the prominent figures of that era, got married to a Tibetan woman and developed a close relationship to the Panchen Lama. The 19th century was characterized by growing interest of foreign powers: the British Empire from the south, the Russians from the north and China declaring Tibet as a protectorate. Traveling into and in Tibet became more and more difficult and in 1850 its boundaries were closed to foreigners. Nevertheless, adventurers such as the American William Woodville Rockhill, George Littledale of Great Britain and the Russian Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky tried to reach Lhasa, while G. T. Vigne travelled extensively in Ladakh and neighboring Baltistan.

Given the harsh environment as well as geographical and political conditions in Central Asia, it is not surprising that up to the 19th century the knowledge about the Tibetan Plateau has been limited to reports from missionaries and a few travelers. The knowledge about the mountain ranges surrounding the plateau was even more fragmentary, since they had been considered mainly as a barrier on the routes to Tibet with no particular attraction of their own. Chinese Buddhist monks such as Seng Tsai, Fa Hsien and Hsüan Tsang were among the earliest to cross the high passes of the Pamir Mountains on their way to the birthplace of Shakyamuni and northern India. While their exact routes are still disputed, they must have crossed the western parts of what later became the huge Tibetan cultural region (see Donner 2010, pp. 16ff). The report from Hsuan Tsang dating from 646 contains a rather derogatory statement about the ‘Western World’, a term that has by some historians been ascribed to Baltistan and Ladakh: The country (…) stands in the midst of the great Snowy Mountains. It is long from east to west, narrow from north to south. It produces wheat and pulse, gold and silver. Thanks to the quantity of gold, the country is rich in supplies. The climate is continually cold. The people are rough and rude in character; there is little humanity or justice with them; and as for politeness, such a thing has not been heard of. They are coarse and despicable in appearance, and wear clothes made of wool. Their letters are nearly like those of India, their language somewhat different. There are about a hundred sangharamas in the country, with something like a thousand priests, who show no great zeal for learning, and are careless in their moral conduct. (Beal

1884 quoted from Schuh 2011). This image of Tibetan culture contrasts with later reports from European visitors. The earliest European report about Tibet is from Rabbi Benjamin of Tuleda from Zaragoza and based on second-hand information. Odoric of Pordenone, a Franciscan monk, claimed to have traveled to Tibet in the first half of the 14th century. Starting from the 15th century, the travels of Nestorian, Moravian and Jesuit missionaries became more and more entangled in political and economic interests in the area. The early reports also reflect the difficulties of entering Tibet: some chose the way between Sikkim and Bhutan, like João Cabral who opened

House below Shigatse Dzong. Photograph by Sven Hedin 1907.

20

Selipuk Monastery in North-western Tibet (Changthang) near the Nganglaring Tso, showing features of Tibetan architecture typical for the dry parts of the Tibetan Plateau: the battered, whitewashed walls, the flat roof and the red frieze indicate the religious function of the building. Watercolor drawing by Sven Hedin (Source: Hedin 1909, vol. II, plate opposite p. 348).

Through their reports and the richly illustrated accounts of the Schlagintweit brothers on their extensive travels through the Himalayas and the southern parts of Tibet (1854–1858), a broader audience in Europe started realizing the uniqueness of the culture and the natural environment of the Himalayas and the adjacent areas. The turn into the 20th century aggravated the political conflicts between the leading regional powers. This led to the military expedition of Francis Younghusband in 1904, imposing a treaty on Tibet and leaving Charles Bell as political representative for the British in Lhasa. Bell later became a renowned scholar of Tibetan culture. Younghusband was accompanied by Laurence Austine Waddell, a professor in pathology and chemistry, who acted as a cultural consultant and became known as one of the most reputed early scholars in Tibetan Buddhism (see Waddell 1895). Notwithstanding the political conflicts in the region, Sven Hedin managed to carry out three expeditions (1893–1935) through the Himalayas and Central Asia, of which he mapped large parts (Hedin 1909). As a skilled illustrator he also produced valuable sketches of monasteries of Central Tibet. They suggest that only limited changes in style and construction occurred from the early 20th century until the 1950s.

Some of the photographs of Joseph Francis Rock (American botanist, 1884–1962), who surveyed parts of Yunnan, Qinghai, Gansu and Tibet, provide similar evidence that despite dramatic political developments in the region the monastic life and settlement patterns remained almost unchanged until 1950. However, up to the late 20th century, the rich history of the exploration of Tibet never focused on secular architecture or, more specifically, on the houses of ordinary people and their everyday life. This is true for the explorations of the Moravian missionary August Hermann Francke, known for his work on the history of Ladakh (see Francke 1914), the Jesuit Cornelius Wessels (1924) and the Catholic Matthias Hermanns (1949) along with many others. Also, the works of the classic scholars on Tibetan history, culture and art such as Rolf Alfred Stein (1957, 1972) on Tibetan history, Guiseppe Tucci (1973, 1977, 1988) on Buddhism and Luciano Petech (1977, 2013) offer valuable information on various aspects of Tibetan and Himalayan history, culture and religion but with no direct reference to our subject. Albert Tafel (1914), geographer and physician, traveled extensively through Eastern Tibet (Kham) between 1903 and 1908 and is one of the rare exceptions. His account includes comments on villages in Northern Gyelrong comparing the houses to those in the Swiss Alps (p. 425):

21

Introduction

Fort-like farmhouses near Lotse-shi in the Lidshu Valley some 20 km north-west of the Minyak Gangkar. Drawing by Eduard Imhof 1930 (Source: ETH Zurich, ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv).

Farmhouse in the Lidshu Valley. Drawing by Eduard Imhof (Source: ETH Zurich, ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv).

‘Swiss houses’ in Tschoktsi. Photo by Albert Tafel 1905 (Source: Tafel 1914, plate XXIX).

In front of the tent door, there was the strikingly picturesque mountain village Tschoktsi rgyalbo, with numerous verandas and additions hanging like dovecots on the old rotten masonry (…) Not only the rulers of Sichuan feel the desire to build up high, but each owner has a tower-like building. Common farmhouses are square and have three, four, sometimes even five levels. They are built from fieldstones, with upwardly receding walls. They are always clustered in irregular groups. The rear part, which in most cases is the northern part of the houses, is raised by one story over the front part and is covered with a double pitch shingled roof weighed down with stones. Its ridge runs from front to rear, giving them the appearance of old Swiss houses. (Translation by the authors). Tafel also offers photographs showing an early 20th century view of villages in Kham. Eduard Imhof, cartographer and mountaineer, together with Swiss Canton-based geologist Arnold Heim (Heim 1933) explored the region around the Minyak Gangkar (mi nyag gangs

‘Turmhäuser’ (tower houses) in Somo. Photo by Albert Tafel 1905 (Source: Tafel 1914, plate XXXI).

22

Missionaries – explorers – researchers

The village of Dongolo in Minyak area. Photo by Arnold Heim 1930 (Source: ETH Zurich, ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv).

House in Daofou (today Dawu) according to Heim resembling Mesopotamian or Egyptian buildings. Photo by Arnold Heim 1930 (Source: ETH Zurich, ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv).

Farmhouse in Tshümi, south-west of the Minyak Gangkar. Sketches from Imhof dated Sept. 14th, 1930. Drawing by Eduard Imhof (Source: ETH Zurich, ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv).

dkar ribo) in 1930, and being an outstanding illustrator, deliv-

craft passed down from one generation to the next, there exists no local or regional documentation on concepts, details and building techniques, let alone something like an academic discourse. Local craftsmen (mostly masons, carpenters and for special purposes painters) were – and in some regions still are – the primary group of builders. Local climatic conditions, availability of building materials and aesthetic preferences as well as geomantic considerations that may have changed over time were the prime factors for design and building. In addition, monks and astrologers played a decisive role in defining the location, orientation and often the shape of the building. Given the lack of written evidence such as drawings or textbooks, the building itself together with interviews with building masters, craftsmen and the inhabitants have been used as key sources for the documentation and analysis in this book.

ered detailed maps, surveys and impressive drawings of farmhouses in the region (Imhof 1974). The interest of anthropologists and architects in local non-monastic architecture and rural settlements of the Himalayas gained momentum only in the 1970s. Among the bulk of studies the following works are worth mentioning: Gerd Auer and Niels Gutschow (1974) on Bhaktapur, Valerio Sestini and Enzo Somigli (1978) on the Sherpas of the Khumbu Region in Nepal, John Crook and Henry Osmaston (1994) on Zangskar, Paul Murdoch (1981) on Ladakh, Philip Denwood (1974) and Marc Dujardin (2003) on Bhutan, Francis Modrillon and Philippe Thouveny (1981) on the Thak Khola in Nepal, Corneille Jest (1981) on Dolpo, Nepal, Martin Ryser (1999) on the variety of farmhouses in Eastern Tibet (Kham) and more recently André Alexander (2013) on traditional Lhasa houses. Since vernacular architecture in Tibet and the Himalayas – in contrast to religious buildings – has always been considered a

23

Ladakh

Small group of houses near Lingshed.

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Today, Ladakh (la dwags) is comprised of two districts in the northern part of the Indian state Jammu and Kashmir, west of the Tibetan Plateau, namely Kargil and Leh. It shares an international border with China in the north and a disputed border with Pakistan in the north-west. What makes Ladakh different from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir is its remoteness between the mountain ranges of the Karakorum and the Himalaya as well as its Buddhist culture that has largely survived into the 21st century. The neighboring regions to the south, Spiti and Lahul, also imprinted by Buddhism, lie in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. With a size of approximately 90,000 km² and a population of less than 300,000, Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Asia. Although Ladakh has never been directly under the Dalai Lama’s government in Lhasa (see Snellgrove and Skorupski 1977, p. xxi), its eastern part kept close cultural ties with Central Tibet. Its historic boundaries included former Baltistan, the Nubra Valley, Rupshu, Zangskar, Lahul, Spiti and extended far into the high plains of Changthang to Rutog and Gartog in the 16th century (see Francke 1977, map opposite p. 81).

Three mountain ranges run in parallel from north-west to southeast through Ladakh: Karakorum, Trans-Himalaya and Himalaya. The eastern Karakorum with peaks over 7,000 m forms a natural barrier towards China. The Trans-Himalaya is split into two mountain ranges: the Ladakh or Kailash Range in the north and the Zangskar Range in the south. The Indus River, the main river of Ladakh, winds through the barren mountainous landscape in between those two ranges forming the spine of old trade routes linking India, Tibet and Central Asia. Both ranges are cut across by several rivers and reach heights of up to 6,400 m. The eastern part of Ladakh with an altitude of 4,500 m extends into the plains of Changthang, while the western part is cut by mountain ranges and deep gorges leaving little space for permanent settlements. Only 25 percent of the inhabited area is cultivated.

CLIMATE In the south-west the Himalaya culminates in heights of more than 7,000 m in the Nun Kun mountains, blocking off the Indian

24

On the way to Pangong Tso.

KHOTAN K2

8.611 m

Nanga Parbat

Liushi Shan

Shahi Kangri I

nd u

7.167 m

6.934 m

s

35° N

8.125 m

KHALSI, Nurla SRINAGAR

Nun Kun 7.135 m

LEH

Kangju Kangri 6.725 m

KHALSI, Tar

Nganglong Kangri 6.720 m

MANALI LAHORE

Kailash 6.638 m

75° E

0

200 km

80° E

Location of documented houses in Ladakh.

variety of agricultural products to grow. Climate change affects the conditions for agriculture and house construction. Increasingly traditional methods for sealing roofs are considered as inadequate.

monsoon rains. As a result, villages in Ladakh and Zangskar receive very little precipitation and have to rely on meltwater and sophisticated irrigation systems (see Gutschow and Gutschow 2003). Moderately warm summers and cold winters with little snow make the climate of Ladakh similar to the one on the Tibetan Plateau. Traveling through the deep gorges of the Zangskar River is easier and in some cases only possible during winter, when the rivers are frozen and thereby provide a comfortable traffic route for yaks and humans. The annual precipitation ranges between 100 and 240 mm and the mean temperatures do not exceed 19° C in summer and −10° C in winter with extremes at 30° C and –40° C respectively (Chadha 1990 quoted from Wacker 1997, p. 4). Because of the lower altitude, Lower Ladakh features a much milder climate offering a greater

HISTORICAL FACETS According to Francke (1907, p. 63), the spread of Buddhism into Ladakh from the south dates back to the 2nd century B.C. Tibetan language, religion and culture was firmly established around the 10th century. During the 13th and 14th century, both Central and Eastern Tibet were “vaguely unified under the souzerainty of the successors of Genghiz Khan” (Snellgrove and Skorupski 1977, p. xii). They

25

Ladakh

Indus Valley, Lower Ladakh, on the way to Kargil.

Indus Valley, Lower Ladakh, village near Mulbekh.

go on to explain: “Ladakh may have been a nominal inclusion in this vast Mongol empire but effectively it was still a separate kingdom…“. These remarks point to one of the distinct features of the culture and history of Ladakh: while the area of what is now called Ladakh was subject to raids and conquests from various directions and cultures, it managed to develop its own sovereignty, take advantage of its location for trade and keep its integration in the Tibetan cultural region. Despite strong religio-cultural linkages to Tibet throughout its history, Ladakh has, however, never been under a Dalai Lama government in Lhasa (see also Snellgrove 2013).

Until the 15th century Ladakh was politically split into competing tribes and kingdoms and subject to raids and invasions from neighboring Muslim states. King Tashi Namgyal was the founder of a dynastic line who succeeded in unifying and consolidating the kingdom of Ladakh. Senge Namgyal (1616–1642) is considered the greatest Ladakhi king of that lineage who moved his residence from Shey to Leh and expanded the boundaries to Zangskar and Spiti. In the 17th century, efforts of Central Tibet to conquer Ladakh were fought off with the help of Kashmir, which belonged to the Mogul Empire, leaving Ladakh in “an ambivalent position” (Rizvi 2007) between Buddhist Tibet and Muslim Kashmir. A

26

Indus Valley, Lower Ladakh.

treaty with Central Tibet established a triennial mission to pay tribute for Tibet’s religious school (Lo-pchak Mission) sustaining the religio-cultural ties between the two countries (see Rizvi 2007, pp. 72–75). Ladakh’s independence under the ancient dynasties finally came to an end when a general of the Rajput Maharaja from Jammu conquered Ladakh in 1834. When after the Sino-Sikh war (1841–1842) the Indian-Tibetan boarder was negotiated with the help of the British, Ladakh became incorporated into British India and Spiti was incorporated into Lahul which was directly under British administration (Snellgrove and Skorupski 1977, p. xiv). The setup of a Mission of the Moravian Church in the late 19th century intensified the introduction of Western ideas and values (see Bray 1988, pp. 38ff). Following India’s independence in 1947, Ladakh became part of the Indian state Jammu and Kashmir with a disputed border to Pakistan. While the Indo-Pakistani wars affected mostly the western part of Ladakh dominated by a predominantly Muslim population, the Sino-Indian war following the Chinese occupation of Aksai Chin in 1962 led India to build up a massive military presence in Central Ladakh to secure the strategically important border region and construct the first road from Srinagar to Leh. The most far-reaching impact on the development of Ladakh

was the closure of the Tibetan border in 1949, which severely affected Ladakh’s traditional economic base. It shut down traditional trade routes and cut the ancient links to Central Asia. The resulting economic decline was partially offset by the large-scale military presence and the opening for tourism in 1974.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS In general, the houses of noble families and monks clustering around the castles of kings and monasteries form the only settlements in Ladakh that show a level of density and functional diversity one may classify as ‘urban’. Outside densely populated places such as Leh, Kargil, Padam or Korzok, farmhouses are scattered over the cultivated land or stand next to it, forming unique micro-ecosystems together with the surrounding barley fields, orchards and tree plantations. Settlements are perfectly adapted to the harsh climate conditions, the mountainous terrain and the chronic lack of water. Over the centuries Ladakhi farmers have developed a unique oasis culture sustained by intricate irrigation systems and a clever water management (see Crook and Ostmaston 1994, Wacker 1997 and Gutschow and Gutschow 2003).

27

Ladakh

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla

Farkethang Gongma, isometric view from south-east.

LOCATION leading north to Temisgam, an old village with a castle from the 15th century, and another one leading south through a narrow gorge to the village of Tar. Both places can only be accessed by foot. Tributary rivers and streams play a preeminent role in providing irrigation water as the Indus River carved its bed too deeply into the barren scree at the bottom of the valley to provide that function. The settlement of Farkethang lies some 400 m upstream from Nurla proper. Its name is derived from phar ke (other side) and thang (large space or plain). According to our informants, the place has been settled for nine generations: initially by one family, which at one point in time split into two and which are now living in the two houses that have been the only ones in

The village of Nurla is located in Lower Ladakh on the road from Leh to Srinagar at an altitude of 3,000 m above sea level. From Nurla, the road leading up to Ladakh’s cultural and administrative center Leh follows the Indus River Valley through the barren landscape. It takes three hours to reach Leh from Nurla. This section of the Indus River Valley is comparatively narrow leaving limited space for barley fields, orchards and houses. Nurla has a population of about 350 people distributed among some 50 houses. The Dekung make up 70 percent of Nurla’s population. They receive their spiritual support from Lamayuru Monks belonging to the Kagyu-Sect (bka’ brgyud). The remaining population is Gelug (dge lugs), associated to the Likir Monastery. Two side valleys join the Indus River Valley near Nurla: the valley

28

HOUSE NAME

Farkethang Gongma VILLAGE

Nurla REGION

Ladakh STATE

Jammu and Kashmir 3150

COUNTRY

India ALTITUDE

3100

3,050 m 30 5

300

0

0

30 50

310 0

315 0

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

Farkethang Gongma, view from the rock rising south just behind the house.

of man-nature relationship are presented in the following sketch from 1995 (shown on p. 32). The cultivated land of Farkethang’s small world stretches over a distance of 1.5 km with a width of 100 to 200 m between the road from Srinagar to Leh and the mountain slopes rising north of the Indus River Valley. The lives of its inhabitants are linked to the sites of their surroundings which include a water reservoir (rdzhing), the water canal (myur ba), a field with huge granite boulders used for construction, barley fields, apricot orchards, vegetable gardens, walnut trees, several threshing floors (gyul ltag), a small (and only occasionally used) gompa (dgon pa), two water mills (ran tag), two monk houses (to accommodate monks for domestic ceremonies), two residential buildings for

Farkethang until the 1990s: Farkethang Gongma (Upper Farkethang) and Farkethang Yogma (Lower Farkethang). The current names of the families have been derived from these house names.

THE ENVIRONMENT Farkethang Gongma (phar ke thang gong ma) displays many of the typical features of the Ladakhi culture. Over the centuries, the Ladakhis have developed a complex relationship with their harsh environment, taking the maximum benefit of scarce natural resources and at the same time securing long-term sustainability. Some of the elements constituting this special concept

29

Ladakh

Indus tributary

Tsa tsa khang Monk houses Zing Water canal Granite boulders

Lhato

Temple

Apricot orchards

The monk houses and the tsa tsa khang on the steep slope above.

Water mills

Chorten

Barley fields

Threshing floor

Indus

Threshing floor

The man-made environment of Farkethang Gongma. Sketch by Holger Schulze-Seeger.

Threshing with dzomos, the female hybrids of yaks and cows, on the threshing floor next to the house.

Inside the water mill.

altogether 27 people and numerous yaks, dzo (mdzo) and sheep, most of which stay on the mountain pastures during summer. On a prominent rock towering over the house of Farkethang Gongma are the lathos (lha tho) and prayer flags of the families. A narrow desert-like secondary valley accommodates the burying and cremation places. Houses in Farkethang are placed at the edge of the cultivated land. The house presented on the following pages is protected from this valley by three poorly maintained chorten (mchod rten) dedicated to the three protector gods, the Rigsum Gonpo (rigs gsum mgon po). The two monk houses as well as two small cubic buildings called tsa tsa khang (tsha tsha khang) for keeping small whitewashed votive chorten made from clay mixed with the ashes of the deceased (tsha tsha) are located just outside the cultivated area on a steep scree slope across the main water canal. The main water canal mayur (ma yur) provides the oasis of Farkethang with life. Its water comes from the tributary river in the

Functional sketch of the water mill by Holger Schulze-Seeger.

30

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla

Prefabricated pieces of shing tsag ready for transport.

Shingtsag in Farkethang Gongma (watercolor painting by Rainer Frenzel).

Decorative paintings on the post heads, the ma r’dung and the heads of the r’dung ma (watercolor painting by Sabine Diehl).

ies used for different purposes. The most important are pha ting which are best used for drying and storing for the winter season. Lak tse kar po have sweet, white almond-like kernels; the kernels of ngar mo are used for preparing oil, while the bitter kernels of khan to provide oil for lamps and massage. Yum bok, a specialty of Farkethang, serve as raw material for hair-conditioners sold to Kashmiris. Apricot oil is generally used as a hair care product by the local women and as an additive for the special clay used for building the traditional stoves. Fruit pulp of apricots is used as additive for clay plaster in order to improve its elasticity. Sundried apricots are not only eaten but also used for cleaning pots and jugs. The pressed kernels are fed to animals. Several varieties of poplar (yar pa) are used for building. Willows are cultivated along the water canals and used as medicine and as construction material. A huge 200-year-old walnut tree (star ga) next to the house provides wood for furniture and nuts.

Temisgam Valley through a regularly maintained canal along steep scree slopes. As the main water source it provides all the water needed for feeding men and animals as well as for irrigation and water mills and also feeds the secondary canals, called yura (yur ba). At the site where the mayur enters the cultivated area of Farkethang, the residents have built a small reservoir, retaining the water for special purposes such as planting new trees and milling grain. The distribution is regulated by sluices, which spread the water among the fields of the two families following a strictly regulated scheme.

RESOURCES In an environment such as Ladakh, scarce resources have to be used efficiently and recycling is important. A point in case is the use of apricots. Because of the mild climatic conditions they are among the most important produce in Lower Ladakh. The people from Farkethang differentiate more than ten distinct variet-

31

Ladakh

Ground floor 0.1 Tangra (tang ra), stable for sheep and goats during winter. 0.2. Bangkang (bang khang), granary. This store room is inaccessible from the

0.5

ground floor. It contains six wooden compartments used as granaries for barley (nas), wheat (to), black bean (nag sran) and two varieties of peas (sren ma and ka ras). The compartments are filled and emptied from room 1.2 above. The granary is said to contain the food supply for ten years and has to be emptied and cleaned every three years. 0.3 Tangra, for eight cows in winter. 0.4 Pugrag (phug rags), room for storing straw for the animals. 0.5 Tangra, winter stable for eight to ten young goats, sheep and calves. 0.6 Tangra, winter stable for eight male donkeys. 0.7 Room below the toilets, storing the mix of human feces and soil. It is mixed with animal dung and straw and applied to the planting area during spring time. 0.8 Zod (mzod), store room for animal skins, which are processed to boots. 0.9 Shol (srol), corridor.

0.7 0.6

0.9

0.8

0.4 0.3

0.1

0.2

Ground floor plan.

First floor 1.1 Tshongtse Yognung (tshong tse yog nung), the ‘room under the big

1.7 1.8

1.9

1.11

1.6 1.5

1.10 1.4 1.3

1.1 1.2

0

First floor plan.

1

2

4m

window’ is the warmest room during winter. Heated by up to 100 sheep and goats cramped in the stable below, it is one of the favorite sleeping rooms of the grandfather. 1.2 Room providing access to the different compartments (see 0.2) of the granaries in the ground floor. The openings in the floor are 40 x 40 cm, just wide enough for young boys whose task it is to get the cereals out. 1.3 Zod, store room for the perak, the women’s traditional headdresses for special occasions; also used as sleeping room for mothers and their unmarried daughters. 1.4 Changkang (chang khang), room used for preparing the beer (chang) from barley, which is drunk at all ceremonies and other special occasions. 1.5 Zod, store room with an uneven floor formed by bedrock, used for storing leaves from apricot trees as winter fodder for the animals. 1.6 Zod, store room used for different sorts of flour. A big wooden box (pher rgam) with different compartments the size of 3 x 1 m and 1.5 m high serves as container. 1.7 Rest room for the dancers present at important festivities (nang soma), who drink beer during the breaks here. During a wedding ceremony, it can be up to thirty dancers. This room has a direct access to the toilet on this floor. 1.8 Chagra (chag ra, honorific: de chod), toilet. The traditional Ladakhi dry toilet with a square hole in the floor and equipped with sand and a shovel to cover the excreta. 1.9. Room for washing with small sink. 1.10 Shol (srol), hallway. 1.11 Chansa (chan sa or rgyun khang), winter kitchen. One of the functionally most important rooms in the house used for cooking, receiving guests, relaxing and by some members of the family also for sleeping. The central place between the four posts is called ka shi rdung rgyat (lit. ‘posts four beams eight’). Central to the kitchen is the stove, which in the winter kitchen has been replaced by a modern steel stove of Chinese origin (l’caks-thab). Along with chos khang and the tshong tse, the kitchen is the most representative room of the house: it nicely displays the perfectly cleaned brass plates, ladles, copper pots and other utensils on a shelve covering two sides of the room. The family including guests take their meals sitting on carpets and sheepskins around the stove, on small tables (chok tsai or honorific: sol chuk) following a strict rule, giving the eldest members of the family and guests the priority to sit next to the fire.

32

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla

The winter kitchen chansa, with a modern steel stove.

Post in the winter kitchen.

An intricately painted table called chogtse from the tshongtse in Farkethang Gongma (watercolor painting by Sabine Diehl).

The summer kitchen, Yarkhang, with traditional clay stove.

Inside the tshongtse in the south-eastern corner of the first floor.

THE INHABITANTS AND THEIR SOCIAL NETWORK Social networks reach beyond the boundaries of the small hamlet of Farkethang and even Nurla. Members of the Phaspun (pha spun), the traditional socio-religious reference group of the families (see Brauen 1980 for a detailed discussion), have a common protection deity and share certain duties, especially for transition rites such as marriages and deaths. Phaspun members are spread over a number of other villages including Tar, Nurla and Temisgam. Their common deity (in this case the pha lha sku rgyal) has several ‘homes’ represented by a lhato, a

The house presented on the following pages belongs to a well-off family that is conscious about its own traditions. It is comprised of ten people and three generations. During the summer season three Nepalese migrant workers also join the household. The household livestock comprises approximately 100 sheep and goats, eight cows, six donkeys, two horses, two dzomos, two yaks, two oxen and a number of young animals. During summer, most of the animals that are not needed for threshing or other tasks are in the mountains.

33

Ladakh

Second floor 2�1 Tshongtse (tshong tse), spacious multi-purpose room, Often used for 2.7 2.10

2.6 2.11

2.4

2.3 2.2

Second floor plan.

2.1

0

1

2

4m

receiving guests, also for sleeping by some family members. Tshong tse is also the name of the characteristic corner window, usually oriented towards south-east. The tshong tse also stands out from other profane rooms of the house for its colored beams and post heads. 2�2 Zod, room for storing blankets and clothes. 2�3 Yarkang (yar khang), summer kitchen. As in most houses in this region the main door orients towards the east or south. After climbing the stairs to the second floor the door opens directly to the summer kitchen. It is used from May through September. The traditional clay-made stove (thab) is still preserved in the summer kitchen. It is built from a special variety of clay (zrads) characterized by our informant as the ‘little brother of cement’ for its strength. It is decorated with lotus leaves and auspicious symbols. On the south side the yar khang opens to a narrow balcony used for storing kitchen devices, drying apricots and herbs. 2�4 Zod, store room for butter and vegetables. Due to its special location and orientation towards north and the mountain slope, it is always kept cool. The floor is covered with fresh grass, sometimes also with wild mint (pu de na). 2�5 Shol (srol), corridor. 2�6 Nyima lahang (nyima lahang), the room ‘oriented to the sun’ is used as a sleeping room for monks and astrologers during religious festivities. Up to 100 people may attend the ceremonies at important occasions. The windows and parapets oriented to the courtyard can be removed to create more space in the courtyard. Three steps indicate the ritual importance of this room and allow the monks to watch the ceremonies in the courtyard from a slightly elevated level. 2�7 Chokang (chos khang), sacred room of the house. Placed at the highest position of the house, it is lavishly painted and equipped with an altar. The elevation from the terrace creates a plinth with small openings, providing fresh air and some light to the room for the dancers on the second floor (1.7 nang soma). The great-uncle living in the house pays a daily visit to the chos khang to perform rituals. 2�8 Zod, store room for traditional clothes. 2�9 Chagra (chag ra, honorific: de chod), traditional dry toilet. 2�10 Nameless room in front of the toilet, as odor and visual protection. It has a primitive sink and is used as a bathroom during winter, when it can be heated with a small stove. 2�11 Kendo, (khen dok), lit. ‘roof’. Actually a courtyard above the winter kitchen (chan sa), used for sleeping during summer and the numerous religious festivities and rituals (at birth, marriage and death). During harvest time, apricots are dried here. Roof floor (khen dok gong ma) The topmost flat roof is generally considered as a

separate floor level. It is only accessible via a ladder and is mainly used for drying apricots. Some of the rooms below have roof-lanterns-like openings for lighting and ventilation. Traditionally, it was not water-proof and had no pitch. Several layers of compacted clay prevented the rain water from seeping in. During winter snow had to be regularly removed. As in other Tibetan regions the roof attic is used for storing firewood. Beyond its practical aspects, this layer of firewood has become a distinctive architectural element with its own symbolic messages as can be seen from the purely symbolic application in monastic and fort architecture. The corners of the roof are crowned by lhatos with some juniper twigs and prayer flags mostly showing the lungta (rlung rta), i.e. the wind horse.

The flat rooftop used for drying apricots.

34

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla

0

1

2

4m

North-south section.

small pile of stones with bunches of juniper on the top of the roof the member families’ houses (in this case eight families).

the significance of the boundary between the outside world and the house. Load-bearing elements of ceilings are exclusively made from poplar wood which is used for spans of up to 6 m. The major load-bearing vertical elements are wooden posts (ka) crowned with post heads (ka gzhu). They take the load from the main beams called ma r’dung (lit. ‘mother beams’). The ma r’dung in turn carry the r’dung ma (lit. ‘beam mothers’) that are laid in a distance of approximately 50 cm. The number of ma r’dung per room is always uneven. The next layer consists of willow twigs (dral bu) with a diameter of 3 to 4 cm and dried scrub, covered by 5 cm of mud (thog sa).

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The ground floor of this house is built from roughly cut natural stones taken from the granite boulder site at the upper end of the cultivated area close to the water reservoir. The outer walls of the first and second floor have been constructed with sundried bricks using resources found just next to the house. All outer walls are plastered with a special type of clay called markalag, but only the southern and eastern facades are whitewashed. The markalag comes from a site some 10 km upstream and had to be purchased from the owner of the site. All windows from the second floor upwards are covered by a protruding and sometimes richly decorated lintel, called shing tsag (lit. ‘stack of wooden planks’). This system is widely spread in the entire Himalayan region under Tibetan influence. The tshong tse of the Farkethang Gongma house shows the typical features of a shing tsag. Five layers of wooden planks are piled up lengthways and crossways rendering the necessary stability for a span of more than 3 m. This is to make maximum use of the relatively weak poplar wood which is the only locally available building wood. Door and window frames are parts of the main structure of the building and are inserted as lost formwork already when building the mud walls. They are thus part of the load-bearing system of the outer walls. The door frame is not higher than 1.7 m and has an impressive 20-cm-strong threshold, which conveys

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE This house differs from the majority of rural Ladakhi houses in that it has three floors instead of two, a richly decorated sacred room (chos khang) on the third floor, a second kitchen used as a summer kitchen and additional rooms for guests. During most parts of the year the available space is not fully utilized. In terms of decoration and structural details this house is largely traditional although modern elements such as window panes, oilpaint, the typical iron stove and other furniture have been introduced. All rooms are kept unlocked; in the past, even the main door of the house was kept unlocked. There is neither a division between living and sleeping rooms nor a strict division between private and commonly shared rooms. The ground floor is only used for stables and storage. It has small windows with simple wooden framed openings. Window

35

Ladakh

South-east elevation.

36

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla

0

37

1

2

4m

Ladakh

0

1

2

South-west elevation with tshong tse and main entrance.

sizes increase with floor level and are biggest on the second or – if it exists – the third floor. The vertical organization of the Ladakhi house follows an elaborate cosmological pattern (see Murdoch 1981; Mills 2002, pp. 154–156): the underworld associated with the stables for the animals, the world of man with the living rooms for the family and the roof for the deity, with a sacred room and in big houses additional rooms for monks.

The day when the first water after the winter comes down, the yura, a small offering, is made to the ‘hungry spirit’ called yedaks (ye daks). Family members will eat tsampa, seven chapati, drink chang and burn a powder called sur made from brown sugar, honey, butter, yoghurt, red and white sandalwood and saffron. On some of the fields and close to wells there are small structures made of earth and stone called pung pa, a vase with an outer form resembling the shape of lhatos. They protect the harvest against insects and ensure the flow of water. Cultivating work starts with symbolic plowing (skarzin) on a small piece of land. Among the protective devices the most important are a sas go, a sheep head with horns, filled with mantras and decorated with spider-net-like hair crosses that have been fixed on the southern facade of the building by an astrologer (against sickness of the animals), and a nams go (against thunderstorms) on the northwest facade. Often the two are combined and called sas go nams go (lit. ‘earth door sky door’) . Red markings at the corners of the house also have a protective function. A symbol of adherence to Buddhism used almost universally across the Himalayas and the adjacent plains is the 10-m-high prayer flag (tar chen) in front of the entrance to the house. It is renewed every year at Buddha’s birthday, i.e. the 15th day of the fourth lunar month.

RITUALS AND PROTECTIVE DEVICES The vertical arrangement of floors and their uses reflects the cosmic pattern mentioned above: underworld – earth – heaven. The main door offers the entry to this microcosm and has important functions: besides its practical function, it prevents evil spirits from entering the house and has a protective effect on all who pass it in either direction (see Murdoch 1981 for details). In the past, there was no need for any locking device. Above the main door, sometimes in the courtyard in front of it or in a niche of an outer wall, three chorten symbolizing the presence of the ‘protectors of the three realms’ (rigs gsum mgon po) are placed to reinforce the protection. Our informant also made a reference to the three cosmic levels of the house, associating Jampal Yang (‘jam dpal dbyangs, sanskr. Manjushri) with the heavens, Chenrezig ( spyan ras gzigs, sanskr. Avalokiteshvara) with the earth and Chakna Dorje (phyag na rdo rje, sanskr. Vaijrapani) with the underworld.

38

4m

Farkethang Gongma House in Nurla

Sago Namgo, protective device with spider-net hair crosses. Drawing of the Sago Namgo by Holger Schulze-Seeger.

Poorly maintained Rigsum Gonpo chorten in Farkethang.

Farkethang Gongma House with prayer flag in the courtyard.

39

Ladakh

Dakchanga House in Tar

The Dakchanga House in Tar, view from the south.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT is no motorable access or electricity and the rather makeshift telephone line has been laid through the gorge only around 2006. Most houses are located along the edges of the cultivated land where the steep slopes of the surrounding mountains start rising. All of them are oriented towards south-east or south-west. Only 16 families with altogether about one hundred persons live in Tar. They are networked to the Indus Valley through the trade route, monks visiting the small gompa in Tar and the phaspuns of the families. The phaspun (pha spun) is a socio-religious network typical for the whole of Ladakh. Usually a phaspun consists of 3–6 households, defined by reciprocal duties under a special protective deity called pha la (pha lha).

The village of Tar is located in a small valley south of the main Indus Valley at an old trade route from Nurla via the Tar La to the village of Ursi in Zangskar and further to the valleys of the Ripchar and Yapola Rivers. The bottom of the valley at about 3,350 m is surrounded by barren mountain ridges reaching heights of over 4,200 m. What makes this valley unique is its bowl-like shape and seclusion from the outside world. The only access from the Indus Valley in the north is through a narrow gorge with partially overhanging walls several 100 m in height, or from the south where the path leads through a narrow valley and over high passes. The expanse of the cultivated land in the Tar oasis is modest: less than 230 m in north-west/south-east direction and 300 m in north-east/south-west direction. There

40

HOUSE NAME

Dakchanga VILLAGE

Tar REGION

Ladakh COUNTRY

India ALTITUDE

0

3 75

65

3

0

70 0

3,360 m

0 50

3

0 360

35 50

3

0 3350

34 0

34 5

0

36 50 36 0 0

35 50 3

50 0

34

0

5

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View on the Tar Valley from the surrounding hills to the east.

The narrow gorge connecting Tar to the Indus Valley and Nurla. All goods from the market have to be carried along this way.

41

Ladakh

0

1

2

4m

Window of the store room in the eastern facade showing rounded glass retaining bars that are typical for a design fashion introduced from India to Leh in the 1990s.

The eastern facade with stairs and entrance door to the first floor.

They share a common cremation ground (spur khang) and are not necessarily related by blood nor do they live in the same village. Martin Brauen emphasizes the spatial aspect of residence, i.e. the house, as a node in a particular phaspun network (Brauen 1980, p. 24). Thus, the households of Tar are closely connected to families in the Indus Valley, including some from Nurla, through their phaspun. At the western edge, slightly up the slope, there is a small sacred building (lha khang), which is used by monks passing through the valley. It is maintained by a monk and a nun living together in a small house further down the slope amidst the apricot trees. Just below the lhakhang there is a small school building with two rooms. In 2015, the five children between six and nine years of age were taught by a teacher from Nurla-Temisgam and a local one form Dakchanga House. Houses are surrounded by vegetable gardens and terraced barley fields, which are irrigated by a complicated system of water canals (yur ba) sourced from the main stream crossing the valley towards the Indus and some minor creeks from tributary valleys. There is enough water to supply the fields, gardens, orchards and several mills all the year round. At the southern end of the valley the water from the main stream runs through a filter of sand-filled stone boxes to improve its quality for drinking. Poplar and willow trees line the water canals and some of the agricultural lots. The barley fields covering the bottom of the valley are interspersed with apricot and apple orchards. All households cultivate a small vegetable garden next to their

house growing red cabbage, onions, peas, lentils, tomatoes, radish, carrots, cauliflower and spinach. Some of the houses are hidden between huge, very old walnut trees. Some electricity is provided by batteries, and a small number of photovoltaic cells produces power for mobile phones and rudimentary electric lighting.

THE INHABITANTS AND THEIR SOCIAL NETWORK The house is owned by the grandmother and inhabited by three generations, i.e. the grandmother, her four sons, one daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. Their family name is ‘Dakchanga’, which is identical with the house name. None of the other five phaspun households is from Tar: they are all located in the village of Nurla in the Indus Valley, where the footpath to Tar starts. The eldest son and the daughter-in-law are school teachers. The other sons contribute additional monetary income from the military, working as a car painter and as a trekking guide. Thus, the mixed economic basis of this family follows a pattern that is typical for many remote villages in Ladakh: based on smallscale subsistent agricultural production, they receive monetary income from family members busy in three major economic sectors of Ladakh, i.e. military, transportation and tourism. The livestock of the Dakchanga family is rather limited: they own just two dzo (mzo, male hybrids of yaks and cows) and several goats. The family also owns a water mill (ran tag) about 100 m upstream from their house.

42

Dakchanga House in Tar

The winter kitchen on the first floor with steel stove and constructive elements cladded with bamboo.

Tshongtse, the room for receiving guests, catching the sun from south-west on the second floor.

43

Ladakh

Store room on the second floor.

Inside the sacred room chokhang, with shrine and thankas.

On the terrace of the second floor looking towards the entrance to the sacred room.

Rooftop terrace with lhato and prayer flags.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE With its limited dimensions and the small number of rooms, the house represents a common type of Ladakh residential dwelling in remote areas. According to our informant, it may have been built already at the beginning of the 19th century, but saw numerous extensions and refurbishing, especially with additional cash coming in through external family members. A good example are the new windows which are not only much bigger compared to traditional ones but also glazed and follow a ‘modern style’. They were fitted some 25 years ago. Cracks in the wall give rise to the assumption that the entire second floor may have been added in the late 1980s. In order to catch as much sun as possible, the house is clearly oriented to the south with more and bigger windows and terraces, while the northern elevation shows only two small openings for ventilation on the ground floor, while the western facade has no opening at all.

The entrance to the residential floors is positioned in the east, following the common pattern in Tar. Except some decorative elements in the interior, building materials were sourced locally. The ground floor and part of the first floor walls are made of local rubble and spit-face stones. The first floor walls are built with sun-dried mud bricks. The entire external surface of the house is plastered using a fairly expensive type of clay called markalag that had to be carried up to Tar from the Indus Valley. All outer walls are whitewashed on the outside.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE With a ground floor used for storage and animals and a first floor for residential purposes, the spatial organization of this house follows the typical pattern of rural houses in Ladakh.

44

Dakchanga House in Tar

Ground floor 0.1 Tangra (tang ra), stable for the two dzo (mzo). 0.2 Shol (srol), corridor. 0.3 Zod (mzod), store room for barley straw (phug ma). 0.4 Tangra, stable for goats (ra bo, ra ma). 0.5 Sacred room with a whitewashed chorten, accessible only through a small

0.6

0.2 0.5

0.1 0.4

with animal dung and straw it is applied to the barley fields during spring time.

0.3

Ground floor plan.

1.5

1.6

1.7 1.8

1.1 1.4 1.3

1.2

First floor plan.

2.4 2.5

2.3

2.1

2.2

0

1

2

4m

opening in the wall. 0.6. Room below the toilet, storing the mix of human feces and soil. Mixed

2.6

Second floor plan.

First floor 1.1 Shol, corridor. 1.2 Sleeping room, previously used as kitchen. 1.3 Zod, store room for vegetables and grain. 1.4 Chansa (chan sa or rgyun khang), winter kitchen oriented towards south/ south-west, with a ‘modern’ steel stove (l’caks-thab) and the typical cupboard (lhangs) for copper pots, plates and other kitchen utensils. Also

used as living room for the entire family in summer. With monetary incomes increasing, this room has been decorated with elements from outside the valley. For example, the wooden posts (ka), post heads (ka gzhu) and the main beam (ma r’dung) have been clad with bamboo sticks cut into halves. 1.5 Changkhang (chang khang), room for the preparation of chang. 1.6 Zod, store room for yak dung used for heating and cooking, also for storage of clothes. 1.7 Chagra (chag ra) or chendsa, toilet. 1.8 Yarkhang (yar khang), summer kitchen, room previously used for sleeping. Second floor 2.1 Khendok (khen dok), roof terrace used as living space in summer. 2.2 Sleeping room for guests. 2.3 Chokhang (chos khang), sacred room, elevated by three steps from the

terrace which highlight its ritual importance. Its interior is surprisingly well – equipped with an altar shrine containing statues of Chenrezig (spyan ras gzigs, sanskr. Avalokiteshvara) and Chagna Dorje (phyag na rdo rje, sanskr. Vajrapani) as well as several fine thangkas (thang ka). 2.4 Zod, store room for cheese, grain and wool. 2.5 Zod, store room for clothes. 2.6 Tshongtse (tshong tse) room for receiving guests showing the typical corner window towards south-west, occasionally used for sleeping by some family members. Roof floor  (khen dok gong ma) On the topmost roof close to the parapet we find the

lhato and some prayer flags. In summer, the flat roof is used for drying apricots and cheese; straw and fire wood is stacked along the parapet.

45

Ladakh

Section A–A.

0

Section B–B.

46

1

2

4m

Dakchanga House in Tar

South-east elevation.

North-east elevation.

0

1

2

4m

South-west elevation.

47

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

Stone houses 120 km east of Lhasa.

The Trans-Himalayan Mountain Range (Nyenchen Tanglha and Gangdise Ranges) divides the plateau into a northern and southern part. With an average altitude of more than 4,500 m, the Changthang plains in the north feature a dry, cold and unlivable desert, while the Yarlung Tsangpo (yar klung gtsang po) Valley in the south offers favorable conditions for human settlements. It is therefore quite obvious that Tibetan Buddhist culture emanated from the latter. The topography of the part south of the Trans-Himalayan Mountains is shaped by two of the major river systems of South Asia, both originating from almost the same location north of the Himalayas: the Indus drains the plateau towards the west and eventually cuts through the Himalaya towards the Punjab Plains in Pakistan. Similarly, the Yarlung Tsangpo winds parallel to the Himalayas towards the east and, after breaking through the mountains, continues as Brahmaputra towards the Bay of Bengal. The valleys of the Yarlung Tsangpo, with the monastic centers of Lhasa, Shigatse and Tsetang, are at the heart of Tibetan Buddhist culture. The Yarlung Tsangpo valley system is intensely cultivated, mainly with barley, buckwheat, potatoes and rapeseed. Animal husbandry including sheep and goats is another important economic factor. In the west, the upper limit of cultivation can reach 4,400 m (see Miller 2005).

The term ‘Central Tibet’ coincides vaguely with the two historical provinces U (dbus) in the east, with Lhasa as its center, and Tsang (gtsang) in the west originating from Gyantse Town. The territory of these two historical provinces is usually addressed with the blanket term U-Tsang (dbus gtsang). U-Tsang generally correlates with the Dalai Lama’s sphere of influence, which, however, varied considerably over the centuries. Along with Amdo (a mdo) and Kham (khams), U-Tsang is considered one of the three core provinces of Tibetan culture. From U-Tsang, the Gelug Buddhist doctrine, monastic administrative patterns and basic principles for shaping the relationship between the clergy and lay people radiated to the ‘outer’ provinces such as Amdo and Kham and further to the west into areas such as Ngari (mnga ‘ris) and Ladakh. The current political landscape associates the term Central Tibet with the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), which has been created as a division of the People’s Republic of China in 1965.

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Physically, the term ‘Central Tibet’ comprises the whole of the Tibetan Plateau, bordered in the north by the Kunlun Mountain Range and in the south by the Himalayas. In the east and west, ethno-cultural Tibet extends into Amdo in the north-east, Kham in the south-east and Ngari in the far west, covering south-western parts of the Tibetan Plateau.

48

Village in the region of Chusum.

Geladaindong

Purog Kangri

6.621 m

6.929 m

Dza Ch u

NAGCHU

Gy almo N gul Chu

Nyenchen Tanglha Gyala Peri 7.294 m

LHASA, Dopo

KONGPO, Tashi Gang NYINGTRI Namcha Barwa LHASA 7.782 m TSETANG

SHIGATSE

Yarlu ng Tsangpo

LHOKA, Mendru Khang

LHATSE

Gangkar Punsum

Mt. Everest 8.848 m

30° N

7.162 m

7.570 m

Kangchenjunga 8.586 m

Kangt

7.060 m

0

90° E

200 km 95° E

Central Tibet.

CLIMATE1 lands before transitioning into cold steppe vegetation at elevations above 4,400 m. Due to the lack of moisture, the tree line around Lhasa is as low as 3,200 m. Poplar trees are grown in the irrigated areas around settlements. Their timber is commonly used for construction. Stands of arboreal juniper or shrub juniper grow in the valleys while willow and some fruit trees can be found in the villages. Thickets of sea buckthorn grow along the streams. The southern tributary valleys in the Himalayan belt that draw moisture from the South Asian monsoon are forested. The house in Tashi Gang in the region of Kongpo, where the Yarlung Tsangpo makes a sharp bend to the south, provides an example for valleys where mountain slopes are covered with extensive coniferous forest.

While on the northern and western sections of the plateau the climate is semi-arid to arid showing extreme temperature variations – short summers and cold winters – the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley is warmer than any other place on the plateau. It is heated by dry foehn winds sweeping down from the northern slopes of the Himalaya. The precipitation in the valley is low and decreases towards the west. It ranges from an annual 500 mm in the east to 200 mm in the west. In Lhasa, the average annual temperature is 8° C. The vegetation in the valley bottom consists of grasses and scattered forbs and shrubs. The vegetation on low northern and southern valley slopes consists of temperate steppe shrub1 Precipitation and temperature data are retrieved from: http://en.climate-data.org (June 2016).

49

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

View of Menya Village, Chusum.

Stone houses in the village of Menya in Chusum.

HISTORICAL FACETS Empire was strong enough to invade Tang China in 763 and even capture the ancient capital of Chang’an (modern Xi’an), albeit for a very short time. During its heyday in the late 8th century, the Tibetan Empire controlled a vast territory stretching from modern Afghanistan to China and from modern Kazakhstan in the north to Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh and Northern India in the south. Internal political-religious conflicts emerging from struggles about succession eventually led to the collapse of the empire and its fragmentation into various territories of competing warlords and small independent kingdoms in the middle of the 9th century. After the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1276–1368) had established itself in China, it extended its power into Tibet. Under Yuan patronage, Tibet had to accept the military and administrative power of the Souzerain. As a protégé of the Mongols,

The history of Central Tibet is characterized by the delicate power relation between the Dalai Lama and foreign overlords for the sake of protecting and sustaining the Tibetan Empire and its monastic system. Tibetan chronicles mention several early lineages of kings in Western Tibet and in the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley. But it is only in the 7th century that Tibetan history leaves the realm of mutually contradicting chronicles about legendary kings and enters “real history” (Stein 1972, p. 52). Songtsen Gampo (srong btsan sgam po) who died in 650 A.D., is often referred to as the great founder of the Buddhist Empire by borrowing knowledge including technology, secular law, medicine and Buddhism from the four great countries “in the four points of the compass” (Stein 1972, ibid.), namely China with Minya in the east, India in the south, Sok in the west and Hor and Yugur in the north. The

50

Meadows and forests around Tashi Gang Village in Kongpo.

Houses in Tashi Gang Village in Kongpo.

the Sakya School of Buddhism played a key role in reorganizing the administration. The foundation of the ‘reformed’ school of the Gelugpa by Tsongkhapa falls in the same period (Stein 2013, p. 205). Chie Nakane (1987, p. 38) emphasizes that it was “not until the period between the 11th and 15th centuries, subsequent to the reign of the ancient kingdom that the process of the integrity of Tibet as a cultural and social unit came really into force.” The title of Dalai Lama (ta la’i bla ma) was introduced by the Mongol ruler Altan Khan in 1578. In 1642, Gushri Khan, a Mongolian prince, after the conquest of U-Tsang and neighboring Kham and Amdo, transferred the power over the whole of Tibet including Kham and Amdo to the 5th Dalai Lama (Nakane 1987, p. 39) who re-established Lhasa as the capital of Tibet and began with the construction of the Potala Palace. He also seized control over administrative functions. His successors treated the Mongols as a “powerful ally” rather than a protective power (Stein 2013, p. 392). The reformist Gelug stream of Tibetan Buddhism gained influence vis-à-vis the old Sakya school during this period. The year 1706 marks a distinct change: the successor of Gushri Khan took over all governing functions and established a regime resembling an “absolute and hereditary Mongol monarchy” with the Dalai Lama as a puppet (Stein 2013, ibid.). A massive interference of troops of the Manchu-Chinese Qing Dynasty began from the mid-18th century and after bloody incidences the Dalai Lama became subordinated to Chinese ministers in Lhasa, followed by the closure of Tibet’s borders in 1788. The 19th century saw a growing interest in Tibet by the British Empire. A British military expedition under Colonel Francis Younghusband ended in an internationally criticized massacre of 600 Tibetans. Younghusband reached Lhasa in 1903 and negotiated a bilateral trade agreement which was repealed by a tripartite treaty in 1906, recognizing China’s suzerainty over Tibet and formally opening Tibet for trade with Britain (Stein 1982, p. 85). Despite a modest modernization process, Tibet kept its political-religious and social structure and remained a secluded country closed to foreigners.

The collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 ended the Chinese suzerainty and revived Tibet’s independency under the reign of the Dalai Lama for a short period of time. In 1950, Chinese military occupied Chamdo in Eastern Tibet. The ‘17 point agreement’ from 1951 re-affirmed China’s suzerainty and at the same time granted cultural and religious autonomy under the 14th Dalai Lama. China started to modernize Tibet by building highways, schools and hospitals and by introducing electricity. Following the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion, the Dalai Lama fled to Northern India. In 1965, Central Tibet was turned into the ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ of the People’s Republic of China receiving continued investment in infrastructure and far reaching economic and social reforms.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS Up to 1949, Tibet was governed on a feudal system with religious and aristocratic elites controlling huge fiefdoms with thousands of subjects (Miller 2005). The seclusiveness of Tibet until the end of the 20th century, paired with the inaccessibility of remote areas, allowed many of the unique cultural traits and systems to survive. Despite its complicated history, land reforms and political and administrative changes of Tibet’s local social structures as well as typical architectural elements persisted over centuries and are well preserved in some parts. Apart from fortresses (rdzong) and impressive monastic and administrative centers including Lhasa, Chamdo and Dege, few compact settlements have emerged over the centuries. A largely pastoral economy run by nomadic tribes in the north and west did not allow for sedentary farming and big settlements. Only in the eastern and southern edges of the plateau more intensive farming activities provided the economic basis for building rural residences and farmhouses for small landlords and subsistence farmers. In fact, these show an impressive level of diversity in terms of construction methods and the use of local resources.

51

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

House in Lhasa

Isometric view of the house from the south-east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT etables. Animal husbandry is limited to semi-nomadic herding of yak, sheep and goats on the surrounding mountain slopes. In the past, villagers kept horses, mules, donkeys and pigs. Nowadays traditional agriculture has largely been replaced by greenhouse farming that supplies the high vegetable demand of the increased population.

The house is located in the settlement of Dopo on the northern outskirts of the city of Lhasa near the foothills of the rising mountains at an elevation of 3,780 m. It lies in a tributary valley formed to a basin by the Kyichu River, a tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The mountain ranges surrounding the valley rise above 4,000 m and shelter the valley from the strong winds that are common on the Tibetan Plateau. The Nyenchen Tang­ lha­Mountain Range is located north of Lhasa, with its highest peak at 7,162 m. The climate is semi-arid and vegetation growing in the valley is mostly short and scrubby, dominated by grasses and shrubs. The average annual temperature in Lhasa is 8° C. Throughout the year there is little rainfall in Lhasa and the annual precipitation is about 400 mm. Agriculture has a long tradition, due to additional irrigation. Crops include winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, pulses, buckwheat, rapeseed, potatoes and some veg-

The urban perimeter of Lhasa has been extending rapidly within the last decades and the former agricultural land around Dopo has now become part of the urban area. Plots of land along the main roads have been especially attractive for the construction of new buildings. Off the main roads, the area is still interspersed with agricultural fields and farmhouses. The house was uninhabited at the time of our survey. The owners have constructed a new house nearby the main road and moved to live there.

52

VILLAGE

Dopo REGION

Lhasa PREFECTURE

Lhasa PROVINCE

Tibet Autonomous Region COUNTRY

China 38 00

ALTITUDE

375

00

38 5 0

0

38

3,780 m

3

0

0 90

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the south and east elevations.

53

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

View from the east.

Courtyard view on stables and toilet.

Exterior wall with toilet facing north-west.

Exterior southern wall.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE This house represents the typical local farmhouse that is rapidly vanishing in this area. A distinctive feature of the house is its one story layout with all rooms located on the ground floor. The house is a courtyard ensemble and all sections of the building are enclosed by a high stone wall. All openings and facade elements are oriented towards the inner courtyard and the outer wall does not have any opening except for the entrance gate. The wall encloses an ensemble of several structures designed for different purposes. These are the living units, stables, storages and an exterior kitchen. An exterior toilet has been built in the courtyard projecting beyond the enclosing wall. The battered whitewashed walls and flat roofs with heightened lhatsu (lha sug) corners are typical for the Central Tibetan architectural style. The walls are mostly built as stone masonry with a few parts built with mud bricks. All walls have the typical para-

pet covered with thin slate stones. The door and window openings are decorated with plastered frames colored in black and crowned by typical overhangs called shingtsag (shing tsag). Commonly, textile curtains are hung on the shingtsag above the windows and doors in the Central Tibetan region. In this house the textile curtains have been replaced by overhanging metal elements. Painting the interior walls in the representative room is also a feature typical for the Central Tibetan region.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE Since this house has been abandoned more than eight years ago, its functional differentiation and the allocation of uses of individual rooms could not be verified.

54

House in Lhasa

View of main room with door panel and painted walls.

View of entrance door to the main room.

55

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

South elevation with section through the entrance gate (A-A).

South elevation with section through the outdoor kitchen (B-B).

0

North elevation with section through the toilet (C-C).

56

1

2

4m

House in Lhasa

Ground floor 0�1 Probably used as additional living room. 0�2 Probably used as additional living room. 0�3 Storage. 0�4 Living room. This room has a traditional timber panel built by the door to

0.7

0.5

0.8 0.4 0.6

0.3 0.2

0.9 0.1 0.10

Ground floor plan.

0

1

2

protect the room from views and wind when the door is opened. The walls are painted with typical stripes. It was used as the most representative room of the house to host guests and as the main living room of the family. 0�5 Grass storage. Dried grass was stored here as food for the animals. The storage is only accessible from the top. 0�6 Courtyard. The living area and the stable area are differentiated by different ground heights. 0�7 Toilet. 0�8 Stables for horses. 0�9 Probably used as kitchen and storage. 0�10 Outdoor stove and kitchen.

4m

Roof plan. Kitchen on the exterior.

Detail of the entrance gate.

View through the entrance gate.

57

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

East elevation with section through living room and stable (D-D).

58

House in Lhasa

0

0

1

2

1

2

4m

4m

Section through the main living room (E-E).

59

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

Gye Tsang House in Lhoka

View of the main elevation.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT ley has been the priority grain for daily consumption, as it is the staple food of the locals. Animal husbandry plays a secondary role. The livestock consists mostly of goats and sheep, as well as some cattle and pigs. The livestock is pastured on fallow lands, basin grasslands and the surrounding valley slopes close to the farmer’s residences. Pigs are kept in the courtyards. The region is too dry to support meadows and is covered mostly with short grass steppe vegetation. Poplar and willow trees grow in the irrigated areas around the settlements, forming an important source for timber. Stands of juniper and tall shrubs of sea buckthorn grow by the side of the streams.

The Gye Tsang House is located in Mendru Khang Village, in the cultural region of Lhoka (lho kha). Lhoka lies in the Yarlung Tsangpo River Valley about 90 km south of Lhasa and stretches further south to the borders of India and Bhutan. Lhoka region has a long history and occupies a special and important position in Tibetan history and its cultural development. Mendru Khang village is situated about 10 km south of the region’s capital of Tsetang (rtsed thang, chin. Zedang). The village lies at the foot of the hill of the ancient Yumbu palace. Many legends revolve around the area and it is said that the first cultivated field in Central Tibet is located here. The valley receives a lot of sunlight and agriculture has had a long tradition in the area. The cultivation of fields used to be the major income source for most of the local households. The crops grown are mostly barley, wheat, buckwheat, rapeseed and vegetables such as potatoes and radish. Traditionally, bar-

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE According to the house owner, the house is named Gye Tsang. It is free-standing and located rather isolated on the western

60

HOUSE NAME

Gye Tsang VILLAGE

Mendru Khang REGION

Lhoka DISTRICT

Naidong PROVINCE

38

Tibet Autonomous Region

00

3 7 50

COUNTRY 37

0

0

China

36 5

0

ALTITUDE

3,650 m

36 50

0

370

0

200 m

3750

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the terrace on the first floor.

Elevation of the corner room.

of masons and all laborers. The building shows many characteristics typical of the Central Tibetan construction methods and identity. The whitewashed battered walls, the flat roof and the traditional door and window styles follow these widespread patterns. Doors and windows are decorated with timber miniature overhangs known as shingtsag (shing tsag). The black plastered frame around the windows and doors is another typical element representing the Central Tibetan architectural visual identity. The size of the window openings increases on the higher floors. The lower level of the building is constructed of natural stones. The masonry is bound with additive-free mud mortar. The upper floor is constructed with sun-dried mud bricks. The battered walls, together with the flat roof, give the building a distinct trapezoidal shape. All walls are plastered with loam and whitewashed with chalk. The plasters’ surface on the mud brick

side of the valley; it is closely surrounded by many poplar and willow trees as well as vast open barley fields. Today, houses older than a decade are rare due to subsidies encouraging families to replace their traditional buildings. This house is rather an exception. According to the owner, this particular building is at least 50 years old. It is currently uninhabited, as all of the eight family members have moved to a new building in the nearby village center about five years ago. However, recognizing the old building’s value they have decided not to demolish it. The house used to form an ensemble with an interior courtyard and stables for pigs and goats. Nowadays, the courtyard walls are no longer in place. In the past the courtyard had an elaborately designed entry gate. In the area of Lhoka construction supervision falls under the responsibility of the master carpenter. He is responsible for the layout and concept of the house and also supervises the work

61

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

Interior of special corner room with a timber herringbone pattern ceiling.

Kitchen interior with stove and timber storage in the back.

62

Gye Tsang House in Lhoka

Kitchen interior, view of tsampa paintings on the walls.

Interior of special corner room, wall paintings, typical for Central Tibet.

masonry is scratched with a half-circle pattern for better water resistance. The plaster is made of fine-grained soil with a high clay content and fine sand. The walls’ tops are decorated with a timber frieze that is protected with a thin layer of overhanging slate stone. The parapet of the flat roof is also constructed with an overhanging slate stone, covered with several layers of earth. The parapet is finally sealed with arga, a specific mineral compound found in the central area of the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley providing a waterproof layer. Timber is rare in the region of Lhoka and mostly limited to poplar and willow. There are several kinds of poplar trees, the hardest kind locally called ziabu is used for important structural elements such as posts and beams as well as door and window frames. Ziabu timber occurs as a white and red variety. The structural beams called dungmas (gdung ma) are made from the white ziabu and the posts (kha) are of the red variety. The subsequent cross beams are made of round willow logs. In important rooms the ceiling design is more intricately built compared to others. A herringbone pattern is laid out in many parts on top of the cross beams. All timber elements of the ceiling are painted in different colors.

day. At night, sleeping carpets and blankets were rolled out and the same furniture was made use of for night rest. Several beds were arranged together with low painted timber tables in front of them. The tables were used for eating and displaying offerings on special occasions. As a consequence there were no rooms exclusively used for sleeping. Commonly, several family members shared one room at night. The functions in this house are typically distributed vertically. The ground floor serves as storage and animal stables. Only the first floor serves as living space for the family, while the roof is mostly used for religious purposes. The entrance to the building is on the ground floor. The open terrace of the first floor is reached via a wooden stair from the ground level. All rooms on the first floor are distributed around the terrace. On the south-eastern side is the kitchen called tabsang (thab tshang) with a sleeping room attached to it. On the south-western side is a special room whose high living quality is provided by the large corner window, which lets in a lot of daylight. The room is named sogzhong (thog gzhong) after the window. Located centrally off the terrace is the largest and most representative room of the house termed gyapara (rgyapa ra). It has a long facade filled entirely with timber windows and is mainly used by the family for special occasions, such as hosting guests and performing ceremonies. Unlike other houses presented in this book, the gyapara also contains the family’s private shrine. There is no room designated as a shrine only. The entire array of timber windows of the gyapara has been taken out and placed into the facade of the new building as they were believed to be very valuable and were further intended to preserve the family’s traditional identity.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The interior room organization and use of space is representative of how houses in the area were used during the last three decades. In the past, the houses were typically inhabited by three or more generations. The rooms were furnished and decorated according to their different functions. Rooms with representative functions were built more elaborately using a wider variety of resources, such as timber. During the building process special workmanship was applied to timber elements and surface finishes of certain rooms. The furniture placed inside the rooms allowed for flexible use. The typical bed, for example, was a low timber frame with a high back. Serving as a sofa bed, it was covered with carpets and back pillows during the

PROTECTING DEVICES AND RITUALS An offering stove called sankhu (sangs khung) is placed on top of the parapet on the terrace, where tsampa (rtsam pa) and incense are burned daily in the morning. The stove’s opening faces north. According to the house owner the stove is placed

63

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

Auspicious symbols painted with tsampa on the blackened wall.

Objects above the door: scriptures, bird head and a plastic bag with samples of earth.

Section A-A.

0

Section B-B.

64

1

2

4m

Gye Tsang House in Lhoka

Ground floor 0.1 Pardziam, entrance hall. The central hall receives light by a large open 0.2

skylight. 0.2 Pig stable with built-in water troughs. 0.3 Drukhang (‘dru khang), storage for barley. 0.4 Sotop (so thopa), storage for tools and equipment. 0.5 Batsang (ba tshang), cow stable. 0.6 Sanjiu (sang spyod), toilet drop-down.

0.3

0.5

0.6

0.1

0.4

Ground floor plan.

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.2 1.6 1.1

1.7

First floor plan.

0

1

2

4m

Roof plan.

First floor 1.1 Parkham (par khams), open terrace. There is an offering stove on the front parapet called sankhu (sangs khung). The opening of the stove

faces the direction of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. Incense, twigs and tsampa would be burned inside every morning when the house was inhabited. The stairs from the ground floor are called dromye (sgro skyed). The stair-rail features a special pattern that represents the sun wheel motif, called yundru gyendza. 1.2 Sogzhong (thog gzhong), the name applies to each room that has a corner window. It is one of the better rooms of the house. Its high living quality is provided by the large corner window, which lets in a lot of daylight. The room’s walls and ceiling are painted and boast multi-colored horizontal stripes along the walls typical for this area. The ceiling’s timber is laid out in an elaborate pattern consisting of many elements and is painted accordingly. The design resembles a herringbone pattern. There is an adjacent small room. 1.3 Zotsong (mdzong chun), storage. This storage is attached to the sogzhong room. It was used to store and keep the family’s clothes and textiles. 1.4 Gyabara (rgyapa ra), living room/guestroom. This room had a cabinet inside that held the family’s sacred objects, serving as a shrine (lha khang). It is the most representative room of the house and was used to host guests on special occasions and for larger family gatherings as well as prayers. It held the best furniture and carpets. Originally its facade consisted of a long row of timber grid windows. These windows have been moved to the new house and the opening was covered with custom-made curtains. The walls and ceiling are painted. The ceiling is laid out in a herringbone pattern like in the sogzhong. The gyapara is crowned with a fifth lhasu (lha su) on the roof parapet above. 1.5 Nitsang (ni tshang), sleeping room. This simple room is attached to the kitchen and is heated when the kitchen stove is burned. 1.6 Taptsang (thab tshang), stove, kitchen room. An original earthen stove named tap (thab) is standing against the wall. A traditional timber storage gormi (gozha mi) is located in the northern corner of the room. The kitchen walls are blackened with smoke. The dark walls are decorated with white tsampa flour ‘drawings’. They depict the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism and a variation of the eternal knot in a horizontal boarder pattern along the walls. The sitting area by the southern windows is sheltered from the door by a traditional timber partition panel. The in-built partition panel is an element frequently found in older houses of the Central Tibetan region. The assembly of the kitchen’s ceiling is very simple: it is made of layered twigs on top of the round logs. 1.7 Sanjiu (sang spyod), toilet. Roof floor Lhasu (lha sug). The elevated corner decorated with twigs and prayer

flags called tardzior and white stones called peyang.

65

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

South-east elevation.

facing in the direction of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa. The whitewash of the building has to be renewed every year before the New Year festival of Losar (lo sar). The tsampa painting of the eight auspicious symbols inside the kitchen is also renewed annually as part of the New Year preparation ritual and all prayer flags are replaced by new ones. The common orientation of the buildings in the area is south or east. If this orientation is not possible due to the topographic conditions or the layout of the building plot, a monk is consulted to determine a favorable orientation according to the house owner’s zodiac sign and further calculations. Prior to construction and in case of any applied changes or renovation, a monk performs a special ritual. The horn of an antelope is put in the south-east corner for protection. In case of death of one of the family members it is believed that the family is prone to misfortune and a monk has to perform rituals to purify the house and its surroundings of bad spirits. An offering is made regularly to the deity of the stove called tap lu (thap lus) by the house owner. Unlike stoves found in parts

of Kham, no offering is permanently placed inside the stove. The restoring or demolishing of a stove is a very complicated procedure and can only be undertaken under the supervision of a monk. He determines the date and the necessary procedure. The house has four elevated corners called lhasu (lha sug) typical for the dry central areas of U and Tsang. Sticks with colorful prayer flags are additionally put on the south-eastern lhasu. Such an assembly of twigs and prayer flags is called tardzior; it is seen in almost all corners of all houses in the central Tibetan area. A specific characteristic of the house is the additional fifth lhasu placed in the middle of the rear wall on top of the gyapara room, that contained the shrine cabinet. White stones named peyang are placed on top of all wall corners. The origin of peyangs is said to date back to Bon traditions. The lhasu and peyang serve as protecting devices to the inhabitants. Protecting devices also hang on the interior above the main entrance door. There are dried animal heads (mostly birds) supplemented by scriptures, soil and animal claws.

66

Gye Tsang House in Lhoka

0

0

1

2

1

2

4m

4m

Ground floor plan.

67

Central Tibet: U-Tsang

0

1

2

4m

North-east elevation.

0

Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section of the corner window.

68

1

2

4m

Gye Tsang House in Lhoka

Main entrance door.

0

1

2

4m

Front view, vertical and horizontal section of the entry door to the house (color rendering by Nadja Borschewski).

69

Central Tibet: Kongpo

Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo

Isometric view from the east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT with most of the rainfalls occurring between June and September. In Nyingtri the average annual temperature is 10° C and the annual precipitation is 680 mm. Temperatures in winter do not fall below the freezing point. The comparatively low altitude as well as the frequent rainfalls allow for rich vegetation including rhododendron and cypresses trees. The Sanje Shigar House is located in Tashi Gang Village (bka shis sgang), about 80 km north-east of Nyingtri. The village is situated just below the Serkhyim La Mountain Pass (4,656 m) in a broad valley whose slopes are thickly forested with pine, fir, hemlock, rhododendron and juniper trees. A small tributary of the Rongchu River flows through the valley. Further north of Tashi Gang the valley narrows and enters a deep canyon where the Rongchu River joins the Parlung Tsangpo. The fertile lands of the valley are cultivated by the villagers with barley, wheat, potatoes, beans and radish. Tashi Gang Village is a dense cluster of houses with narrow alleyways winding through. Typically for this area, the houses are walled-in and have elaborate en-

The region of Kongpo spreads out east of Lhasa. Despite the short distance from Lhasa, the landscape and climate are dramatically different in Kongpo resulting in a different style of houses. One of the boundaries between the cool, dry and barren landscape of the west and the much warmer, moist and richly vegetated region of Kongpo in the east is the Mila Mountain Pass about 150 km east of Lhasa. A large part of the region is fed by the Nyang River that originates in the Nyenchen Thanglha Mountain Range and flows east until it empties into the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the vicinity of the town of Nyingtri (nying khri, chin. Linzhi). As the river flows east, the landscape becomes humid and green and the mountain slopes are increasingly covered with sub-alpine conifer forests. The climate of the area is unique and entirely different from the west of the Tibetan Plateau. The lower mountain ranges east of Namche Barwa allow warm and humid air masses of the summer monsoon to move further north onto the plateau. The annual precipitation in the region rates from 600 mm to 2,200 mm,

70

HOUSE NAME

Sanje Shigar VILLAGE

Tashi Gang REGION

Kongpo DISTRICT

Bayi PROVINCE

Tibet Autonomous Region COUNTRY

China ALTITUDE

3,050 m

33 75 3425

3400

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the south elevation.

THE INHABITANTS trance gates into the yards. Animals such as pigs and cows are kept in separate timber buildings built in the yards. Yaks and sheep are grazed in the nearby mountains. Due to the low altitude and easy accessibility from Lhasa, the region has become popular for tourists and is now one of their major destinations. In recent years, an additional airport was built in Nyingchi providing an even more direct access. The valley of Tashi Gang is directly affected by this development.

In the past, the household of the Sanje Shigar House included numerous family members and servants. Over many generations it was the residence of a landlord family. A total of six villages were once under the administration of the Sanje Shigar family. The family used to own more then 300 animals at that time. The household head was considered a reincarnation of the wealth god Nurla. Today, the house is uninhabited but maintained by the current owner who claims to be a descen-

71

Central Tibet: Kongpo

View of the north elevation.

Windows in the western elevation.

Entry on the ground floor.

Interior view of the eastern grand hall.

dant of the Shigar family and who lives in another house in the village. The existence of four stoves on the first floor suggests that the house may have been divided into four units for a period of time following the abandonment by the feudal family.

on top of the timber battens and are weighed down by stones placed on laths. A unique feature of the roof resulting from the size of the building is the skylight opening in the roof’s ridge leading daylight into the first floor of the building. The facade of the building represents an older architectural style of the region that has almost vanished. Contrasting the whitewashed and richly painted facades of contemporary houses, the stone masonry of the Sanje Shigar House is unrendered and all timber elements are of a dark brown color. The windows are built with traditional grid patterns that are not in use anymore and the openings are typically decorated with large black frames. The top of the stone wall is decorated with a timber cornice that runs along three sides of the building. The walls of the building are constructed with minimally dressed stones bound by mud mortar. Slate stones are scarce in this area and are therefore used for door overhangs only. The post-andbeam structure of the Sanje Shigar House is typical for the region of Kongpo and contemporary houses show the same con-

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE Outstanding features of the house are its impressive size and the spacey interior which can be attributed to its special history. The climatic conditions of the region require the buildings to be protected from heavy rain and snow falls. Uncommon for the Central Tibetan area, this region has developed a tradition of sloped roofs. The Sanje Shigar House is covered with a typical purlin roof structure supported by gable walls. The gables are richly decorated with two timber cornice bands. The purlin roof structure is set on top of the flat roof of the house providing an open, well ventilated storage space. The roof is covered with several layers of timber shingles. The shingles are placed

72

Kitchen interior.

73

Central hall with open ceiling and skylight in the roof.

Central Tibet: Kongpo

South elevation.

struction principles. It is built free-standing and independent of the walls. Additionally to the main beams the structure has a secondary beam called droh (sgrog) that joins the posts in an additional axis (shown in detail on p. 240 bottom right and in detail on p. 241 bottom right). Therefore the entire post-andbeam structure forms one structural grid per floor. Several kinds of timber are used for construction in the area, namely sona (so na), tangshin (thang shing) and shugpa (shug pa). Tangshin and shugpa are resinous timbers and are mostly used for structural elements, such as posts and beams. The interior space of the house on the first floor is partitioned by light timber frame and panel walls and the entire floor is laid out with wood. The timber of the partition walls is blackened from the stoves’ smoke over the time. The ceilings are closed with twigs and timber boards. The loam used for the interior plastering of the outer stone walls has a high percentage of red clay. The loam for the plaster is filtered to a very fine grain and mixed with dried barley skins. The same plaster is applied around the doors and windows. There, the surface is smoothed with a flat

stone. The black color of the plaster results from a treatment with soot. According to the villagers, in the past the area was known for its special soot, which was collected and sold to Lhasa were it would be used for ink and writing purposes.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The house used to be part of a courtyard ensemble enveloped by a wall with an elaborate gate. All animals were kept in additional stables that were originally located around the courtyard. Such stable structures are still to be found in the village. Though the household used to have many servants, they did not have assigned rooms within the house or the courtyard but would reside in their own houses in the village. The entrance door of the house is on the ground floor; it is slightly elevated and a short flight of stone steps leads up to it. Within the entrance hall is a timber stair case that leads to the living rooms of the upper floor. The ground floor rooms are used as storages for food supplies, tools and horse gear. One

74

Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo

0

room was specifically designed as the household leader’s private storage and was kept locked at all times. The first floor has a large central hall with an open ceiling. The rooms are distributed around this hall. The kitchen room is located at the south-eastern end of the house with several adjacent rooms assigned for specific purposes, such as storing butter, tsampa and tools. A specific feature of the house are the two grand halls that were used as representative rooms. The family’s sacred room is attached to one of the halls. The northern wall used to have a timber structure attached to it on the exterior that served as a toilet and could be reached from the central hall.

1

2

4m

the ceremony. As final part of the ceremony, the future house owner symbolically digs the ground three times. The position of the front door and orientation of the house is determined by a monk according to the astrological profile of the landowner, the Buddhist moon calendar and certain signs in the surrounding landscape. The landscape is examined for favorable and unfavorable characteristics determined by certain geological marks and images. For example, facing a mountain is considered favorable. However, if the mountain has a cave in it, it would be considered unfavorable because the cave would absorb too much energy. The construction begins with erecting the stone walls. Only after the walls are fully erected is the post-and-beam structure set inside. The center post is thereby put first. At this time a monk has to perform another ceremony asking the space deity for permission to intrude the space above the ground. The ceremony is called Kalang (kwa blangs) and addresses the Namkha Lha (nam mkha’ lha). Accompanied by prayers, blessed metal objects are placed under the post and grains are thrown unto

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS Before building a house, a special ceremony for placating the soil deity, called Sadag, is performed. The ceremony also aims to prevent the Sadag from disturbing the construction work. Local monks determine the position of the Sadag and perform

75

Central Tibet: Kongpo

East elevation.

0

1

2

Section B-B.

the floor. Subsequently, the four corner posts are erected and the post-and-beam structure is completed. The Kalang ceremony is performed on each floor. The construction of the family’s stove also receives special attention and ceremonious inauguration. The stove is made of stone and it is built with three chambers. The central chamber is built specifically for the purpose of worshiping the fire deity. The chamber is filled with precious stones and metals such as

gold or silver as well as some grains. After a ceremonial blessing by a monk the chamber is closed permanently and the stove construction is completed. Thereafter the stove can be used by the family. The surface is colored black with soot and oiled with apricot oil. The application of oil yields a shiny and dirt-repellent surface. The stove in each house is treated with the highest respect and is never disgraced by burning garbage in it or letting dirty objects, such as used shoes, touch it.

76

4m

Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo

Ground floor 0�1 Entry hall with stairs to the upper floor. 0�2 Kartse (khar rtse), storage for horse gear. This room was used to keep all 0�3

0.4

0�4 0�5

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.5

kinds of horse gear like saddles, harnesses etc. Drokhang (‘gru khang), granary with several large timber boxes used for the storage of dried grains. Household storage. Private storage of the leading household member.

First floor 1�1 Ma dzokhang (mar mdzong khang), butter storage, attached to the

tsampa storage. Tsampa dzokhang (rtsam pa mdzong khang), tsampa storage attached to the kitchen. 1�3 Taptsang (thap tshang), kitchen. The original stone stove is located on the north-eastern side of the room. Behind it is an inbuilt timber shelf displaying the kitchen pots and tools. Sitting furniture used to be located by the windows. Some of the windows can be closed by timber shutters. The entry door is decorated with tsampa. 1�4 Storage room attached to the kitchen used for keeping tools. 1�5 Zim khang (zim khang), sleeping room. 1�6 Shar tsomchen (shar tshom chen), eastern grand hall. Guests were received here. The room has a central post with a carved head and one large window opening. 1�7 Chos khang (chos khang), former sacred room. This was the only room in the house that used to be painted. Nowadays, the painting has faded completely. The stove standing in the room now was installed at a later time when the room was used as a living room. 1�8 Nub tsomchen (nub tshom chen), western grand hall. The room has two windows. It was used to receive guests and for special occasions. Over time an additional stove was installed. 1�9 Central hall with stairs from the ground floor. The hall provides access to the attached toilet on the northern side. A timber sink is built into the northern window providing washing facilities. 1�10 Staircase to the roof. 1�11 Dziar dzo (lcags ་ mdzong), metal storage attached to the roof staircase. The stove standing in the room now was installed at a later time when the room was used as a living room. 1�2

Ground floor plan.

1.1

1.9

1.8

1.10

1.11 1.2

1.3

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

First floor plan.

Roof floor 2�1 Thogka sang (thog kha sgang), roof. The roof is well ventilated and was

used to store food for the animals, such as dried grass. A timber railing secures the opening around the skylight of the central hall below.

2.1

0

1

2

4m

Roof plan.

Ventilated roof space.

77

Central Tibet: Kongpo

Section A-A.

78

Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo

0

0

1

2

1

2

4m

4m

First floor plan.

79

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Courtyard houses near Shyachung Monastery, Amdo.

Despite many differences regarding their history, natural environment and ethnic background, Amdo (a mdo) and Kham (khams) are often referred to as two of the three traditional Tibetan core regions. From the 13th until the 19th century Tibetan sources have addressed Amdo and Kham as Dokham (mdo khams), a term denoting the region beyond the provinces of Central Tibet and U-Tsang (dbus tsang) (see Gruschke 2001, p. 11). With approximately 1.5 million km2, Amdo and Kham together cover an area of about the size of France, Germany and Spain combined. Kham includes areas of the headwaters of the Rivers Yangtze (tib. Dri Chu), Mekong (tib. Dza Chu), Salween (tib. Gyalmo Ngul Chu) and the Yellow River (tib. Ma Chu) and is distributed among the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Yunnan, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and Sichuan, with a major part lying in TAR. It is characterized by stark geographic and environmental contrasts and its contemporary cultural landscape mirrors the historic fragmentation in terms of Buddhist schools, language and ethnic origin. Amdo, the north-eastern part of the Tibetan cultural region, can roughly be delineated as the catchment area of the headwaters of the Yellow River. It covers the major part of present-day Qin-

ghai Province with some smaller parts extending into the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Sichuan. Before a modern administration was introduced in Dokham, Amdo was a loose federation of tribal states, kingdoms and dependent districts. In both regions, the historical fragmentation is still reflected in the existence of several Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures and Tibetan Autonomous Counties.

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Kham: Regarding Kham, A. Stein (1972, p. 22) emphasizes that “there can be no generalizing. The lie of the valley and the folds of the mountain ranges, as well as the particular latitude and altitude of a place, give rise to a host of micro-climates with a vast diversity of local conditions. ‘Every ten “li” (i.e. every three miles) heaven is different’, according to the maxim reported by an eighteenth-century traveller.” And he goes on to explain that the word for valley (lung pa) expresses the idea of county or district (Stein 1972, ibid.). The notion of valleys as ‘districts’ portrays the diverse geographical realities of Kham: in the rugged mountain ranges and deep gorges of the Hengduan Moun-

80

XINING LANZHOU CHENTSA, Nara 35° N

Amnye Machen 6.282 m

i Dr

C

hu

Ma Chu

JYEKUNDO D za C hu DEGE

KANDZE, Sushede DAWU, Dzuri

CHAMDO o Ngul C

m

hu

GYALRONG, Zhake

Gyala Peri 7.294 m

LITANG

POME, Dzhongsa

Namcha Barwa 7.782 m

CHENGDU

KANGDING

30° N

Ngyal

MINYA, Tchare

POME, Metu

Minya Gonka 7.556 m DABPA, Sumdu CHATRENG, Seragung

Bairiga 6.682 m

Khawa Karpo 6.740 m

0 95° E

200 km

100° E

Location of documented houses in Eastern Tibet.

ditions and terms used for the description of rooms and domestic items often differ from village to village.

tains every valley offers a set of geographical conditions of its own. Moreover, every valley in the Hengduan Mountains has its own traditions, dialect, micro-climatic and micro-environmental conditions, loosely connected under the umbrella of Tibetan Buddhism split in various schools and sects. Martin Ryser’s work on Tibetan farmhouses in Sichuan (see Ryser 1999) provides ample evidence of the variety in styles, building materials and their ecological backgrounds. The impressive diversity of this area is one of the reasons why the houses of Kham received more space on the following pages compared to other regions of this book. The mountainous areas in the south and east contrast with the desert parts of the Tibetan Plateau in the west and the grasslands in the north, running imperceptibly into the southern Amdo hills. At the eastern fringes of Kham the people of Gyalrong (rgyal rong) have maintained their own identity and traditions including their own language. In the past this area was considered as one of the beyul (sbas yul), a ‘hidden land’, because of its inaccessibility (see Karmay 2013, pp. 322ff.). It was also one of the strongholds of the pre-Buddhist Bon religion. Languages, tra-

Amdo: Vast parts of Amdo are characterized by grasslands and pastoral farming, but its north-western part shows different features: it extends into the extremely dry Tsaidam Basin which is bordered by the Qilian Mountains and the Kunlun Mountain Ranges rising up to 5,100 m. They separate Amdo from the Inner Asian deserts in the north. While the north is characterized by a great ethnical diversity which includes Hui Muslims, Salar, Mongolians and a Han Chinese minority, the south of Amdo is clearly dominated by ethnical Tibetans. The eastern parts of Amdo receive more rain and offer better conditions for agriculture. This is the area where the monasteries of Labrang (bla brang) and Kumbum Champa Ling (sku ‘bum byams pa gling), surrounded by extensive monastic settlements, are located. They belong to the most important monastic centers of the entire Tibetan cultural region. With approximately 3,000 to 3,500 m, the average altitude of the southern part is considerably lower compared to 4,500 m in Central Tibet, which results in higher temperatures and a

81

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

The village of Dagen in Chatreng Valley.

Typical farmhouses in Minya, Kham.

natural environment that allows for pastoral farming based on yaks and sheep. The mountains of Amnye Machen raise up to 6,300 m from the gently rolling grass hills.

temperatures as well as higher precipitation than any other region on the plateau. The precipitation is exceptionally high in Pome with an annual average of more than 900 mm. The annual average temperature here is 11° C. Further north, the altitude of the Tibetan Plateau ranges from 3,500 to 4,500 m. The regions of Kandze, Dawu and Dabpa presented in this documentation lie in the grasslands typical for this part of the plateau, receiving an annual precipitation of 600–700 mm. The annual average temperature in Kandze is 7° C, in Dawu 9° C and in Dabpa 5° C. In Dabpa, westerly winds reinforce the continental climate and the South Asian monsoon is less important as a source of summer precipitation. The extensive highlands are dominated by an alpine shrub and meadow vegetation and a precipitation of more than 400 mm per year allows for a closed vegetation cover.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION1 Kham: Compared to Central Tibet the climate in most parts of Kham is comparatively mild. Subtropical, humid monsoon air reaches up to the southern parts of Kham through deeply cut river gorges. This is why the regions north-east and north-west of Namche Barwa, such as Kongpo and Pome, though still located on the plateau at altitudes of up to 3,000 m, have higher 1 Precipitation and temperature data are retrieved from: http://en.climate-data.org (June 2016).

82

Fertile valley in Minya, Kham.

Climate varies depending on altitude and topographic characteristics. Especially the valleys of Dawu and the neighboring area of Drango have large areas with big conifer forests at elevations from 2,800 to 4,000 m, serving as an important resource of timber. The meadows of Lithang and Dabpa are among the highest of the region, exceeding elevations of 4,000 m. Despite this altitude and lower temperatures, these regions still have a considerable forest cover with the tree line for conifers extending as high as 4,400 m. The region of Chatreng is located in the south of the Hengduan Mountain System at an altitude of 2,800–3,300 m. Chatreng enjoys a warm and temperate climate with an annual precipitation above 600 mm. The annual average temperature is 10° C. Minya is located in the south-east of the Hengduan Mountain System around the Daxue Mountain Range at an altitude of around 3,000 m. Evergreen forests and intensive farming contrast with glaciated mountains culminating in Minyak Gangkar boasting 7,756 m, which is the easternmost 7,000 m peak of the mountain belt encircling the Tibetan cultural region. With an annual average temperature of 5° C, the climate in Minya is mild with frequent rainfall during summer. Precipitation here is as high as 800 mm. The region of Gyalrong lies in the midst of the Hengduan Mountain System that demarcates the boundary to the low plains of the Sichuan Basin. It has a complex topography with steep mountain slopes rising from 1,700 up to 6,000 m. The precipitation here averages above 650 mm. The lower slopes are covered with a thick canopy of rhododendron, sub-alpine bamboo and fern species, whereas high-growing conifers

emerge at higher altitudes. Conifer species such as hemlock, spruce, fir and larch grow at elevations from 2,800 to 4,000 m. The annual average temperature is 13° C. Amdo: Large parts of western and northern Amdo are grasslands at altitudes ranging between 3,500–4,500 m inhabited by pastoral communities. The region of Chentsa with altitudes as low as 2,000 m is dominated by the loamy mountains along the Yangtze River. Here, annual precipitation is 400 mm. Due to the low altitude, the climate is mild and the farming season starts early. The summers are warm and the winter season is shorter than on the plateau. Towards Ngawa County in the south, precipitation and temperatures further increase.

HISTORICAL FACETS Kham: Sandwiched between the powers of Central Tibet and China, Kham was subject to many territorial conflicts over the centuries, which have created the political space for the emergence and perseverance of numerous small kingdoms, tribal territories and chiefdoms. “Although in its main trait, the history of Kham may be related to the history of Central Tibet, socio-cultural and economic processes were mostly negotiated by local political rather than through Lhasa influence.” (Gruschke 2004, p. 16). Fostered by the fragmentation of the habitat and the natural environment, the structure of mutually rivaling independent territorial units was reinforced after the collapse of the Central

83

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

A village with rammed earth houses, approximately 15 km south of Litang, Kham.

Farmhouses with stone towers in the village of Suopo in Gyalrong, Kham.

Tibetan Yarlung Dynasty in the mid 9th century. “Many a minor plateau area, as well as fertile sections of river valleys and ethnic derelict lands, bore their own names, sometimes overlaid with the broader supra regional labels of live or defunct principalities, major monasteries or tribal chiefdoms.” (van Spengen 2000, p. 70, quoted from Gruschke 2004, p. 17). The five main independent regions were Chakla, Derge, Lingtsang, Nangchen and Lathok. In addition, there existed numerous other small units that aggressively defended their local sovereignty against each other and outside invaders. It seems that the Tibetan Buddhist monastic system with its competing schools constituted the loose bond as well as a differentiated reference for ethnically and geographically diverse realms. With the invasion of the Mongol prince Gushri Khan in 1636 and the subsequent conquest of U-Tsang, Kham came nominally under the rule of the Dalai Lama. Off the main trade routes and beyond the spheres of direct influence of the Gelugpa monasteries, local traditions and chieftains persisted until the massive interference of Manchu-Chinese Qing Dynasty troops starting from the mid 18th century. Since 1728, the eastern parts of Kham formally belonged to the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan; the rest was merged into the province of Qinghai. In order to better control the warlords in eastern Kham, in 1939 an attempt was made by the Chinese government to make Kham an administrative unit under the name of Xikang, but the plan was never put into practice. In 1932, an agreement signed between the Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui and Tibetan forces formalized the partition of Kham into two regions: eastern Kham, administered by Chinese forces, and western Kham, administered by Tibet. Following the foundation of the Communist People’s Republic of China in 1949, the areas controlled by the Lhasa government came under pressure from the communist troops, which resulted in the 17-point-treaty between Lhasa and China, granting the parts west of the Yangtze River to the Dalai Lama administration in Lhasa (Gruschke 2004, p. 21). This was one step further towards the final partition of Kham in a western part belonging to TAR and an eastern part split between Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan,

as it was determined after the establishment of the ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ in 1965. Amdo: Amdo’s history as one of the Tibetan core regions started around the 8th century during the heyday of the Tibetan Empire, when Buddhism extended into the Central Asian regions. “As Amdo developed political and social links with the Chinese and the Mongols (…), it became a major conduit for Tibetan Buddhist culture to Mongolia” (Nietupski 2013, p. 552). Following the decline of the Tibetan Empire in the 9th century, Amdo became subject to Mongolian invasions and a bone of contention between various Mongol invaders and Chinese imperial policy supporting the Lhasa monastic system. The series of Mongol invasions began in the 13th century, followed by a massive influx of Mongolian tribes during the reign of the Mongol-Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) up to the 17th century. Ghushri Khan, who established a Mongolian Kingdom in the Kokonor (chin. Qinghai) area in 1633, invaded Amdo and Kham in 1636 and subsequently assigned the whole of Kham, Amdo and U-Tsang to the 5th Dalai Lama. The 1720s saw the Manchu-Chinese Qing Dynasty extending formal control to Amdo, but “the whole of Amdo – with the exception of the pastoral Ngolok and Serta – was controlled by the Muslim Ma clan” (Gruschke 2001, p. 15). After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, regional chiefs and warlords took over power, until Ma Qi, a Muslim warlord, with support from the Republic of China subdued the chiefdoms as well as the powerful monasteries. Although Amdo became nominally incorporated into the Qinghai and Gansu Provinces in 1949, the lack of presence of Chinese administration led once again to a revival of the traditional territorial units under monastic or tribal leadership. This era of fragmented local power ended in 1952 when the communist People’s Liberation Army moved in and gained full control over Amdo as well as over neighboring Kham. Widespread protests originating from Amdo, partly erupting in violence, could not prevent the dramatic change of the administrative, cultural and economic systems.

84

A village in the alpine grasslands of Kandze, Kham.

Timber farmhouses in Western Pome, Kham.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS Given the diverse geographic, climatic and ethnic patterns in Eastern Tibet, no standard settlement pattern can be identified in this region. Most settlements in rural Amdo and Kham form loose clusters of houses surrounded by vegetable gardens and fields. As a general observation, houses in Amdo can be briefly characterized as courtyard houses – sometimes clustered in a linear way following a footpath or lane – with a wall 2 m high encircling all the rooms and premises belonging to one household, while in the southern and eastern parts of Kham compact houses are preferred. A unique feature of the rural architecture in the eastern parts of Kham (for example in Minya and Gyalrong) are high stone towers that are either directly connected to the individual house or rise separately in the landscape. They served protective pur-

poses in the tumultuous past of the region. Diversity rooted in history, topography and culture becomes most clearly visible in Gyalrong, where design, decoration, details and the terms to describe parts of the house vary widely from one village to another, even at short distances. Dispersed rural settlements are contrasted by monastic centers that have long ‘urban’ traditions. Building densities are higher, narrow alleys wind through the walled-in house compounds. Particularly big monastic complexes with more than 1,000 monks such as Kumbum, Champa Ling and Labrang display such urban patterns and have attracted traders, craftsmen, service providers and other lay people to settle outside the monastic quarters.

85

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Wooden house near Parlung Tsangpo

Isometric view from the east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The region of Pome lies east of Kongpo with an average altitude around 3,000 m. The region is also referred to as Powo or Poyul (spo yul). Its western boundary is marked by deep canyons at the confluence of Parlung Tsangpo and Yarlung Tsangpo around Namche Barwa, while the eastern boundary of the region stretches along the headwaters of Parlung Tsangpo near Rakwa Tso (also called Rawok Tso). Lakes and glaciers are abundant in the region. Large sections of the Parlung Tsango flow into a broad basin forming a wide valley. Its numerous tributaries drain the entire region. Typically, most villages are situated along these river banks and valleys. The documented house – at an altitude of 2,670 m – is situated in the settlement of Dzhongsa at the G318 national highway about 30 km west of the town of Zhamog (spra rmog, chin. Zamu). Zhamog is the administrative seat of present-day Bomi County. The prefecture’s seat Nyingchi (nying khri) is located about 220 km to the east.

Dzhongsa is spread along both sides of the road on the northern bank of the Parlung Tsangpo. The houses are loosely spread and interspersed with cultivated fields along the river bank. More fields are tilled on the slopes of the thickly forested mountain, where land has been cleared for this purpose. The villagers grow barley, wheat and corn and also cultivate a variety of fruitand nut-bearing trees such as walnut. The region is vegetated with a great variety of plant species. This is due to the low altitude and the subtropical climate combined with a high precipitation of annually 1,000 mm. Summers are warm and during winter the temperature rarely drops below the freezing point.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The region’s forests provide plenty of timber, which is the most common building material and widely used for building con-

86

VILLAGE

Dzhongsa Village REGION

Pome COUNTY

Bomi PROVINCE

Tibet Autonomous Region

2850

COUNTRY

280

0

China 27 5

ALTITUDE

2,670 m

0

2 7 00

0 265

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the main elevations from the east.

87

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

View of the south-east elevation.

View of the entry in the north-east elevation.

Top of the entrance door.

Sacred room interior.

struction, furniture and all kinds of tools. The slopes just behind the house are thickly forested. As a distinct characteristic this house has only one floor offering space for all functions. Another distinctive feature is the gabled roof and the open veranda. The veranda is constructed with an elaborate post-and-lintel structure with carved and painted post heads and with a wooden railing and a low timber door. It is a unique element not found anywhere else in this documentation. The house is inhabited by a small family of husband and wife and their two children. The family described itself as rather poor and offered its economic status as reason for the traditional appearance of the house. As visible from the surface, the timber used for construction has been hand-hewn and hand-crafted with a traditional adze. A foot adze might have been used, as it is a tool commonly used by Tibetan carpenters for woodwork. Their estimated age is around 25 to 50 years. All of the house’s external and internal walls are constructed entirely with timber planks, which were hewn to a thin diameter of approximately 8 cm. They are horizontally connected by a v-shaped tongueand-groove joint. The timber planks are neither painted nor otherwise treated. In most rooms, marks on each plank indicate the sequence of assembly. A dry wall stone plinth serves as base for the horizontally aligned planks. The floor is raised by some 30  cm from the ground and laid out with large and heavy wooden planks throughout the entire house. The ceilings are

also covered with timber boards laid on top of the round rafters. The structure is a mixture of interlocked planks and post-andplank construction. The corners of the plank walls are interlocked with saddle notches. Short planks within the walls are framed by vertical posts. Large vertical posts are also placed on both sides of the openings of windows and doors. The top of the log wall on the south-east and north-east elevations is decorated with a timber frieze. It consists of evenly spaced protruding square-shaped timbers, painted a white color on the head. The spaces between the square-shaped timbers are painted in a triangular pattern in black, white and red. The front elevation of the house has an additional element in the frieze: a roundly shaped long timber ornamented with a painted lotus flower pattern. The window jambs of the south-east elevation are also decorated with a painted lotus flower ornament and crowned with protruding timbers. Gabled roofs are typically found in the area of Pome, as it is an area with a lot of annual precipitation. The roof of this house is covered with wooden boards weighed down by round field stones, though the boards on the back side have been partially replaced by tin sheets. The yard of the house is fenced from the path with a stone wall and partially with a timber fence. The back of the yard is naturally enclosed by the topography of the rising hill. Several additional simple log structures stand outside in the yard and

88

Interior of the main room with fireplace.

89

View of the hall.

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

North-east elevation.

0

1

2

South-east elevation.

serve different functions; one is an animal stable and the other is used for household tasks, like washing. A washing machine is stored in there and brought out into the yard when used, so the water can run off onto the ground.

an open veranda. The veranda passage leads into a small hall that leads into the individual rooms. The hall provides access to a shrine room on the left and a small sleeping room on the right. Straight forward it leads to the house’s largest room that servers as the kitchen and main living room for the family. Adjacent to this large room is a long and narrow room that is used for sleeping and storing the family’s textiles. The open and ventilated roof space underneath the gabled roof construction is used for storing the crops. There is no internal access to the roof space; a ladder placed outside is used to climb up.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The house has a compact rectangular layout. As it consists of only one level, all rooms are located on the ground floor. The entrance is located at the short side facing north-east, reached via

90

4m

Wooden house near Parlung Tsangpo

Ground floor 0.1 Veranda. The veranda is used for storage and for taking a rest. The

0.6 0.7

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.1 0.2

0

1

2

4m

Ground floor plan.

children’s jackets are hanging along the walls and some grain bags are stored here. It has a timber railing/balustrade and can be closed by a low wooden gate. 0.2 Storage. 0.3 Hall. The door leading into the house has an additional frame painted with a repetitive half-round pattern representing the symbol of a lotus flower. The top of the door is crowned with a frieze made of protruding squared timbers, their heads painted in red. The spaces between the heads are painted with the triangle/diamond pattern in: red, black, white. The Kalachakra symbol, several khatags (kha btags) and sacred images and scriptures are hung at the door’s top. The wall on the eastern side where the sacred room is located is also decorated with a frieze. A large number of grain bags is stored inside the hall. 0.4 Sleeping room. The window of this room is permanently covered with a plastic sheet stapled to the timber frame. There is one bed visually protected with a wooden frame covered with a cloth. There is not much furniture and textiles are stored and stacked in bags. 0.5 Sacred room. The door to this room has a painted frame. A khatag (kha btags) is placed on the door’s top. The walls and ceiling in this room are covered with plastic sheets. Several thangkas (thang ka) are hanging along the walls. A table serves as an altar, displaying butter lamps, photos and artificial flowers. Sitting furniture with some low tables is placed along the wall with the window. 0.6 Main living room/kitchen. A large stove dominates the south-western wall. A couch is placed directly before it. The earthen stove is covered with a layer of tin with embossed ornaments crowned by a large symbol of the lotus flower. The cooking steam is discharged through a steel pipe and led through an open skylight. In contrast to the other rooms this room is richly furnished. There are several elaborately built and painted kitchen cabinets. Bed sofas are placed along the window wall with several low tables in front of them used for eating. There are two vertical timber panels shielding the room from the entrance door, thus creating a passage into the hall and the door to the adjacent sleeping room. A central post supports the 6 m span of the room. The post head holds two large beams that are laid at the outer edges of the perpendicular head. The post, beams and window frames are decorated with ornaments made from tsampa (rtsam pa) flour. Some of the ornaments represent frog prints. 0.7 Sleeping room. The room is long and narrow with two beds standing in the western corner. All clothes and textiles of the family are stored in plastic bags in this room. Some of the log walls are covered with cloth and plastic sheets. There is a window facing north-west. The window has no glass but is opened and closed by an internal timber window shutter.

91

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section A-A.

Section B-B.

92

Wooden house near Parlung Tsangpo

0

1

93

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Timber log house near Lhagu Glacier

View of the west elevation.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The house is situated in the eastern region of Pome (spo mes), at the foot of Lhagu Glacier in Metu Village (rmi stod). The name of the village literally means ‘the upper valley’, as ‘me’ translates to valley and ‘tu’ to top. It lies in a valley off the G318 national highway, about 106 km east of the county’s administrative seat Zamog (spra rmog, chin. Zamu) and 36 km west of Rawu (chin. Ranwu), sometimes also referred to as Rawok (rwa ‘og). The national highway runs along the banks of the west flowing Parlung Tsangpo, which originates from the foot of the Lhagu Glacier; it flows through two lakes, Rakwa Tso (rag wa mtsho) and Ngagung Tso (rnga gung mtsho), before it continues for about 250 km through the entire Pome region. The town of Rawu is situated on the northern bank just between the two lakes. South-west of the lakes is the large Lhagu Glacier, fed by several peaks higher than 6,500 m. The glacier and its lakes are attracting a growing number of tourists each year, as they are easily accessible by the highway. Metu Village is situated at an altitude of 3,770 m in close proximity to a glacier at the north side of the massif. Its watershed

forms a stream that runs through the narrow valley and into the nearby Parlung Tsangpo. Metu is the last of three small villages located along a small road that runs into the valley off the highway. Due to the high altitude and influence by the glacier, Metu has a much colder climate than the eastern regions of Pome. The low temperatures are accompanied by high precipitation of 900 mm per year, making for rather harsh living conditions for the inhabitants of the valley. The valley is covered with snow until late May; the summer season is quite short as snow comes back as early as August. The snow-covered peaks of the glacier are visible from the village all year long. The houses are interspersed with cultivated fields, where the villagers grow mostly barley, but also some wheat, potatoes, radish and onions. The surrounding mountains rise steeply from the bottom of the valley and are covered with thick vegetation, mostly due to the high precipitation. Large areas of land are covered with coniferous forests, consisting mainly of pine trees. Here, the villagers forage for edible mushrooms to supplement their diet.

94

VILLAGE

Metu Village REGION

Pome COUNTY

Bomi PROVINCE

Tibet Autonomous Region COUNTRY

China

410 0

ALTITUDE

40 5

3 75

3,770 m

0

4000

0

39 5

0

390

0

50 38

3900

0 385

00 38

3800

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of south elevation.

View from the terrace with glacier in the background.

Exterior view of the kitchen room. The protruding beams are supported by posts on the outside.

View of the first floor from the terrace.

95

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Stable interior.

Valuable goods storage on the first floor.

Former living room on the first floor now used as grass storage.

96

Timber log house near Lhagu Glacier

Kitchen interior.

tion. The timber construction is a combination of interlocked and framed logs. The exclusively hand-hewn logs are laid horizontally with corners interlocked by a saddle notch joint and have a maximum length of 2.5 m. The distinctive surface of the timber indicates the use of a hand or foot adze. Long walls are built by supporting the horizontal logs with vertical timber posts. Large vertical posts are also placed on both sides of each door opening. There are only very few window openings in the building. The lower story is exclusively constructed from round logs. The log structure of the upper level is slightly more elaborate showing logs hewn to a rectangular shape. A unique characteristic of houses in the Pome region is the fact that each post carries two beams. This house further features a distinctive carpentry characteristic not found in any other house presented in this book: the load-carrying beams are protruding from the walls and are supported by additional posts outside the walls. The south elevation displays the only decorative element of this house. A colored frieze highlights the evenly spaced ceiling joists protruding from the facade. The gabled roofs of the house are covered with wooden boards weighed down with round field stones. A common feature of the area is the high vertical frame locally called rah (rag) located at the front elevation of the building,

Due to the magnificent view of the glacier, the valley has been targeted as a tourism development zone by the government in recent years. Within the last five years, the three villages along the road have been subject to major changes as the government has subsidized the construction of new buildings. This resulted in many guesthouses built along the small road at the entrance of Metu.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The building is constructed entirely from local timber, which has been left untreated. It is inhabited by a family of five living on agriculture and animal husbandry. The family owns about 15 yaks. Previously, they also kept a small flock of goats but over time they have lost all the goats to dog attacks. According to the villagers the responsibility of construction in the valley falls to the carpenter only. Masonry has not been of importance in this area and there is no such tradition. Only the shallow plinth of the building is constructed out of stones, which have been placed directly on the ground. They have not been crafted or shaped in any way, but merely piled up without the use of mortar. The shallow plinth lifts the timber construction about 30 cm off the ground to avoid ground moisture penetra-

97

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

0

1

2

4m

South elevation.

senting the wheel of cyclic existence (srid pa ‘khor lo) is set on top of the roof ridge. It is made of a woven string on a piece of timber. Yak skulls are placed on the exterior walls of some buildings. In contrast to Lhasa, where tsampa is thrown from the roof during the celebration of Losar as an offering to the roof deities, there are no deities residing on the roofs of Metu. Instead, the villagers make offerings to the space deities called Resu during that time. To honor the space deities that are believed to protect the village, villagers climb the nearby slopes and set new prayer flags there. Several small religious structures are spread out on the eastern mountain hills above the village. Along the down-flowing streams are many small timber structures built above the water. They hold constantly rotating cylindrical prayer wheels (‘khor) inside that are set in motion by a waterwheel placed into the flowing water. The structures are built of interlocked rectangular logs. They are covered with gabled roofs laid out with slates stones. Similar structures also

which is used for drying barley. The structure is made from vertically erected timber logs, reaching the height of about 8 m. Smaller logs placed horizontally are bound to the vertical logs. After the harvest, the cut barley is hung on the structure to dry. At that time of the year, the rah appears like a large curtain wall and is seen all over the settlement. In general, rahs are a dominating visual characteristic of the area’s settlements.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS For important religious ceremonies the villagers call the monks from the Ringa Gon Monastery (rin ga dgon) in a nearby valley. The New Year festivities of Losar are celebrated twice – once at the beginning of the New Year according to the Buddhist moon calendar and a second time at another date corresponding to a local calendar. On the local New Year, the tarzio (tar ltsog), which is the vertical post holding the prayer flag on top of the roof ridge, is being renewed. A handmade sculpture repre-

98

Timber log house near Lhagu Glacier

0.4 0.2

0.3

0.1

Ground floor plan.

1.2 1.1

1.3

First floor plan.

Ground floor 0.1 Katu (sko stod), kitchen/living room. There is an earthen stove called tapka (thap kha) inside. Currently this is the only room in the entire house

used as a living room by the family. It is sparsely furnished. There are two timber posts placed within the center of this room. The posts have a rectangular conical shape, decreasing in thickness towards the top. Carved post heads are set on their tops. The post heads are set in a right angle to the beams and each post head holds two beams placed on the outer edges of the head. The beams extend to the exterior and are additionally supported by a post-beam construction on the wall’s exterior. This structural set-up is a strong characteristic of the area. The window opening of the kitchen is framed by vertical posts, but there is no frieze decorating the top of the window. The floor is covered with thick timber boards. The room is covered by a single sloped roof laid out with wooden boards that are weighed down with field stones. 0.2 Stable. 0.3 Katu (sko stod), former winter kitchen now used as stable. This log room at the back of the stable used to serve as the family’s living and sleeping room during the winters. Nowadays the family is using another separate building in the winter and the room serves as a stable for the newly born yaks. There is a very small opening within the log wall providing minimum lighting. 0.4 Ratsong (ra tshang), goat stable. The small room adjacent to the entrance used to be a stable for goats, but the family has none left and the room is used as storage. First floor 1.1 Roof terrace. 1.2 Bangche (bang chen), formerly a living room. Now used as grass storage. 1.3 Bannga (bang nga), used for storing the most valuable goods. These

consist mostly of grain, dried meat and food stock as well as some personal belongings, such as textiles and jewelry. This room is locked by a special timber lock device which needs a special timber key to move the timber bolt locking the door from the inside. The log structure of the upper level is slightly more elaborate than the ground floor’s as the logs were hewn to a rectangular shape.

2.1

Second floor 2.1 Wutsong (‘u tshang), grass storage. 0

1

2

4m

Second floor plan.

99

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

West elevation.

100

Timber log house near Lhagu Glacier

0

101

1

2

4m

Section A-A.

0

Section C-C.

102

1

2

4m

0

1

2

4m

Section B-B.

serve as tsa tsa khang (tsha tsha khang), which hold countless small clay figures inside. Along the paths are several assembled walls and piles made of carved prayer stones (rdo ma ni) with high textile towers made of prayer flags in close proximity.

tection from the cold. The log room on the west side protrudes out of the main building’s body and is close to the main entrance. It is used as the main living room and kitchen during summer. The other room is set into the back of the stable and is used in winter, when it receives additional heating from the stable produced by the animals. There is not interior connection between the individual floors. The terrace and the rooms located on the first floor are reached by climbing a steep trunk ladder on the outside. The trunk ladder is locally called kieh (sked) and is made of a thick log with carved steps. There are two log rooms on the first floor. One was formerly used as a living room, the other log room is a special storage where the family keeps their valuable belongings. The space underneath the pitched roof is reached by a trunk ladder from the terrace and is used to store dry grass for the animals.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The distribution of functions is unique in that livestock and human inhabitants share one floor. The living rooms are laid out and used according to seasonal requirements. The building’s short side is oriented towards the south and holds a simple entrance to the ground floor, which consists of one large open space with two distinctively enclosed log rooms. The large open space serves as a stable for the animals. The separately enclosed rooms serve as the family’s summer and winter kitchen and are used according to the season and the required pro-

103

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa

Isometric view from the south-east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The Dromi Tsang House (kro me chong) is located in the region of Dabpa (‚dab pa), in the village of Sumdu (gsum ’du, chin. Sangdui). The village lies in a wide valley at an altitude of about 3,800 m with houses clustering around the junction of the provincial roads S217 and S216, approximately 120 km from Litang (li thang, chin. Gaocheng), the capital of the county with the same name. Another major town is Dabpa (chin. Jinzhu), located some 28 km in the south. The alpine grasslands of Litang and Dabpa are among the highest inhabited plains in the east of the Tibetan Plateau. The region’s distinctive ecology is created by a combination of cold temperatures and high precipitation. The grasslands are covered with an alpine meadow and shrub vegetation dominated by grasses, short growing sedges and forbs. While the summers are warm with a lot of rain, the winters are long, dry and very cold and snow might fall as early as late August. Despite

the high altitude and cold climate, the mountain slopes around Sumdu Valley are forested. The coniferous forests consist mostly of spruce and fir trees that form an important source of timber for the region. A lot of new buildings have recently been constructed along the main road in the valley. In 2013, Daocheng Yading Airport opened about 50 km north from the village which has offered new chances for development and fueled the building activities in the area. According to the villagers the name of the valley originates from its lotus-like shape. The entrances of the valley are marked with several chortens (mchod rten), a wall formed of carved prayer stones (rdo ma ni) and a tsa-tsa khang (tsha tsha khang). The nearby hills are decorated with two large Buddhist mantras made from white stones. With an altitude of 3,950 m the Dromi Tsang house is located highest among the houses presented in

104

HOUSE NAME

Dromi Tsang VILLAGE

Sumdu REGION

Dabpa COUNTY

Doacheng PROVINCE

Sichuan COUNTRY

China ALTITUDE 0 395

3,950 m

0 400

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the Dromi Tsang House from the south-east.

105

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Dromi Tsang House in Sumdu village.

Sumdu village.

were held in the larger rooms. During the same period, it also hosted services such as the bus ticket office and even served as a prison. Nowadays, the house is in fairly good condition though some parts of the third level and the roof show a lack of maintenance and are in need of repair. The mountains of the area provide different types of stone, which are used for different purposes. The walls of the house are constructed of stone masonry bound with mud mortar. The loam mixture used for the mortar, roof covering and interior plaster has allegedly been taken directly from the site. The massive walls are built almost explicitly as outer walls enclosing the interior space. A timber post and beam structure is placed inside but is not joined to the walls. A distinctive style of chipped broken range rubble masonry is assembled on the exterior wythe of the stone wall and is a strong characteristic of the house. The stone features two different color shades, a red shade and a grey/brown shade. The red shaded stone frieze and the sloped roof are design elements borrowed from the monastic architecture in the area. They show a striking similarity to the monk houses of the nearby Banpu Monastery of the previously mentioned the Kaygu school. The locally available slate stone that can be cut to quite thin sheets is used for roof cornices and window and door overhangs. The dressing of the slate stone is a time consuming process and therefore the stone is used sparingly. The sloped roofs of the building complex are also a characteristic indicator for the economic prosperity of the builders. All the wooden elements on the exterior and the interior of the house are of the same black color. This color results from the treatment with a broth consisting mainly of charcoal, sour yoghurt and salt. The charcoal is smashed and mixed into the broth. The broth is boiled for some time before applying it to the timber. The treatment serves as an impregnation against rot, rain and insects. The posts in the main rooms are of a rectangular profile. Their surface is fluted with vertical decorative groves. Traditionally in the Sumdu area no other colors where applied for residential buildings. Only religious buildings are decorated with colors, especially red. According to an interview with a local carpenter three different types of timber are used in Sumdu. Tsashe (tsha shes) trees grow above the nearby Banpu Monastery. Their timber is used mainly for exterior elements exposed to the harsh weather conditions. The slightly softer timber called Dusaga (‘dusha ‘gas) is used for structural

this book. Sumdu is a dispersed settlement with houses scattered over the bottom of the valley and interspersed with barley and potato fields. Fields are located in close proximity to the owners’ houses. Almost all the houses are enclosed by walls forming yards. The economy of the village is based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The villagers of Sumdu grow crops in the valley and keep yak herds in the surrounding hilly grasslands. Almost every household sends some family members as herdsmen to the yak pastures. The herders pursue a traditional nomadic lifestyle migrating between the summer and winter pastures. Additional income accrues from collecting and selling Matsutake mushrooms (lat. tricholoma matsutake). In July and August, many villagers concentrate their activities on the collection of Matsutake. The Caterpillar Fungus (lat. ophiocordyceps sinensis) locally called Yartsa Gunbu (dbyar rtswa dgun ‘bu), is an additional source of income. A monastery complex on a nearby mountain slope associated with the Kagyu school contains several temples and many small monk houses. The monks provide numerous services for the performance of domestic rituals throughout the year and play an important role in the initial phase of the building process of the famers’ houses. Typically the monk houses are built in stonemasonry with sloped slate stone covered roofs. Large stone mantras laid out on the slopes around the village illustrate that most of the villagers of Sumdu follow the traditions of the Karma lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE With an estimated age of 180 years the Dromi Tsang House is one of the oldest houses in the village. The villagers have many stories about this house and its family. Many stories revolve around the eldest son of the house builder who is considered a legendary local hero in the area. At the time the house was constructed the family was the biggest landowner in the village. The chorten at the northern entrance to the village has been constructed by the family. At the time of the survey, the house was inhabited by a female descendent together with her husband and four of their five children. In the 1960s, the house was used as an office building. Public meetings and gatherings

106

Kitchen interior.

107

Interior of sleeping room.

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Sacred room door with praying monks.

Hall with interior toilet.

Large multi-purpose room with skylight.

Log storage for grain.

interior elements, such as posts and beams. Minor timber elements are built from the wood of the Mula (rmu la) tree. Nowadays, the county level forest department strictly controls the forest’s use in the Sumdu area.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The space is arranged vertically. Typically for this area the stables and storages are located on the ground floor. There are spaces designated for different animals such as grown yaks, new born yaks, pigs and horses. A separated storage room for equipment and tools is located within the side wing. The open structure surrounding the courtyard now mainly serves as storage for dried grass and cow dung, as the family does not keep horses anymore. The first floor is the main living level and holds the kitchen called nachen (na chan), one bed room, a large multipurpose room, several small storages and a spacious sacred room. The floor is entered by climbing a steep wooden stair from the stables on the ground floor. This entry hall connects all three levels vertically via the stairway and a ladder to the roof level. On the first floor it connects mainly the kitchen with the large multipur-

Relief of lotus flower above the stove.

108

Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa

Ground floor 0�1 Raga/dura (ra nyab/du rab), horse and pig stable. Originally the large 0.3

0.4

0.2

0�2 0.1

0�3 0�4 0�5 0�6 0.7 0.5

0�7

space was used to keep horses and pigs. Nowadays, the family does not own horses anymore. The room is mostly used as grass storage for the few remaining cows. Fire wood is stored near the entrance door on the right. Bara (ba ra), stable for cows/yaks/dzo. A total of nine cows was kept here at the time of the survey. Pekhang (pe khang), walled space to keep newborn yaks. Dienkhang (can khang), space designated for the toilet waste dropdown. Tago (ta nago), tool storage. Shiale (sa le), open roofed storage. Dried yak dung and grass is kept here. Dara (da ra), courtyard with elaborate entrance gate called gohe (sgo he). Next to the entrance gate is an incense niche in the wall called sankhung (gsang khang). A high post with a long vertical prayer flag, gode (sgo de), stands in front of the gate on the left side.

0.6

Ground floor plan.

1.3

1.5

1.8

1.9

1.4 1.2

1.6

1.1

1.10

1.7

1.11

0

1

2

4m

First floor plan.

First floor 1�1 Nachen (na chan), kitchen room. The room has a dimension of three by

three post spans, with a total of four posts standing in the room. Two windows oriented towards the east overlook the front yard of the building. An earthen stove, now tiled, is centered at the south-eastern facade wall. It is crowned by a relief on the wall representing the symbol of the lotus flower. A similar relief can be found above the stoves in the houses of Chaktreng. The smoke of the stove is ventilated by an open lantern above. The kitchen is furnished with decorative cabinets on both sides, displaying all the family’s pot ware along the walls. 1�2 Zo (‘dzong) storage. Adjacent to the large kitchen room are two storages. They can be entered directly and only from the kitchen. One storage room is for food and the other for kitchen equipment. The food storage holds a purpose-built grain storage. 1�3 Bangsa (bang sa), grain storage. The grain storage is a timber log construction, which is entered through a small opening. The house owner explained that such substructures were built to withstand earthquakes, meaning that the grain supplies could be saved in such a case. 1�4 Zona (‘dzong na), tool storage. 1�5 Chong tsang (chang tshang), nowadays, the room is used for washing. The original function is unknown. 1�6 Hall with interior toilet. 1�7 Baka tsang (bakha tshang), sleeping room. 1�8/9 Zo (‘dzong), storage. 1�10 Dozhe (rngo shu), a large multi-purpose room with an open fireplace termed toka (to kha). With the dimensions of four by three post stances and a total of six posts, it is the largest room on the first floor. A distinct characteristic of this room is the large open skylight, allowing for an open fireplace within the room. The room is used as a summer kitchen, working space and when furnished accordingly for special occasions for receiving guests. Two large timber grain boxes are stored in the room. The room’s stone walls are paneled with timber about 1 m high. 1�11 Chukhang (chos khang), sacred room. The room is entered through an elaborately carved door. The frame and jamb have a total of four decorative layers, carved with a repetitive swastika pattern, the symbols of the eternal knot, the lotus flower and floral ornaments. There are delicate wall paintings inside the room. The posts and beams are carved and painted with many different motives. The timber ceiling panels are also painted. A large timber shrine cabinet runs along two walls. Though nowadays it is mostly empty, it was observed that local monks sometimes perform prayers inside the room.

109

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Second floor 2.1 Terrace/roof. The partially open and covered roof serves as 2.3

2.2

2.2

2.4

2.5

2.3

2.1

2.4

2.5 2.6

2.6 Second floor plan.

3.1

working space during the harvest. Formerly a living room was situated here. There are two windows in the stone wall and grooves in the posts indicating the former location of the timber partition walls. Nowadays, all original timber parts are lost. Lunggo (rlung sgo), wind door. The Tibetan word lunggo literally translates to wind door. It is used to support grain winnowing. When it is opened the wind helps to carry the lighter husks away as the mixture of grain and husks is allowed to fall from a height. The heavier grains fall vertically to the ground into a heap. Gyatong (rgya tong), open skylight above the dozhe room. This skylight would be closed in winter with a thick curtain made of yak wool. Living room for the eldest family member. The room is built entirely out of timber with timber panels or windows placed between the posts. Shagya (shar rgya) sacred room. A second, smaller sacred room is located here on the third floor. All the timber panels are painted, though the paintwork is quite damaged and partially covered with old newspaper from 1965. The shrine cabinet was found empty. According to the house owner, monks would sleep here in the past if staying at the house overnight.

Roof floor 3.1 Flat roof. The parapet of this flat roof part is quite high. The many

3.2

holes in the parapet’s wall are used to clear snow off the roof. The corners of the parapet are elevated, have additional friezes and hold vertical prayer flags called lutu (lu do). Gable roof structure. The timber construction of the roof is placed here. There are two vertical prayer flags on the ridge.

3.2

Roof plan.

0

1

2

4m

pose room and provides space for an open dry toilet. The waste falls to the stables. It is rare to find toilets with such a central location on the buildings’ interior attached to the living rooms. In most cases the toilets are arranged on the terrace or balcony (compare Kandze, Dawu, Gyalrong) or as an exterior add-on structure (compare Lhasa, Lhoka, Kongpo). In some cases there are no built structures and the surrounding fields serve the purpose.

meter above the ground, blessed objects are placed in the masonry of each corner. These objects are made of earth, rock, timber and metal and may be objects collected during pilgrimage. As in other Tibetan regions a traditional white ritual scarf called khatag (kha btags) is bound to the top frame, after the main door has been erected. Upon the completion of the building a ritual called kondu is performed by a monk. Once the residents have moved in and occupied the house, rituals for cleansing are performed annually during the New Year festivities of Losar (lo sar). All the prayer flags are renewed during that time. All houses in the neighboring Litang area are built in the same style with one significant difference: all timber elements are painted in red. The dark coloring of timber elements in Sumdu may be connected to the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism that is represented by the black color. The Karmapas wear a black crown and are protected by Mahakala who is typically black in color.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS Before the earth of the chosen site is touched, a ritual called ranie salung (sa- earth, rlung-wind) is performed by a monk. This ritual ensures harmony with the environment and compensates the intrusion into the earth where other living beings dwell. The auspicious date for the ceremony is decided by a local monk. Once the wall has been built to a height of one

110

East elevation.

0

1

2

4m

South elevation.

111

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section C-C.

0

Section A-A.

112

1

2

4m

Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa

0

1

2

4m

Front view, vertical and horizontal section of the entrance gate to the yard.

Entrance door.

Windows on the first floor.

113

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section B-B.

114

Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa

0

115

1

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Langtse Tsang House in Chatreng

Isometric view from south-east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT features a high old earthen tower. All the fields are located outside the village along the river bank. Pigs are kept in the yards near the houses. Goats are herded on the nearby mountains. Because of the mild climate there are no yaks. Encouraged by subsidies, many of the old houses in the area have gradually been replaced by new buildings. Apparently, new buildings are constructed using the traditional rammed earth technique, but replacing the timber windows with metal frames and grids. The patterns of the grids are very dense and show an enormous variety. The traditional proportions and dimensions are enlarged to an extreme and almost monastic extent. Typical for many villages in the region are the impressive towers of roughly 20 m in height, like the one in Seragung. Some say they were built ‘to increase good fortune’, others cite defense purposes, claiming an age of over 300 years. The landscape is characterized by relatively steep, green mountain slopes and narrow river valleys. The villages are scattered

The house is located in Seragung Village in the region of Chatreng (cha phreng). Seragung is situated just on the outskirts of the town of Chatreng (chin. Sangpi). The Chinese name was changed to Xiangbala, a transliteration of the term ‘Shangrila’ associated with legends about mysterious hidden lands in the Himalayas mentioned in Tibetan traditions in order to attract more tourists. Chatreng is the largest town near the border to Yunnan Province, about 120 km north of Gyelthang. Above the village, a nearby hilltop is occupied by Chatreng Sampel Ling Monastery. Seragung is located at an elevation of approximately 3,300 m on a river bank in the narrow valley of the Schu Chu River (chin. Shuoyi He), a tributary to Dri Chu River (chin. Jinsha Jiang). Dri Chu is the upper stretch of Yangtze River (chin. Chang Jiang). The settlement is a densely arranged cluster of houses and all dwellings are surrounded by yards enclosed with rammed earth walls. Narrow alleys wind through the village, which also

116

HOUSE NAME

Langtse Tsang VILLAGE

Seragung REGION

Chatreng COUNTY 00 30

29

5

2900

PROVINCE

50 28

280

COUNTRY

00 28

Sichuan

0

Xiangcheng

275

China

0

ALTITUDE 2850

280

0

3,370 m

2900

295 0

00

30

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the east elevation.

117

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Store on the rooftop.

Stable interior. View from terrace on sacred room.

Stable interior. Western and northern elevations.

0

1

First floor plan.

along the slopes surrounded by cultivated terraces. The region forms a transition zone between the densely forested, deep, narrow valleys in the south around Gyelthang that show a subtropical highland climate and the alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau in the north, such as the Dabpa and Lithang plains. The nearby town Chatreng receives an annual precipitation of more than 600 mm. January is the coldest month of the year with temperatures just above the freezing point.

other families in the area, the family of Langtse Tsang has not demolished its old house but constructed the new building next to it without replacing the former. Both houses now face each other representing different times and values. The Langtse Tsang building is constructed entirely with earth and timber. The walls are made from rammed earth. The enclosing high rammed earth wall of the house is a very distinctive feature of the region’s architecture. As other old houses in Chatreng, the outer wall of the Langtse Tsang house does not show any form of frieze on top. According to the house owner, outer wall stripes reflect an old tradition: not to whitewash residential buildings completely as this was reserved for monasteries. The irregular white stripes stem from buckets with liquid chalk poured from the parapet of the roof terrace. Nowadays most of the houses are colored completely in white with red friezes as a standard feature and designs copied from religious buildings.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The name of the house is Langtse Tsang. It boasts more square meters than any other house presented in this book and has provided a home to its residents for more than three generations, giving it an estimated age of more than 70 years. Presently, about ten family members reside in the house. Unlike many

118

2

4m

Store with lotus flower relief in the kitchen.

119

Central hall.

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Ground floor 0.1 Dara (dag ra), cow and horse stable. A flight of stairs provides entrance to 0.2

0.3 0.2

0.3 0.4 0.5 0.1

the upper floor. Khera (khas ra). This area is used for finely chopped dried leaves. The leaves are thrown onto the dung in the stable and later the mix is taken out as fertilizer. Zocho (mjod shog), dried grass storage. Songlo (samal ‘og), toilet waste drop-down. Parkhong (par khong), tool storage.

First floor 1.1 Matsen (mar tshan), kitchen/living room. The kitchen has elaborately 0.4

0.5

1.2 1.3 1.4

Ground floor plan.

1.3 1.4 1.1 1.2

1.5 1.5 1.6

1.6 1.7 1.8

1.8

1.7

0

1

2

built cabinets on both ends. One of the cabinets holds a large water storage bowl. The traditional earthen stove has been covered with ceramic tiles. A special feature rarely seen today crowns the stove: a large relief representing a lotus flower (pad ma). The smoke is led through a chimney built vertically into the earthern wall ending on top of the parapet. In addition, there is a timber skylight called tika (ngu ga) on the terrace for bringing light into the kitchen and venting cooking smoke. Zachun (za chun), sleeping room. Zona (mdzod nag), storage. Chokhang (chos khang), sacred room. The posts of this room are higher than in the rest of the house. Therefore the room’s ceiling is quite high. A large shrine cabinet is in-built at the western wall. Openings in the timber elevation to the terrace provide the room with sunlight. All posts and beams of this room are elaborately painted. The entrance door is decorated with carvings and paintings that represent and symbolize the sacred functionally of this room. Pi chu (pes shor), former entrance to the tower termed pingo (pus sgo). The tower was reported to have served as a storage for grain in case of fire. Its construction accumulated good fortune for the residents. Central hall connecting all levels. The timber walls of the hall are colorfully painted. Several traditional and modern household tools are stored here. Songlo (samal ‘og), toilet and washing area. Nyera (gnyad ra), sleeping room. The large room called nyera serves as a sleeping room for the entire family. Its open timber skylight in the ceiling, zano (tsag nog), provides sunlight and ventilation. Inbuilt cabinets along the wall store clothes and other textiles.

4m

First floor plan.

Kitchen interior.

Sacred room interior.

120

Langtse Tsang House in Chatreng

Second floor 2.1 Mazon (ma’ dzo), terrace. The terrace is used for religious festivities and to

dry crops during the harvest. 2.2 Longgo (rlung sgo), wind door. Kating (dag ting), area for beating grain.

2.2

When the door is opened, the incoming breeze supports the winnowing process of the grain. 2.3/4 Zenie zatsong (sihod rjag chon), sleeping room.

2.1

Third floor 3.1 Zaniu (sing hon), sleeping room for monks. This room on top of the

sacred room is where monks used to sleep and from where they were able to watch the ritual dances performed on the terrace. For this purpose the wooden panels closing this room towards the terrace can be removed. Nowadays it serves mostly as an additional sleeping room for the family. The roof above with the offering stove called sunka (sems ga) can be accessed by climbing a trunk ladder.

2.4 2.3

Second floor plan.

3.1

0

1

2

4m

Third floor plan.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The load-bearing walls enclose an independent interior postand-lintel timber construction. The sacred room (chos khang) is higher and larger than any other room in the building. The posts in this room extend the ceiling height above the roof level of the second floor. Almost all interior walls are light wooden partition walls set within the post grid. All the wooden elements on the exterior walls and the interior wooden walls of the house are elaborately painted. The grids of the timber windows have very intricate designs and are composed of many fine particles. The grids show a large variety of motives and design patterns. The frame is usually divided into several sections with each section decorated with a different pattern. The new metal grid windows in the Chatreng Region echo this traditional design.

The main entrance to the house is on the ground floor leading through the stables. In this area the entire ground floor is typically used as animal stables and as storage space. Thus, Langtse Tsang House features designated areas for storing grass and dried leaves as well as for keeping horses and cows. The first floor is accessed by climbing a wide and steep wooden staircase from the stables. The stairs lead into a hall that serves as an entryway to all rooms of the first floor. Another steep flight of stairs leads up to the terrace and to the rooms on the second level. The first floor serves as the main living floor for the family. It accommodates a large multifunctional kitchen room, a grand sacred room (chos khang) and a spacious sleeping room. There is also an interior toilet in the western corner of the central hall.

121

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

East elevation.

122

Langtse Tsang House in Chatreng

0

123

1

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section C-C.

124

Langtse Tsang House in Chatreng

0

125

1

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section A-A.

0

Section B-B.

126

1

2

4m

Langtse Tsang House in Chatreng

0

1

2

4m

Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section of a typical window (color rendering by Nadja Borschewski).

hanging from the beams similar to the sago namgo (sa sgo rnams sgo) in other parts of the Tibetan cultural region. An offering stove called sunka (sems ga) is located on the roof of the

Running water and a sink have been installed near the toilet within the hall. The floor boards on the entire first floor are made of wood. The second floor consists mainly of an open terrace. Over the years further sleeping rooms have been added on the roof-covered parts of the terrace. There is an additional room elevated from the roof terrace and on top of the sacred room. It is a room for monks and allows watching the ritual dances on the roof terrace.

sacred room and a vase with precious objects is placed inside to increase good fortune. According to the house owner, a now collapsed earthen tower was once attached to the house. White stones called lhado (lha rdo) crown the corners, lha standing for god and do for stone. Prayer flags termed longda (rlung rdag) are set on the corners for protection. The white stripes featured on this and a few other houses of the village count as a protective element.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS The inhabitants of the house follow the practices of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Dried animal heads are found

127

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

House in Kandze

Isometric view from the south-east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The house was located in a village called Sushede (su shes deg) situated on the northern bank of the Nyag Chu River (nyag chu, chin. Yalong River), just opposite the town of Kandze (dkar ­mdzes,­­ chin. Ganzi)1. Kandze lies in a broad high-altitude valley at the headwaters of the Nyag Chu River. Kandze is the administrative center of the county. The town has a long history and an important role in the region. Its location is quite central in Kham as it is situated in the middle of the route between Dartsedo (dar rtse mdo, chin. Kangding), about 390 km away in

southern Kham and Jyekundo (skye dgu mdo, chin. Yushu), about 470 km away in northern Kham. The town of Dege (sde dge, chin. Dege) is located about 200 km north-west of Kandze and can be reached by passing the Chola Mountain Range (chin. Que’er Shan). The elevation of the plains in the eastern plateau region ranges approximately from 3,500 to 4,500 m. The river valley is situated at about 3,350 m. The landscape consists mostly of vast and open grassland with smooth hills. The region’s distinctive ­ecology is created by a combination of cold temperatures and high precipitation. Depending on the local exposure the plains have either a closed cover of alpine meadow vegetation or a shrub vegetation dominated by short-growing sedges. The snow-covered mountains of the Bayankala Mountain Range overlook the valley in the north-west. There are several settlements along the southern river bank opposite the town. The small settlement where the documented building is located

1 Note from a second site visit in May 2016: the house has since been demolished and construction of the new house was underway. The ground floor walls had been constructed just a few weeks earlier. When asked why the family had decided to build a new house, they said they are doing so for the children. The new house features larger dimensions, higher ceilings, etc. The family was temporarily living in a shelter in the yard built from the dismantled log rooms. Many of the surrounding houses have also been replaced since the visit in 2012.

128

VILLAGE

Sushede REGION

Kandze COUNTY

Ganzi PROVINCE

Sichuan COUNTRY 50

China

33

ALTITUDE

3,360 m

00 34

50 34

0 35

0

34 00

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the east elevation.

129

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Offering stove on the terrace.

View of the first floor from the terrace.

can be reached by crossing the bridge at the northern edge of the town and following a small road along the river. The roads on this side of the river have only been improved in recent years, causing a rapid growth of the settlements. The villagers cultivate fields around the settlements on the flat river bank and keep herds of yaks on the surrounding high pastures. Barley is the most widely grown crop, though potato farming is also very common in the valley. Pastoralism plays an important role for the livelihoods of the communities in this region. The herders graze large herds of yaks, migrating between summer and winter pastures. As in other regions of Kham with alpine grasslands, collecting and selling Caterpillar Fungus Yartsa Gunbu (dbyar rtswa dgun ‘bu, lat. ophiocordyceps sinensis) provides additional cash income to the communities.

another characteristic feature. The ground floor walls of the building are made from rammed earth following a widespread construction method of this region, inspired by the sandy loam of the local soil. It comes with the necessary requirements for rammed earth construction, making it the most important building material resource even today. A large part of the first floor is an open terrace. A pergola-like open hallway is attached to the terrace and connects all the rooms. A distinctive carpentry feature are the sliding doors and upper hinge windows in the elevations and timber partition walls. Sliding doors are quite rare in the Tibetan cultural region and mainly found in the Kandze and Dege areas. The front facades are built in a mix of timber log and post-and-beam structure. The lower window parts within the timber framing are built in the design of the sun wheel pattern locally called tseshe (dul she). Large panels crown window openings placed within the log structure. The structure of the house is a combination of load-bearing walls, timber log and post-and-beam structure. The ground floor walls are built first and left to settle and dry over the winter before the second floor is built the following season. Carpentry has a distinct local style although timber is brought in

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE A distinctive feature of the region’s domestic architecture is the coloring of all timber elements. The protruding heads of the beams are carved half round and are highlighted in orange. The intricately built cantilevering roof cornice of the flat roof is

130

Hallway on the first floor with door to sacred room in the back.

131

Kitchen interior.

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Sacred room.

Sleeping room with painted chests stacked along the wall.

132

House in Kandze

Ground floor 0.1 Kezia (ge shas), central ground floor hall. Plastic bags filled with dried

grains are stacked along the walls. There is also a traditional large timber box used for the storage of grain. Nowadays the space also serves as garage for the family’s motor bikes and other small motorized field tools. 0.2/3 Zakhong (dzag khang), grass storage. 0.4 Sokhong (so khang), stable for cows. 0.5 Sushed (su shed), toilet drop-down.

0.2 0.3

0.1

0.4

0.5

Ground floor plan.

1.4

1.5

1.6 1.7 1.3

1.8

1.10

1.1

1.9

1.11

1.2

0

1

2

4m

First floor plan.

First floor 1.1 Kedo (khal dog), terrace. An elaborately built offering stove, sonkhong (sam khang), is set on the south parapet. A timber skylight called yantu (byam dog) provides lighting for the central hall on the ground floor. 1.2 Sushed (su shed), toilet. 1.3 Bangchom (dpang chom), open hallway. The open hall provides access to

all the rooms. The family spends its spare time in the sunlit hallway during the warmer seasons and in the adjacent rooms during the colder months. The elevation is colorfully painted. A sun wheel pattern called tseshe (dul she) is painted on many of the timber panels. The entire flooring is made of wooden planks. A timber sofa bed is placed in one end of the hall providing additional sleeping and resting space. The ceiling is colorfully painted. 1.4 Lhakang (lha khang), sacred room. A pema chodzo carving was crafted on top of the main beam. A new shrine cabinet was recently built in this room and is still unpainted. There is a large ritual timber throne at the northern wall of the room. Several pictures are hanging on the wall above the throne. The timber floor is covered with a large carpet. Thick carpets are laid on the sofa beds. The door to this room is built as a sliding door, which is decorated with pema chodzo carvings and crowned with a large painted panel on the exterior. It is covered with a textile curtain. The double window is also covered with a textile, custom-made curtain in Tibetan design. 1.5 Nyesa (nyi sa), sleeping room. The room is furnished with a long row of sofa beds and tables. A significant amount of traditional painted timber chests is stacked along the wall. New white sliding plastic windows have been placed into the hallway elevation. A TV and modern audio equipment also occupies the room. 1.6 Ze (‘dzod), storage. The small room in proximity of the kitchen is mostly used to store vegetables and tools. A washing machine stands in front of the room in the hall’s corner. 1.7 Gyakang (dza khang), kitchen. The kitchen holds a large number of pots and spoons in a rather simple cabinet. The ceiling is blackened by the smoke and the walls are painted in red and orange with a horizontal green stripe. A sizable metal stove and large timber grain storage boxes (go shos) also fill the room. Unlike the rest of the rooms on this level, the kitchen has an earthen floor. It also does not function as the main living room in this house. In fact, there is no sitting furniture. 1.8 Sachu (sha chu), sleeping/living room. The room still has its original timber grid windows with top hinges. The rectangular grid is decorated with a carved flower. This is one of the family’s favorite rooms to spend spare time in. The upper hinge windows are permanently kept open during the summer months. The door is built as a sliding door. 1.9 Kabi (ka pis), living room. This living room is furnished with a long row of traditional sofa beds and tables. It serves as a dining room for the family. When prayers are performed inside the sacred room, the monks are received, welcomed and provided with food and drink here. A large freezer stands in the corner in front of the storage room. The room is entered through a sliding door. 1.10 Ze (‘dzod), storage. Another large timber grain box (go shos) is located here. 1.11 Lhakang (lha khang), sacred room. This room is carefully painted and decorated: it holds many sacred images and pictures. It is furnished with two rows of sofa beds with a row of low tables between them. Colorful long textile prayer flags are hanging from the ceiling. It has the most intricately built windows of the house. The windows have sliding timber shutters on the interior. On the exterior, the windows are crowned with a painted panel and closed with textile blinds.

133

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

East elevation.

South elevation.

0

North elevation.

134

1

2

4m

House in Kandze

0

1

2

4m

Section A-A.

and traditional Tibetan tools. Very common for this area, a dry toilet is located in a corner of the terrace opposite the living rooms. The toilet waste drops to an enclosed space on the ground floor, from where it is cleared regularly and used as fertilizer.

from nearby valleys half a day distance away, or approximately 100 km. The forested valleys in Dawu (rta’u) and Dege provide good-quality timber used for house construction.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE Farmer’s houses in Kandze have a large rectangular compact layout. The ground floor is mostly used as storage and stables and is not equipped with windows. Only few very small holes in the wall facilitate cross ventilation. Lighting of the central space on the ground floor is provided by a timber skylight lantern on the terrace. The larger part of the upper floor functions as an open terrace called kedo (khal dog). It is accessed by a steep flight of timber stairs from the ground floor. A hallway attached to the terrace, locally called bangchom (dpang chom), provides access to all rooms of the upper floor. Two timber log rooms are ‘inserted’ in the post-and-beam structure. Both of these rooms are used as sacred rooms. The hallway and all rooms on the upper floor except the kitchen and a small storage room have timber floors. Unlike in many other houses documented in this book, the kitchen is very simple and holds no sitting furniture, as it is not used as a living room. A lot of traditional furniture was found in the house at the time of documentation, such as timber chests, beds, tables and carpets and a broad collection of accessories

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS An elaborately constructed incense stove called sonkhong (sam khang) is built on the south wall of the terrace. It is a miniature log house corresponding to all timber elements and joints of the house assembly and all of its elements are painted accordingly. The opening of the stove is facing north. Incense, twigs and tsampa are burned inside the stove each morning. A high vertical post holding prayer flags named goda (sko dar) is set in the south-eastern corner of the terrace. Smaller vertical posts holding a prayer flag is set on each corner of the roof. The whitewash of the outer walls is renewed annually for the New Year festivities of Losar. The inhabitants of this area predominantly follow the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. According to a local monk, the white coloring, sometimes occurring as vertical stripes, is associated with an offering to Tsongkhapa and is renewed every tenth lunar month before Ganden Ngamcho, the anniversary of Tsongkhapa’s death.

135

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Ando

Section B-B.

136

House in Kandze

0

137

1

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Gesang Tsang House in Dawu

View of the north-east elevation.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT Dawu (rta’u) is located in the east of the plateau, where extensive grasslands alternate with deeply incised, forested valleys. The alpine shrubs and meadows are situated at altitudes above 3,000 m and are covered with short-growing sedges and forbs, while tall coniferous trees grow on mountain slopes at elevations from 2,800 to 4,000 m. The climate here is cold and temperate though slightly warmer than in the neighboring Kandze Region due to the lower altitude. The inhabited valleys in the Dawu Region lie at an altitude of about 3,000 m. The surveyed house is situated at an altitude of 3,020 m in a small settlement about 13 km north of the town of Dawu (chin. Xianshui). The town sits at an altitude of 2,950 m on the road between Kandze (dkar mdzes, chin. Ganzi) and Drango (brag ‘go, chin. Luhuo) in the north and Garthar (mgar thar, chin. Bamei) in the south. The river courses of Da Chu and Nyi Chu meet at Drango and flow south together at the Xianshui River that empties into the Nyag Chu River (nyag chu, chin. Yalong), a tributary of the Yangtze. The extensive watershed of the river drains the entire region. Long mountain ridges rise along the river valleys of Dawu.

The house is located on the western bank of the Xianshui River in the village of Dzuri, which contains about 40 houses spread along two strands of narrow roads. The cultivated fields lie in proximity to the houses on the river bank and on the foothill of the mountain with its forested slopes. Spruce and fir make up most of the local forest trees and their timber is not only the richest economic resource of the area but also an important resource for construction in the surrounding regions. The lands along the river bank are of high agricultural potential and richly cultivated with wheat, barley, potatoes and some other crops while the surrounding pastures on the high meadows are used for grazing yak. Pastoralism plays an important but not primary role for the communities.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The house is constructed out of timber and rammed earth. The ground floors of the houses in the region are either built from rammed earth or stone masonry. Both variations are found in

138

HOUSE NAME

Gesang Tsang VILLAGE

Dzuri REGION

Dawu COUNTY 3 12 5

Daofu PROVINCE

Sichuan COUNTRY

China ALTITUDE 30

3000

50

3,020 m

30

3200

0 3 05

3150

3100

00

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View of the house with surrounding landscape.

View of the first floor elevation from the terrace.

View of the rear wall.

139

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Interior view of the hall.

Kitchen interior.

Sacred room.

the valleys of Dawu. The house owners have estimated the house to be around 30 to 40 years old. There were nine family members living inside the house at the time of survey. The log structure on the upper floor is a characteristic feature of the region. Though the house features a post-and-beam construction, there are additional log structures set between the posts that shape the individual rooms. Except for a large storage, all the rooms on the upper floor are log structures: such rooms are called pangle (dpang les). All logs are painted with a dark burgundy color to protect the timber. Part of the timber postand-beam construction is two stories high. The timber posts reach from the ground to the roof height of the building. The beams perforating the posts are a distinctive characteristic of the Dawu and neighboring Drango region. In the front elevation, the round beams are protruding and their heads are painted white, setting a strong contrast to the otherwise dark burgundycolored elevation. The cornice has a potent visual expression consisting of a horizontal array of protruding ceiling joists and additional square-shaped timbers whose heads are also painted white. The orange-colored timber panels between the beams are characteristic for the region of Dawu. Other typical features are the white elevated corners of the flat roof resembling small peaks.

Nowadays many houses have been renewed and rebuilt in a more affluent style using a lot more timber of much larger dimensions. One can say that the surveyed house resembles a now outdated building style with proportions adjusted to a more traditional building practice. It has become quite common to replace the timber grid windows with sliding plastic windows. It was presently almost impossible in this region to find a house with timber windows. This building shows several of the traditional timber grid window designs. The open hallway around the terrace termed kele (kus lam) is also a very typical design element for the region of Dawu. Newer houses show the tendency to build the hallway as a closed space, often enclosed by sliding plastic windows.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The house was placed into the landscape, building the ground floor around the rocky mountain slope. Thus, the rocky ground was not excavated to make a flat surface, resulting in a ground floor with only half the surface area of the upper floor. The entrance to the house is on the ground floor, which is used as stable and storage. The first floor, containing the main living space of the house, is accessed by a timber staircase from the

140

Gesang Tsang House in Dawu

0.2

Ground floor 0�1 Dzeku (dzakhu), yak stable. 0�2 Karku (khar khu), horse stable. 0�3 Gesdzeku (kes dza khu), newborn yak stable.

0.3

First floor 1�1 Doze (stong segs), open terrace. 1�2 Kelen (kus lam), open hallway. The long hall provides access to 0.1

1�3

Ground floor plan.

1.5

1.6

1�4

1.7

1�5 1.4

1.2

1�6

1.1 1.3 1.8

0

1

2

4m

First floor plan.

1�7 1�8

all rooms and connects them to the terrace. The entire hall has timber flooring. An area within the hall is furnished with sofa beds and used for sleeping. This part is called nyeda (nyi skags). Timber stairs locally called dzeskiri (ches se ki ri) lead into the hall from the ground floor. Parts of the openly built hallway elevation have been closed with plastic and textile sheets. Chukhang (chos khang), sacred room. This room is unfurnished and only holds some images on the walls. Outside, there is a structure made of burned bricks on the roof’s corner that holds several short flagpoles with prayer flags. Pankhang (dpang khang), sleeping room. The room is furnished with three inbuilt beds and a low cabinet along the wall for the storage of clothes and textiles. The timber in this room is unpainted. Za (‘dzod), storage. This is the largest space of the upper floor. It is accessed by an intricately built and painted double wing door. The room has a simple earth floor. Mege (mesked), kitchen. There is a metal stove called gyathong (rgya thab) in the room. A metal pipe piercing the ceiling discharges the smoke. A timber skylight in the ceiling called krye (ka ra yul) brings in light and ventilates the room, which serves mostly for the preparation of food. It is not a sitting room, unlike in many other houses presented in this documentation. The timber floor is covered with a plastic floor coating. Chukhang (chos khang), sacred room. The room is furnished with low sofa beds for sitting and a timber throne. Chakhang (chag khang), toilet room.

View of entry on the ground floor.

stables. Except for the large storage room, the entire first floor has timber flooring. A large part of the first floor is an open terrace that is used for drying and processing harvested crops. Inside, all rooms are aligned along the hallway that forms a transition zone between the rooms and the terrace. Typically for older houses in the region the hallway is built without a closed elevation. This kind of open elevation is an unique element

found in this documentation only in the Dawu and Kandze Regions. Both log rooms on each end of the hall serve as sacred rooms. Other than that there is one sleeping room and a kitchen. Typically, there is a toilet tower on the terrace that is part of the front elevation. The front location of the tower makes it a quite prominent visual feature of the house, common to all houses in the region.

141

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

0

North-east elevation.

142

1

2

4m

Gesang Tsang House in Dawu

South-west elevation.

0

1

2

4m

South-east elevation.

143

East elevation B-B.

South elevation A-A.

144

0

145

1

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Front view, vertical and horizontal section of the entry door to the house.

0

Interior and exterior view, vertical and horizontal section of a window inside the open hallway.

146

1

2

4m

Gesang Tsang House in Dawu

0

1

2

4m

Interior and exterior view, vertical and horizontal section of the front elevation window.

0

1

2

4m

Interior and exterior view, vertical and horizontal section of the double-winged door of the storage room.

147

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Tchare Lumbu House in Minya

View of Tchare Lumbu House from the south, with the family’s new house by its side.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT large town of Dartsedo (dar rtse mdo, chin. Kangding) is about 60 km west of Rarngaka. The settlement lies in a richly vegetated and cultivated valley of a south-flowing tributary of the Nyag Chu. The houses in Minya are built out of stone masonry and have a distinctive decoration style. The most distinctive characteristic of this region’s architecture are the high stone towers that rise in many villages and the general landscape. The towers are said to have been built for protection when the area was attacked in the tumultuous past of the Kham Region. The valleys of Minya have a mild subtropical highland climate due to the comparatively low altitude between 2,000 to 3,500 m. The summers are mild and the winters are not very cold. There is frequent rainfall in the summer and the annual average precipitation is as high as 800 mm. Thanks to these conditions, the valleys are green and rich in vegetation.

The house is located in the settlement of Tchare at an altitude of 3,370 m. Tchare lies in an area dominated by the Minyak, who are a small sub-group of the larger Tibetan ethnic group. The spoken dialect here is linguistically very different from other dialects spoken in Kham or the Tibetan cultural region. The cultural region of Minya (mi nyag) is located in the very south of the Hengduan Mountain System, around Minya Gonka (mi nyag gong ga, chin. Gongga Shan). The mountain peaks at 7,556 m and it is the world’s easternmost peak above 7,000 m. This mountain range marks the boundary to the moist hills and low plains of the Sichuan Basin in the east. The region of Minya spreads west of Minya Gonka approximately until the Nyag Chu River (nyag chu, chin. Yalong). The settlement of Tchare is located about 45 km south of the town of Rarngaka (ra rnga kha, chin. Xinduqiao), which spreads out along the G318 national highway that runs west to east from Lhasa to Chengdu. The

148

HOUSE NAME

Tchare Lumbu VILLAGE

Tchare REGION

Minya COUNTY

Kangding 50 37

PROVINCE

Sichuan

3

700

COUNTRY 365

China

0

36 00

ALTITUDE

3,370 m

3550

350 0 345 0

340 0

3350

34 0 0

3450

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

Timber ring beam at the top of the tower structure.

View of the north-eastern walls.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE structure is laid with very small gaps and uses larger stones than the two adjacent wings. The tower has served the inhabitants as a refuge in case of attacks and as storage for valuable goods, such as the family’s grain supplies. The south-eastern wing holds the main entrance to the house. A large kitchen and adjacent storage rooms are located on the first floor. The window openings of this part are rather small and crowned with overhangs layered with small square-shaped timbers. The south-western wing was most likely the latest extension. Its uppermost floor holds a spacious sacred room, which has a higher ceiling height than any other room of the house. The window openings of the uppermost floor are the largest openings of the house and are built without any overhang. The masonry of both wings is laid with roundish stones intercepted with several timber ring beams at close intervals. The wall’s tops are decorated with a double-layered timber cornice.

The Tchare Lumbu House is constructed with stone and timber. The stone masonry is bound with mud mortar. All walls are load-bearing and the interior timber post-and-lintel construction is joined to the walls’ masonry. Originally, the house was built and inhabited by a landlord family and boasts a long history. The building features three different volumes. The centerpiece is a tower with two adjacent wings. Each of these structures presents a different style of stone masonry and openings. The three different parts may have been built successively over time. The Tchare Lumbu House represents a building style that is rarely seen in Minya nowadays. The tower and the adjacent south-eastern wing are the oldest parts with a potential age of more than 200 years. The tower structure with the geometry of an eight-sided star polygon is the most distinctive feature of the building. Its top is bound with an intricate timber ring beam. The rubble masonry of the

149

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Kitchen interior.

Kitchen cabinet decorated with tsampa, holding a large water vessel.

Interior of room for keeping clothing and jewelry.

150

Tchare Lumbu House in Minya

Ground floor 0�1 Wahle (‘a lu). The entire space is called wahle and is further separated 0.7 0.5

0�2 0�3 0�4 0�5 0�6 0�7 0�8

0.6

0.4

0.8

0.1 0.3

into several functions. The timber posts in this room are visibly placed on top of several stones that raise them above the ground. The partitions of the different sections are made of low stone walls or timber walls. Boichi (‘bam yi ce), calf stable. Takhong (ta khag), horse stable. Romo rataro (‘a ‘phrang khu), stable for cows and yaks. Wholukhu (‘ung lu khu), stable for cows and yaks. Rato (‘a ‘phrang), stable for goats. Outside storage. Rachi (rapa ce), courtyard.

0.2

Ground floor plan.

First floor 1�1 Mele (me le), hall. Two timber staircases in the hall connect all floors

1�2

1.7 1.4

1.6

1.1

1.5

1.2

1.3

1�3 1�4 1�5 1�6

First floor plan.

1�7

2.2

vertically. The hall has timber flooring. In the western corner is a toilet, called jimbu (‘a jo ‘apu), the waste of which falls down to the stables. Machi (me ci), kitchen. The entire room has timber flooring. A large timber cabinet displays all pots, vessels and kitchen tools, such as spoons. It also holds a large vessel used for storing drinking water. The cabinet is decorated with white tsampa paintings. A timber structure holding a large prayer wheel is joined to the post closest to the stove. The timber heads are also decorated with symbols. Timber pedestals around the stove are used for sitting by the warming heat source. The stone walls of the entire room are covered with wooden paneling. The ceiling structure is visible and laid out with small timbers on top of the round rafters. The timber is blackened from the smoke. Drongkhong (‘dro khag), adjacent kitchen storage. Yayuje (yang yace), potato storage. Changguchi (shang ngu ci), tsampa room. Tsampa flour is produced here by grinding roasted barley grains with a large stone. Bankhong (‘apug khung) butter storage and hall connecting the two wings. Zo (‘dzong), large storage. This room is used specifically to store the family’s valuable goods, such as textiles, clothing and jewelry. There is also a large inbuilt timber cabinet called konchon (khung shong) along the wall that is filled with dried barley. The room has earthen flooring.

Second floor 2�1 Boto (‘apam tam), roof. The open part of the roof is called zekhu (dza khu), and it is used for drying harvested crops. The roofed part is called zawa (dza ya) and is used for storing dried crops. The eastern wall features a large opening called dego (de sgo). This opening is used to

2.3

2.5 2.4

2.1

2�2 2�3

0 1 2 4m

Second floor plan.

2�4 2�5

pull up barley bundles directly up to the roof. There are two timber chimneys called moku (mu khu) that ventilate the rooms underneath. One is set above the stove in the kitchen and the other above the tsampa room. Nowadays the entire roof space is completely covered with tin sheets laid out on a timber substructure. Hall. Zo (‘dzong), storage. The tower structure was originally used as grain storage. Lankhu (la khag), senior bedroom. This room was reserved for the senior member of the family. It has timber flooring. Lawho (langs lugs), sacred room. The ceiling height in this room is higher than in any other room. The posts and beams of this room are intricately painted. The ceiling structure is covered by painted timber panels locally called pempu (pe phu). The floor is made from timber. The doublewinged entry door is decorated with several carved and painted frames on the exterior. Though still partially covered with mud plaster, the old paintings are visible on the walls. Horizontal openings set very high in the wall provide additional lighting to the room.

151

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Sacred room interior.

Interior of stables on the ground floor.

The house owners were expelled from their home in the 1950s. During that time the house’s large kitchen room was used for public meetings and the house was occupied and used as residence by several other families for some time. The family recalls that they had covered the wall paintings in the sacred room with mud plaster in anticipation of their destruction by the invaders. In those years, the family has lost all the valuables of the sacred room. Recently, the family has constructed a new house just next to the old house on the same plot. Nowadays most of the family members have moved to the new house, while the older family members still prefer to use the kitchen room of the old house as their main living space. The new house, that is partially depicted in the main view of the Tchare Lumbu House, displays a different design commonly found in Minya today. Some characteristic differences are the style of masonry and openings, as well as gabled roofs set on top of the buildings. The stone used for the masonry of newer houses is dressed to a more rectangular shape. The openings are larger, regularly distributed and decorated with large distinctive white frames. Overall, the decoration and coloring of windows and friezes has greatly increased in the region.

is asked for advice when a building site is chosen by the villagers. It is common practice in this area to put samples of earth collected at sacred places and metal objects into the foundation of each house. After the completion of a house, a fire ceremony called Dzise Mantse is held by the house owners. Thereafter the stove inside the house can be used for the first time. The families also put relicts of monks on the rooftops of their houses. Such a structure with sacred objects is placed on the parapet of the Tchare Lumbu House above the large kitchen room. Inside the kitchen, protective symbols are painted in white on the dark heads of the posts, and in the large clothing storage the symbols of the sun and half moon are painted in white on each post head.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The ground floors of both wings have separate entrances. Both hold spaces for animal stables. The main living level is on the first floor and accessed by climbing a wooden staircase from the stables of the south-eastern wing. The south-eastern wing holds the kitchen room and adjacent storages as well as food processing rooms. Characteristic is the tsampa room that still holds a large grinding stone. The rooms of the south-western wing are connected horizontally to the south-eastern wing. There is no vertical connection in the south-western wing, which holds a large storage room and a spacious sacred room. The tower can only be accessed from the interior of the house. From the hall on the second floor between the two wings, a narrow corridor leads into the central space of the structure.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS The people of Tchare recount that many obstacles occur when a house is built, as it is a large intervention into the environment. The process causes harm to many animals, therefore requiring prayers and compensation rituals. A monk versed in geomancy

152

Tchare Lumbu House in Minya

South-west elevation.

0

1

2

4m

Section through the sacred room and the tower (B-B).

153

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section through the kitchen (A-A).

154

Tchare Lumbu House in Minya

0

155

1

2

4m

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Stone house in Gyalrong

Isometric view from the south.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The house is located in the village of Zhake (rtsa hu) in the cultural region of Gyalrong (rgyal rong) at an altitude of 1,870 m, making it the house at the lowest altitude of all houses presented in this book. The topography of the region consists broadly of several parallel mountain ranges that are separated by deep, narrowly incised river valleys. The altitude in Gyalrong ranges from 1,700 m up to about 6,000 m. The farmer’s houses in Gyalrong are built with stone and timber. They rise vertically and are either built with an integrated tower or have an additional structure on the roof resembling one. The mountains of the deep river valleys are densely vegetated with a high variety of plant species and largely covered with forest. Summers in Gyalrong are mild with a high precipitation

and the winters are not very cold as the temperatures do not fall below the freezing point. The region is very fertile and farming is widely practiced on the terraced slopes. The village is less then 15 km away from the region’s main town of Rongtrak/Zhanggu (chin. Danba), which is situated at the confluence of the Dadu and Xiaojin Rivers. Though in close proximity, Zhake has only marginally been influenced by the rapid development of Zhanggu due to its location on the roadless side of the Dadu River. Zhake Village consists of about six households. The village spreads along the river bank at the foothill of a steep mountain slope. Within a short distance the mountain slope rises from 1,700 m at the river bank to an altitude of 3,800 m. The villages cultivate the narrow strip of land

156

VILLAGE

Zhake REGION

Gyalrong COUNTY

Danba PROVINCE

Sichuan COUNTRY 2250

ALTITUDE

0 230

2200

215 0

2100

2050

2000

1950

1900

China

1900

1950

2000

2050

2 10

2150

0

1,870 m

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

Top view of the settlement.

alongside the river, growing mostly corn, which is widely cultivated in the region. Due to the low altitude and mild climate the villagers also grow chili and a large variety of fruit and nut trees, such as walnut. Zhake can only be accessed by a narrow footpath or by a simple ropeway that is installed across the river. The ropeway is used by the villagers to transport necessary goods and supplies into the village.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The house is built with stone masonry and timber. Characteristic for Gyalrong, the most distinct feature of the house is the integrated tower that rises above the rooftop. The top story of the

Ropeway across the river.

157

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Incense burning stove on the roof.

View from south-west.

Top floor of the tower.

Kitchen interior with central open fireplace.

tower used to have a sacred function, but nowadays it is no longer used by the household members to offer prayers. Another typical feature in Gyalrong are the elevated roof corners rising about 50 cm from the rooftop. The house is inhabited by a small family of four. The woman is the owner of the house, which corresponds to the widespread ownership pattern in Gyalrong. She takes care of the domestic animals and does most of the field work. The family owns eight pigs that are kept on the ground floor. A unique feature characteristic for Gyalrong is the open fireplace in the kitchen, which is used for heating and cooking. Traditionally, the family members followed a specific seating order around the fire place as further specified in the room legend.

The walls are made of natural stone masonry bound with mud mortar. The rooms are rather small, so that the beams can span an entire room without any support from posts. The ceilings and roofs are constructed with timber rafters, covered with stones and compressed earth, while the elevation of the terrace floor is built mostly with timber. A protruding timber balcony overhangs the western and northern walls. The balcony is used for drying and storing the crops after harvest and it also holds a dry toilet situated at the northern side. These open timber balconies are another typical feature of the local architectural style. They are well ventilated and provide the necessary space for storing the harvested grains for a long period of time.

158

Stone house in Gyalrong

Timber facade on the second floor.

Sleeping room interior.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE

To protect the house and its residents from negative influences, each of the elevated roof corners is crowned with a white, blessed stone. On the eastern roof parapet, there is a stone incense stove that is occasionally burned by the inhabitants as an offering. Several vertically assembled poles with prayer flags are also placed on the roof. The stone masonry walls of the house are partially whitewashed. The corners of the eastern wall are decorated with triangular patterns that represent the Buddhist symbols of the ‘Union of the Sun and Moon’.

The main openings of the house are oriented towards the west. The ground floor is low and is used for keeping livestock. On the first floor is the most important room of the house: the kitchen and its adjacent storage rooms. It also provides access to the higher floors. The second floor has a central open terrace space around which all rooms are grouped. There are two small sleeping rooms on the terrace floor. Parts of the terrace are roofed and used for drying and storing agricultural products. The third floor on the roof holds one room inside the tower which is now used as storage. The roof space is used for protective devices.

159

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

0

South elevation.

160

1

2

4m

Stone house in Gyalrong

Ground floor 0.1 Woyo, open yard. 0.2-4 Niwa, pig stable. All the ground floor rooms are used as stables for the

pigs.

0.4

0.3

First floor 1.1 Ralo, entry hall. 1.2 Yuma, kitchen with open fireplace termed mechiu. Within the traditionally

0.2 0.1

Ground floor plan.

1.4

1.1

1.2

1.3

First floor plan.

2.5

2.6

used dwelling, the kitchen with the open fireplace was the most important room. In other parts of Gyalrong this room is called gahe. The traditional elements of the kitchen, such as the fireplace, the wood stack, the wine barrel etc. were arranged according to local traditions. The wood stack is placed to the right of the fireplace and the large wine barrel to the left. Previously, the family would gather around the fireplace, sitting on animal furs on the timber floor each morning and evening. There used to be a specific seating order around the fireplace, which follows the arms of the cooking tripod. The tripod is made of stone and holds the cooking pot directly above the fire. Each stone arm has a different local name and is of a different size. The highest and most important one is situated opposite the room’s entry. This place behind the fireplace facing the door is reserved for the head of household. An offering is always placed upon this arm. The person preparing the food sits to the left of the head’s seat. The fire is fed from the place opposite the head’s seat. The elder generation, such as the grandparents, take their seats to the right of the head’s seat. Children are not assigned a specific place. A big wine barrel is placed in the corner left of the head’s seat and the fire wood is stacked in the opposite corner of the room. 1.3 Dabu, storage for kitchen tools. 1.4 Katsa, storage. Second floor 2.1 Yurma, terrace with offering stove and prayer flags. 2.2 Kada, roofed crop and corn storage. 2.3 Dahong, balcony. 2.4 Cashong, toilet. 2.5 Katsa, storage. 2.6 Yundru pama, sleeping room. This room is used for sleeping and keeping

2.7

2.4 2.2 2.1

2.3

2.7 Second floor plan.

3.1

0

personal belongings. Yundru pama, sleeping room.

Third floor 3.1 Chukhang, sacred room/storage. 3.2 Roof, with offering stove.

3.2

1

2

4m

Third floor plan.

161

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

East elevation.

0

North elevation.

162

1

2

4m

Stone house in Gyalrong

0

1

2

4m

West elevation.

163

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

0

Section A-A.

164

1

2

4m

Stone house in Gyalrong

0

1

2

4m

Section B-B.

0

1

2

4m

Second floor plan.

165

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Rammed earth house in Chentsa

View of the outer wall with the entrance to the house from the north.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The region of Chentsa (gcan tsha) lies in the far north-east on the eastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau about 120 km south of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province. It is nowadays part of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, to Tibetans known as Mahlo (rma lho). This region lies west of the Yellow River at an altitude of around 2,000 m. The valley is characterized by rugged barren sandy hills and settlements based on agriculture. Due to the low altitude the climate is moderate with sharp differences between summer and winter. The annual average temperature is 8 °C with an annual precipitation of 400 mm. The settlement of Nara Sagya is situated on the western bank of the Yellow River, about 8 km south of the town of Chentsa (gcan tsha, chin. Jianzha). Nara Sagya consists of five settlement clus-

ters spread over the cultivated area located in a river bend. The sandy loam is an important resource for house construction and all houses are built as rammed earth constructions. The village cluster of Nara is very dense with properties partly sharing courtyard enclosure walls. Within the rammed earth walls, timber-built rooms are grouped around an open courtyard. The villagers cultivate a variety of fruit trees, particularly apple. They grow barley, wheat and a variety of vegetables including cabbage, squash and chilies.

THE INHABITANTS OF THE HOUSE The house has been built by the great grandfather of the male head of the household and has been inhabited for four gener-

166

HOUSE NAME

Dokar Tsang VILLAGE

Nara Sagya REGION

Chentsa COUNTY

Jianzha PROVINCE

Qinghai COUNTRY

China ALTITUDE

2,060 m

0 210 205

0

21 50

2000

200 m

0

220

0

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

Village of Nara on the bank of the Yellow River.

View of the outer wall with the entrance to the house from the south.

167

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

View of the courtyard facing north-east.

View of the courtyard facing south-west.

North-east elevation of the living rooms.

Detail of window in north-east elevation.

ations. According to our informants the house is approximately 200 years old. The present name of the house is Dokar Tsang, which refers to the oldest male member of the household. It is currently inhabited by five family members of three generations. Most of the agriculture is for subsistence. The family also keeps two cows. For several years, the husband and his wife have been running a small hotel and shop in Chentsa that generates most of the family’s income. The son is studying at a university in Xining while the grandmother takes care of the house.

the strong winds carrying a lot of sand, which are a common weather phenomenon in this region. Over time the entire interior of the courtyard house has been replaced with new constructions resulting in frequent changes in the room layouts. Only the high rammed earth walls of the enclosure stem from the original house structure. The timber post-and-beam structure is not attached to the walls; therefore interior changes could be made without touching the outer rammed earth walls. The facades of the rooms facing the courtyard are built with timber and the successive refurbishment of the house is indicated by the varying facade and window designs. The older facades are built with large windows closed by timber grids and covered with cloth. Only the more recent facades have glazed openings without the traditional grid design. Heated bed platforms attached to the stoves are a special feature of this region. Unlike in many other houses shown in this book, stoves are located in each living room. There are three stoves within the house and one in the open courtyard. The

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE This courtyard house is typical for northern Amdo. Similar houses can also be found in the Muslim parts of Amdo. The entire compound is enclosed by high rammed earth walls without any opening except for the entrance door. All rooms are built along the outer walls and built from timber. The central space remains open. The high rammed earth walls protect the interior from

168

Rammed earth house in Chentsa

Stove connected to the bed structure in kitchen/sleeping room.

Interior of large multi-purpose room.

169

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Interior of sacred room.

Door to sacred room.

stoves are built as solid rammed earth blocks with the chambers and channels being subsequently scooped out of the solid structure. The beds are built on top of 80-cm-high platforms built with rammed earth. The massive platforms have a large chamber attached to the fire chamber of the stove. The warmth of the passing air is stored by the thermal mass of the rammed earth and radiated off during the night, thus heating the bed and the entire room. To ensure proper air circulation, chimneys are built into the rammed earth walls discharging the smoke at the wall tops above the roof. Another strong feature of the house is the interior timber paneling of all living rooms. The timber north-east facade has a veranda in front of the living rooms. The pad stones set under the posts of the veranda are decoratively carved.

The two building volumes holding the living rooms are elevated about 40 cm from the ground with extending verandas that are protected from the weather by protruding roofs. The southeast-facing unit accommodates a living room and a sacred room. The north-east-facing unit mainly comprises a large multi-functional room and another living room cum kitchen. Storages and stables are facing north-west.

PROTECTING DEVICES AND RITUALS The rammed earth wall behind the sacred room has a specific feature. The space between the shrine cabinet and the rammed earth wall is filled with tsa tsa for protection and in honor of the deities. Making the tsa tsa takes five people about ten days to complete. The offering stove in the courtyard is used to burn incense and tsampa. Carved stones and protective devices are placed on top of the cantilevering roof on the entrance door. The top of the wall above the entrance door is crowned with prayer wheels turning with the wind. The corners of the walls hold vertically assembled prayer flags.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE Almost all of the functions of the house are located on the ground floor. Only two simple storages are built on the roof of the stable.

170

Rammed earth house in Chentsa

Ground floor 0.1 Courtyard. The courtyard provides access to all rooms. There is a roofed 0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1 0.7 0.13

0.11 0.8

0.9 0.10

0.12

Ground floor plan.

1.1

1.2

First floor plan.

0

1

2

4m

Roof plan.

summer kitchen at the north-western wall, whose stove is used to process food. Next to it is a vertical offering stove. Two solar heaters stand in the courtyard and are used to boil water. The open courtyard provides space for drying and processing fruits and vegetables after harvest. There is a ground chamber serving as a cool storage for fruits and vegetables. The family’s motorbike is parked in the courtyard. 0.2 Stove room and storage for agricultural tools. The chambers of the bed in the living room are fired from here. 0.3 Living room with heated bed platform. The room is used for many daily activities such as eating, drinking tee, studying, relaxing and sleeping. Though the room can be heated by the bed structure, there is an additional metal stove that provides fast heat and is also used for boiling water. The room’s inbuilt timber cabinets and timber panels are colorfully painted. The family’s TV is placed in this room. The timber facade shows a contemporary design style and glazed openings. Chilies are hung to dry on the facade. 0.4 Sacred room. The shrine cabinet is built in front of the rammed earth wall. The timber panels of this room are painted in red with decorative patterns. The ceiling is covered with custom-made decorative textiles with colorful borders. Several thankas are hung on the walls. The double wing door providing access to the room from the courtyard is covered with a curtain from the outside and flowers are planted directly in front of the door as an offering. 0.5 Open kitchen with stove. The stove is used for processing food. There is also a high vertical offering stove here used to burn incense and tsampa. 0.6 Kitchen and sleeping room. The room has a heated bed podium attached to an interior stove which is used for sleeping by the husband and wife. Meals are prepared on the stove in this room. Kitchen devices such as pots, cups and plates are held here in the inbuilt timber cabinet. The timber facade of this room follows the same modern style as the living room. 0.7 Large multi-purpose room. The entire interior is paneled with timber with inbuilt cabinets. The room has a large heated bed platform for 6 people. Presently, the room is only occasionally used for sleeping; its daily use is mainly temporary food storage and food processing. A large modern freezer has been placed into the room to store the family’s meat supplies. For special occasions the room is cleaned up and used to host guests. To this end the room is also furnished with modern couches. This room has the oldest timber facade of the house with large grid windows. 0.8 Barrel room. A large barrel stands here. 0.9 Entry to multi-purpose room. A large granary box and some household items are kept here. 0.10 Food storage. Coal for the iron stove is stored under the protruding roof on the side of this room. 0.11 Toilet. It is a dry toilet and ash is used for covering the feces. 0.12 Stable for two cows. 0.13 Firewood storage. Old grid windows are stored in the back together with some tools and food for the cows. The ash used for the toilet is stored here. First floor 1.1 Storage for cow dung and baskets. 1.2 Storage for baskets.

171

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section C-C.

0

Section B-B.

172

1

2

4m

Rammed earth house in Chentsa

North-east elevation.

North-west elevation.

0

1

2

4m

South-west elevation.

173

Eastern Tibet: Kham and Amdo

Section A-A.

174

Rammed earth house in Chentsa

0

0

1

2

1

2

4m

4m

Ground floor plan.

175

Bhutan

Village in the upper Paro Valley, Western Bhutan.

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Bhutan, druk yul (‘brug yul)1, is sandwiched between the two regional powers China and India. Some sections of the boundary to China are disputed. The country lies entirely on the southern slopes of the Central Himalayan Ranges with only small parts extending up to the Tibetan Plateau. In the south, only a narrow strip of land reaches down to the lowlands of the Brahmaputra Plains. Bhutan’s geography can roughly be divided into three zones: the low-lying areas in the south at approximately 200 m altitude, the central region with mountains up to 4,000 m and the glaciated Himalayan Ranges with several peaks higher than 7,000 m forming the border to the Tibetan Plateau. The central region is the largest and most important one. Here, the landscape is characterized by partly forested north-south running mountain ridges separating the individual valleys, whose only connections are trails over mountain passes of more than 3,000 m altitude. Wide valleys such as the ones around Paro, Thimpu, Tashigang and Phobjikha are rather an exception in this area. The Black Mountains form the watershed between the western and the eastern river systems. The diverse geographic

pattern is one of the reasons for Bhutan’s rich biodiversity within a comparatively small territory the size of Switzerland (see Phunthso 2013, pp. 17ff).

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION2 The diversity of climatic conditions can mainly be attributed to the huge altitude differences starting from 200 m in the extreme south and ending with 7,500 m in the north. The entire country is heavily influenced by the humid winds from the Bay of Bengal, especially by the monsoon. More than two thirds of the country are covered with forest. While the south is humid and hot with temperatures of 15– 30° C, the midlands are more temperate with warm summers and cool, dry winters. Deciduous forests with rhododendron, magnolia, oaks, maples and further up Himalayan birch, juni1 Regarding the Latinized spelling in this chapter we follow the Bhutanese practice using ‘ue’ for the German Umlaut ‘ü’ and ‘oe’ for ‘ö’. 2 Data in this section are retrieved from http://de.climate-data.org. July 2016.

176

Farmhouse in Tang Valley, Bumthang District, Central Bhutan.

Yarl ung Tsangpo

SHIGATSE

TSETANG

Gangkar Punsum 7.570 m

Kangto

Jomolhari

7.060 m

7.326 m

Kanchenjunga 8.586 m

THIMPHU

BUMTHANG, Ura

GANGTOK

PHOBJIKHA, Eutsa

r an gme Chu

SILIGURI

D

0

100 km

90° E

Locations of documented houses in Bhutan.

HISTORICAL FACETS3 per, hemlock and fir are typical for this region. This is the area where the houses selected for this book are located. Bumthang Valley lies east of Trongsa just near the treeline of firs and larches at an altitude of about 3,000 m. It shares the climatic conditions with Phobjikha Valley, where the second house presented in this chapter is located. Winters are quite cold with mean temperatures of -5° C, while summer temperatures in August reach 20° C. The rainfall incidence varies from 1,400– 2,200 mm. In the northern part of the country, above the treeline, the thick forests of the midlands transform into a grass and shrub vegetation until reaching the snowline of the high mountains at 4,000–5,500 m.

Ancient sources call Bhutan the ‘four quarters of the southern country of Mon’, since it has been a refuge for the Monpa, the original inhabitants of the Himalayas, whose language has been preserved in some of the south-eastern districts of Bhutan (Olschak et al. 1969, p. 19). Already in pre-historic times, an old caravan route from the Tibetan Highlands to India passed the valley of Paro in Western Bhutan. Similar to Kham in Eastern Tibet, the area of what is now Bhutan had been fragmented into competing chiefdoms until the 17th century. The first unification is ascribed to a Tibetan monk called Ngawang Namgyal who managed to fend off invasions from 3 This chapter draws on the work of Karma Puntsho (2013).

177

Bhutan

The village of Ramachen in a side valley of Phobjikha, Wangdue Phodrang District, Western Bhutan.

The compact village of Rinchengang in Central Bhutan opposite Wangdue Phodrang, Western Bhutan.

1970s, while it took until 2006 for the introduction of free elections and a bicameral system. In 2008, Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy. Following the consolidation of his power base, the king launched a broad economic and social modernization program aimed at transforming the agrarian subsistence economy into a modern service economy without breaking with cultural traditions. As early as the 1970s, the concept of a ‘gross national happiness’ emerged, which tries to combine principles of the Buddhist doctrine with economic development. The responsible government commission stresses the importance of cultural heritage as an asset for development and has generated a set of indicators for measuring the contribution of projects to the overarching goal of ‘gross national happiness’. By 2000, the major drives for economic growth are generation of hydropower, which is mainly exported to India, donor funds and a growing tourism sector, which in 2014 was still strictly controlled. The impacts of modernization on every sector of development are immense and touch all aspects of life even in remote areas.

Tibet and to unify the various Buddhist factions. He established a theocratic regime similar to the one emerging in Lhasa in the 17th century by concentrating religious and secular power in the hand of a shabdrung (see Walcott 2011, p. 156). After his death, power struggles between provincial leaders, administrative heads and the heads of the dzongs, i.e. the castles, split the country and eroded its political and economic stability. It was only in 1907 that one of the provincial leaders, named Ugyen Wangchuk from the Trongsa Dzong in Central Bhutan, subdued his rivals. By taking advantage of the growing interest of the British Empire in Bhutan he managed to gain control over the entire country. He was crowned as the first king of Bhutan in 1907 and successfully established a hereditary monarchy (see Phuntsho 2013, pp. 493-512). The once established political and administrative structures remained untouched for almost half a century with the borders of the country kept closed. Only the third king of the Wangchuk lineage started reforms. The 1950s saw the beginning of a dramatic and sustained process of change: serfdom was abolished in 1957 and the separation of powers was introduced in the

178

View over the village of Ramachen, Wangdue Phodrang District, Western Bhutan.

SETTLEMENT STRUCTURE A good example are the “Traditional Architecture Guidelines” from 1993 and the “Rural Construction Rules” from 2013 that prescribe the details for design and the selection of building materials for new buildings in villages (see Herrle et al. 2014, p. 18–19), hardly leaving space for variations. There is no other country in the world where the development of vernacular architecture is regulated by the state as strictly as in Bhutan. This policy has yielded a high level of visual coherence of village architecture while the social and economic conditions undergo dramatic changes. In addition, the top-down approach to conservation has reduced the impact of a common trend in the Himalayas, where new private houses ‘borrow’ visual elements from urban and monastic architecture (see for example Dujardin 1994, 2003 and 2005 on this issue for Bhutan).

Dzongs and monasteries have long been the only nodes of compact settlements. Remote villages lacking road connections, electricity, schools, hospitals and other modern infrastructure were typical for many rural parts of the country. Starting from the mid-1950s, this pattern has dramatically changed. The main drives for change include the construction of all-weather roads connecting the midlands directly with the south, the construction of the east-west road connecting Thimphu in the west with Tashigang in the east, the introduction of television and infrastructure even in remote villages and an effective education program. The rapid development has led to an urbanization process concentrated on the urban centers along the highways and at the same time triggered rural-urban migration. The introduction of tourism in 1974 has accelerated these trends (see Herrle et al. 2014, pp. 19ff). To counterbalance the negative effects of modernization, the Bhutanese government has invested in ‘eco-tourism’ and issued complex regulations for the protection of the architectural heritage which – unlike in other Asian countries – are strictly enforced.

179

Bhutan

Stone house in Ura

View on Ura Village from the east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The village of Ura (u ra)1 is located on the western slope of a valley bearing the same name in the district of Bumthang (bum thang) in Central Bhutan. What Blanche Olschak in 1969 called “the wild east of Bhutan beginning east of Trongsa” (Olschak et al. 1969, p. 7) is now easily accessible by the east-west highway. Ura Village is reached by a narrow secondary road branching off the main east-west highway between Jakar and Mongar. The valley floor and the lower part of the slopes are intensively cultivated with potatoes as cash crop, buckwheat and vegetables. The surrounding mountains reach an altitude of 3,600 m, and are covered with pine forest and rhododendron. At the lower edge of the village close to the small river there are four small water mills. At its upper edge the village is dominated by a monastic building, the Ura lakhang; next to it a row of ap-

proximately 12-m-high flags called darshing (dar shing) have been erected for deceased villagers. The village itself is comprised of 64 households with altogether 360 inhabitants including absentees, living in some 50 houses. They form a loose cluster of traditionally looking buildings with an irregular network of unpaved lanes and vegetable gardens interspersed between the houses. All the house compounds are surrounded by natural stone walls. In 2003, the government has forbidden to keep animals on the ground floors of any residential building throughout the country. This regulation resulted in a number of new makeshift cow sheds being constructed at the edge of the village. While in the past keeping animals on the ground floors formed an integral part of the domestic culture and the architecture, ground floors are now under-utilized and the hastily pulled up cow sheds are of poor structural quality and lack the identity typical for the residential buildings in the village.

1 Local terms in this chapter are spelled in local Urakha (u ra kha). We are grateful to Mr. Dorji Wangchuk for his help and advice.

180

VILLAGE

Ura DISTRICT

Bumthang COUNTRY

Bhutan ALTITUDE

322

5

3,150 m

3150

0

0 32

320 0

3 1 50

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View from the south-west.

View of the main elevation from the east.

181

Bhutan

Thoblang (tho sbleng), thumb – middle finger.

Chathoblang (lta mtho sbleng), thumb – index finger.

Giblang (gyi sbleng), thumb – bowed index finger.

Ram log theg (rlam log the), one arm’s length.

Ramblang (rlam sbleng), two arm’s lengths.

Thrublang (khru sbleng), elbow – hand.

THE VILLAGERS AND THEIR SOCIAL NETWORK The village is divided in four distinct neighborhoods: 1) Trabi, derived from kradbi (krad sbi), a bamboo mat for drying wheat, barley and buckwheat. It is said that in ancient times the production of mats was concentrated in this part of the village; 2) Toepa (stod pa) denotes the area above (stod) the dzong (which does not exist anymore); 3) Tarzhong (ltar gzhong), the area where in ancient times horses were kept; 4) Chari (lcags ri), the area surrounding the legendary dzong.

rituals. Without their remittances, the economy of Ura would dramatically suffer and many of its inhabitants would not be able to maintain the current standard of living. Most of the land and all of the houses are private property. Only the following objects are considered as common property: two of the four water mills (chu thag) are owned by the community. Their use is free of charge but follows a strict regulation of turns. For using the private mills the user would pay in kind: one bamboo plate (tang lub) of flour to the owner for each use. The cremation ground is used by all villagers as well. The kitchen of the guesthouse attached to the lakhang is also considered the property of all Ura families. There are 47 chorten in Ura, which have to be maintained by the community since 2013. The village headman, called Gup (rgab), complained that this was not possible due to a lack of funds and contribution of free labor. In addition, there is also a plastic greenhouse run by nine families for jointly growing tomatoes and vegetables. The heritage line has changed over time. In the past, the daughter staying in the house inherited the house and the appertaining land. Sometimes the property was divided among the children, provided that the individual portions did not become too small. This matrilineal inheritance pattern is still followed by middle income and poor families while the property of more affluent families is inherited to the eldest sons.

The legend goes that a lady called Sonam Peldon gave birth to a boy called Lhagen Pelchen who was promised to become a famous King-Lama. In order to bring peace to the villagers who were fighting each other, he divided them into four groups which still exist today. They are not associated with a particular social or economic status. However, they still define themselves as neighborhoods with mutual obligations among the member families. These include mutual help, for example through financial assistance for death rituals (firewood). They also include a contribution to house building, especially for laying the foundations, masonry and covering the roof with wooden shingles called mong (mong, in the national language Dzongkha: shing leb). If a rich person is not able to cultivate his land, this person would have to ‘give’ land to a poor family of the respective neighborhood for cultivation – and not to a monastery or to the government. Many houses are inhabited by older couples or even single persons, with sons and daughters studying or earning money in Bhutanese cities, India or elsewhere. They send part of their income and come for visits once or twice a year for domestic

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE All houses in Ura are built from local stone with a prominent wooden facade element, called rabsel (rab gsal), facing east towards the valley floor.

182

Stone house in Ura

Kitchen interior on the second floor.

Sacred room on the second floor.

Winter kitchen on the first floor.

ing of the rabsel is done by a lay monk, gomchen (sgom chen), from outside the village. The roof of the house presented here is a typical jamthog roof with a second gable raised over the main gable (see “Department of Development and Housing“, 1993, p. 5), thus improving the ventilation of the roof space. Unlike houses in other parts of Bhutan, the gable sides of the roof space are almost completely closed by the outer gable wall. Traditionally, the roofing was made by local shingles (mon). Since the government of Bhutan has adopted a strict legislation to protect the forest resources of the country, wood can no longer be cut without permission. Larch wood suitable for shingles grows in higher mountain regions and is expensive to cut and process. The cost also involves food for the helpers from the village. These factors taken together discourage the use of traditional shingles. In addition, corrugated tin sheets, chasho (lcags shog), are considered as more durable and – depending on their quality – are much cheaper.

Proper plans are only prepared for government buildings, not for traditional farmhouses. All details are intensely discussed with the client (location of doors, windows, rabsel etc.). The following information stems from the local master builder, called tsi tsow (rtsi bzo). Foundations, tsipkijam (rtsib kyi kyam), vary in depth between 30 cm and 2 m depending on soil conditions (rock, clay or sand). Their width is always 80 cm. Traditionally, the big stones used for the foundations were dug out locally; today they are brought by a tractor from a quarry in Pangkhar Village, located in 15 min walking distance from Ura. Walls, tsigpa (rtsig pa), are 61 cm thick for buildings with two floors and 71 cm for bigger houses. Two types of mortar are used: a) earth (dam) without any additives for all masonry work and b) mortar for plaster (dam kar ti) mixed with cow dung. The latter is used for filling the square spaces in the timber framework of the rabsel, together with weaved split bamboo (zag pa). The wooden framework of the rabsel is prefabricated, disassembled and reassembled on the construction site. The paint-

183

Bhutan

East elevation.

0

North elevation.

184

1

2

4m

Stone house in Ura

Ground floor 0.1 Norso sang (nor so sang) cow stable. Previously used for ten cows; after 0.2

0.3

0.2 0.3

0.1

the regulation for banning animals from residential buildings, this room is used for storing baskets and agricultural tools. During summer, the cows are now kept in a place called Saling which lies in a two-days walking distance towards Mongar. Stable, previously used for five calves, now used as store room. Yoso sang (yog so sang), sheep stable. Previously a stable for 60 sheep; now only one animal is left which has been allowed to stay in the house since it has been attacked by dogs.

Ground floor plan.

1.4

First floor 1.1. Kasera (ka se ra), space in front of the steep stairs (ka se) to be climbed with the help of a handrail, Kaseragyu (ka se lag rgyu). 1.2 Nangmai (nang mye), store room for long-term storage of vegetables and

1.5

1.3

1.3

1.2

1.1

1.4

First floor plan.

1.5

2.1

2.4

2.2

2.5

2.3

Second floor 2.1 Taptsang (thab tshang), kitchen with the old clay stove (thab) that is only

Second floor plan.

2.2 2.3 2.4

3.1

2.5 0

1

2

4m

Roof plan.

cereals, also used for storing the baskets for fermented barley and wheat needed to produce the local beer called churma (chur ma). Shoey (sho yes), store room for ‘everything that is not needed in the second floor’. Guensa (guen sa), winter kitchen, which used to be much warmer than the kitchen on the second floor since it was above the stables. A small steel stove, maetsa (me rtsa), is placed in the center of this room. A rack on the wall contains a square-shaped basket with sheep wool and a ladle for measuring the capacity of wheat, rice and other cereals. Nangmai, store room for baskets and other tools used for gardening and agriculture such as panniers (rung) hung on the ceiling to prevent them from being damaged by rats, several sticks for threshing grains (byar chu) and big wooden boxes used for storing grains called Naikhang (naye khang).

used when the family has many guests or when rituals in the house are performed. The modern steel stove (me rtsa or bu khar) is located at the center of the room. The window, horko (‘kor ko) has sliding shutters (‘kor ko dam ni). A wooden screen called gochor (sgo bcor) in front of the door protects the people in the room from unwanted views of visitors coming up the stairs. At the southern wall of the room there is a small sink for discharging waste water through a wooden spout, called wacho (wa gco), into the garden. Parang (pa rang), store room next to the kitchen for meat, butter and rice. Rum (rum), store room for clothes. Rabsel (rab gsal), entrance hall with a huge wooden box, grom or naikhang (sgyom or nayi khang), for buckwheat. Parts of an old loom (thag shing) are leaned against the wall opposite the choesham used as a clothes rack. Choesham (mchod gsham), sacred room, used for rituals. The main deity Tenpa (sten pa) is stored in a locked shrine behind an altar, choetrue (mchod khri), with butter lamps that are ignited daily. Two ritual drums (rna) are hung on the wall.

Roof floor 3.1 Khomsang, roof space. Used for storage of unused household utensils.

Roof space with baskets.

185

Bhutan

0

1

2

4m

West elevation.

THE INHABITANTS The house described in this chapter belongs to a family of the Tarzhong community. It is inhabited by seven people: an elderly couple with two adult children and three grandchildren. Another five children live in other urban centers in Bhutan and India. The couple owns around 25 ac (10.1 ha) of land where they grow wheat, buckwheat and barley. Radish and potatoes have only recently been introduced by the government and are grown as cow fodder for the winter. Some years ago, they sold vegetables on the market, but now the market is considered too far away, thus making the business unprofitable. Remittances from adult children are the major source of monetary income.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE

0

1

2

The open space around the house is intensely used: an open stairway leads to a landing in front of the main door, dothem (rdo them). The front yard, doshey (rdo shes), in front of the stairway is used for cutting wood and accessing a small shed, changsang (chang sang), where firewood is stored and the local beer is being prepared. The water tap is next to the entrance door. Firewood is piled up on the top of the enclosing walls. An important element of the open space is the sangthab (bsang thab, lit. ‘offer-burn’), a small shrine for burning juniper or blue pine, called wangsang (wang seng), for the local deities called lu (klu). Next to the entrance of the house there is a small ter-

4m

Second floor plan.

186

Stone house in Ura

View into the front yard showing the main entrance to the compound.

race termed shab (shrab), which is used for ‘sitting in the sun’. The traditional compost toilet, chabsang (chab bsang), is located in the front courtyard. Behind the outhouse there is a small piece of land where spinach is being grown. At the southern side of the house is a small garden with three apple trees. Only a small part is used for growing potatoes. On the western boundary of the plot there is a small shrine for the earth deities lu. The space within a radius of 10 m has to be kept clean and cannot be used for any other purpose.

Shrine for the earth deities in the garden.

a place marked with a thread dipped in ink. The hole is filled with milk and stones and some other items. The client is requested to put his hand in the hole and take out whatever he touches with his hand. If it is a coin this would be taken as a good omen. The land owner would have to prostrate before this hole and request the lu and the sabta not to do him and his family any harm. An even cheaper method is to offer uncooked rice and some vegetables to the lu and the sabta. A lay monk can perform this ritual.

RITUALS AND PROTECTIVE DEVICES2

Beyond the rituals for preparing the ground, the lopentsipa will fix the dates for four additional ceremonies that can be performed by a lay monk3: the consecration of the foundations, the consecration of the main door, the consecration of the rabsel, and the consecration of the completed building.

Preparing the ground: the astrologer, lopentsipa (slob dpon rtsi pa), decides on the exact location and orientation of the building. He also tests the ground by examining four samples of soil from the four cardinal directions. His main task is to pacify and prevent the lu and the many sabta (bsab ta) occupying the soil from doing harm to the inhabitants. He also defines the right time to start with construction. The client can choose among three ‘standards’ for placating the local spirits: the salang (sa lang) is the most expensive (cost: about 16,000 Ngultrum, equivalent to 240 USD) and most effective method: the lopentsipa draws a square with 3 x 3 = 9 fields on the ground with a sheep horn, places a shell in each corner and puts 16 pegs on each side of the square which are then interconnected with a woolen thread: first horizontally, then vertically, then diagonally until each peg is connected with all the other ones. This procedure will ban both the lu and the sabta. The salang is kept for three days before the digging of the ditches for the foundations can start. On the third day it is dismantled followed by offerings to the spirits of the air, called neydak (gnas bdag) and zhedak (zhe bdag). A cheaper way (cost: woolen cloth and one traditional coat (skrub bgo)) to tame the spirits is to dig a hole in the ground on

On the 15th day of the first month of the Buddhist calendar the residents offer rice, fruit, buckwheat and milk to the lu shrine in the garden. Apart from the offerings to the lu, rituals are performed if a member of the family is sick or at certain occasions (death, New Year etc.). They are performed by a lay monk. These include the following: an offering called thinley tatsa (phren las rta tsa) to the local deities is celebrated twice a month by the residents. The New Year rituals (lo mchod) as well as a ritual in the ninth month of the Buddhist calendar, called tshekhuyangkhu (tshe khu yang khu), are celebrated in the choesham.

2 This section is based on information from a ‘deputy’ astrologer, replacing the responsible astrologer, who was on a retreat for meditation in the mountains for three years. 3 These rituals have frequently been described in literature about Bhutan architecture (See for example Dujardin 2003, p. 25).

187

Bhutan

0

Section B.

188

1

2

4m

Stone house in Ura

0

1

2

4m

Section A-A.

189

Bhutan

Rammed earth house in Eutsa

Isometric view from the east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT1 cause of being the winter habitat of this rare species, its ecological diversity and a moderate climate, the valley has been declared a conservation area and has attracted a considerable number of tourist-related activities including concepts for community-based sustainable tourism. It can easily be accessed from the main east-west highway crossing a pass and passing the Gangtey Gompa. The village of Eutsa is located on the western slopes of the valley. A narrow gravel road connects Eutsa with the other settlements scattered throughout the valley. Further up the slope a secondary school has been built with the support from the Japanese government. In spring, the planting of potatoes starts and the slopes of the valley are covered by flowering rhododendron trees. With the start of the monsoon season, the valley’s vegetation turns lush green. In autumn, the potatoes are harvested and the seeds for turnips, radish and buckwheat are sown. Most of the potatoes are sold to India via Phuntsholing in the south. In late autumn, the cranes migrate in again.

The village of Eutsa (gyus tsha)2 is located in the wide valley of Phobjikha which is part of the Jigme Singye Wangchuk National Park in the district of Wangdue Phodrang in Western Bhutan. It comprises two administrative neighborhoods, called gewogs: Gangtey and Phobji. The valley bottom consists of a wide alpine wetland valley at 3,000 m with a narrow stream meandering through the open grassland. On the adjacent slopes there are small villages, scattered farmhouses and farmlands, where mostly potatoes and turnip are being cultivated. The hills forming the rim of the valley reach up to 3,500 m. They are covered with natural conifer forest. The valley is considered to be the largest and most significant wetland in the country and has become famous for the hibernation of some 300 black-necked cranes from Tibet. Be-

1  This section draws from Lena Marike Wellmann (2014). 2 Local terms given in this part are in the local dialect hengkay (heng skad). We are grateful to Khandu Wangchuk for translation services and advice.

190

VILLAGE

Eutsa GEWOG

Phobji DISTRICT

Wangdue Phodrang COUNTRY

Bhutan ALTITUDE

3,100 m 2850

0 290

00

30

0 29 5

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

Eutsa Village.

View from the north.

191

Bhutan

View from the west.

The winter village Shangawang at 2,000 m.

EUTSA – A VILLAGE OF SEASONAL MIGRANTS structures. A narrow road leading to the ‘Japanese’ school winds through the village. The whole of Phobjikha Valley has been energized with all electric lines placed underground.

The village consists of nine houses inhabited by eight households. All houses are free-standing with stables nearby and gardens and fields surrounding them. One of the houses seemed to be abandoned at the time of our field work in 2014 and only two were used as year-round residences. One of the unique characteristics of Eutsa is the fact that the village (with the exception of two houses) is used only as a temporary residence. The winter residence, which is considered the main residence, is the village of Shangawang (sha nga dbang) at an altitude of 2,000 m where where paddies can be cultivated. It lies on the east-west highway in a walking distance of one day from Eutsa Village using an old trail over the mountains. The temporary use of the houses offers an explanation as to why most houses in Eutsa look somewhat poorly maintained, if not neglected. In terms of style and finish they do not comply with the guidelines prescribed by policies and guidelines as for example in the “Traditional Architecture Guidelines” from 1993 and the “Rural Construction Rules” from 2013. Wooden fences and 1-m-high natural stone walls enclose the private area around the houses. A distinctive feature, typical also for houses in other parts of Bhutan, is the orientation towards the bottom of the valley (in this case: east) regardless of the cardinal directions. All houses have a similar size in ground floor space, while the height varies from two stories to three stories. A government regulation from 2003 banning animals from inside any residential building had a considerable impact on the appearance of settlements as well as on the functional use of houses. For example, this regulation has led to the construction of external stables for animals next to the house. Most ground floors, which were formerly used as stables, have lost their original function. While this space can now be used as additional storage space, it is just left unused in many cases. Due to small windows and low ceilings these rooms are generally unsuitable for residential purposes. In addition to stables, there are often sheds for storage next to the houses. Houses, sheds and stables shape the open space of the village. The originally loose arrangement of houses is now densified with those additional

THE INHABITANTS AND THEIR ECONOMY From February until September the house is inhabited by a couple, their two sons and a nephew of the wife. The couple has two more children living in Thimpu. During summer, the grandmother from Shangawang comes up to Eutsa for a couple of weeks. The family owns 1.2 ha agricultural land in Shangawang and Eutsa respectively. In the past, they used to grow buckwheat and wheat in Eutsa; now they grow only potatoes as cash crop and radish and turnip as cow fodder. They own around 40 cows, which are grazing on pastures further up the mountains. The main income sources are taxi driving and the cultivation of potatoes. Occasionally, the family also sells butter and cheese. They consider Shangawang as their ‘home town’. In the past, they preferred to live in Shangawang all year round, because there were no schools in Eutsa. With the new school in Phobjikha, the situation has changed and they have no preferences.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The house is not much older than 20 years. It was built by the wife’s father at the location of a smaller one that was dismantled. Structural details of other houses in Eutsa suggest a similar age. Like all houses in Eutsa, this one shows a simple construction principle with foundations of natural stone and outer walls built with rammed earth as the main structure. The outer wall shows signs of a former whitewash. In the upper floor the outer wall facing the valley contains a wooden facade element called rabsel (rab gsal) which is typical for traditional Bhutanese houses. Since the rabsel cantilevers beyond the supporting rammed earth wall, the floor space of the upper floor is slightly larger than on the floor underneath.

192

Rammed earth house in Eutsa

Ground floor 0.1 Phomna or phubna (phub na), store room for agricultural utensils such as

0.1 0.1

0.2

bamboo mats, baskets and stickseed potatoes; previously used as a stable, bhaja (‘ba ‘bya), for cows and eight horses. Phomna, store room for a wheelbarrow, rakes, various baskets and a pile of thongso (thong sog), pine needles used as straw in the cow sheds. Extremely steep stairs, li (dli), with a handrail, lasheytsi (lag bshed tsi), lead to the first floor.

0.2 0.2

Ground floor plan.

First floor 1.1 The bakhi (lit. ‘middle floor’) was under construction in 2014 and has been totally changed. In the past, there was a kitchen, called taptsang (thab tshang) similar to the one on the second floor with a small stove, thab (thab) on the interior wall. The thab has been removed and a partition

wall has been erected dividing the former taptsang into two separate rooms which have no access from the interior. They can only be reached via the veranda that is currently used for drying turnip leaves (cow fodder). The idea of the owner was to create rental space for visitors. In the past, these rooms were given for free to two old ladies who lived here during the winter when the owner’s family stayed in Shangawang.

1.1

First floor plan.

Second floor 2.1 Taptsang, kitchen, used as a family room, furnished with a sofa under the big window, called pipe gayakha (pye pa go kha), a steel stove, bukhar (bu khar), that has replaced the traditional clay stove, thab, in 2009, a rack for drying meat, miza (me bsags), the traditional churn for preparing butter, dungchu (dung cung), and a wooden screen, zomba, for protect-

2.2 2.2 2.1

2.3

2.3 2.4

2.6

2.4

2.5

Second floor plan.

2.5

2.6

ing the family from unwanted views from visitors climbing up the stairs. There is also a TV and an arch leaning at the wall, demonstrating that the head of the household is fond of archery. The flooring, anta (en ta), is of broad wooden planks up to 40 cm wide. Phomna, a store room for kitchen devices, rice, vegetables and grains, stored in a large wooden box called bang dom (bang sgyom). Balcony, added in 2013, no traditional name, plans for building a toilet here, currently used for storing dried turnip leaves as fodder for cattle. Yapna (yep nad), the middle room with the big rabsel, oriented towards the valley, used as store room for clothes. Choesham (mchod gsham), sacred room with a well-elaborated altar retained from the previous house on the same site, equipped with one Thankha and four statutes representing two Tempa (ston pa), one ‘guru’ in the middle and one shabdrung on the left. Bayana (ba yab na), previously used as a bedroom for official visitors, now used as a store room next to the kitchen for rice, grains, butter and dried meat.

Roof floor 3. 1 Chimthog, the attic, accessible only by a ladder from the balcony on the

second floor. The huge and impressive opening in the western wall may have been used for hauling goods for drying or ‘just for saving building material, time and money’ as one interviewee said. As in most Bhutanese houses, the attic is used for storing unused household items such as baskets, mats, boxes etc.

3.1

0

1

2

4m

Roof floor plan.

193

North-east elevation.

0

North-west elevation.

194

1

2

4m

Rammed earth house in Eutsa

The sacred room on the second floor.

The stairs to the first floor.

Detail of the woodwork on the south-west facade.

The kitchen and living room on the second floor.

The rabsel consists of a wooden framework, windows and panel elements. Our example house displays a gochham thognyim (sgo ‘cham thog gyim) type rabsel, which extends around the corner over the north-west facade. The spaces between the windows are with filled bamboo mats and covered with mud plaster. These panels are known as shamig or ekra. On the wall facing the upward slope there is another smaller rabsel window element on the second floor. It follows the same construction principles except that it is smaller and generally embedded into the rammed earth wall (see “Traditional Architecture Guidelines”, 1993, p. 13). In the lower floors the windows are generally simpler and smaller and are embedded in the rammed earth wall. These windows are called geykar windows. The roof is a traditional timber roof construction with a raised gable roof above the main roof. This roof shape is called jamthong. Most houses in Eutsa have this type of roof with a slight variation: the elevated gable covers only half the lower roof. In our example house, one side of the roof gets supported by the rear rammed earth wall. The overhang of the roof serves as protection for the wooden rabsel and the rain-sensitive earth walls. Historically, this roof type was reserved for a high social rank

(see “Traditional Architecture Guidelines” 1993, p. 5). It was previously covered with shingles made from larch wood, called shinglep (shing leb). In 2014, all roofs but one in Eutsa were covered with corrugated tin sheets called chasho (lcags shog), which is the most common roofing material in Bhutan.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The house still shows a three-tier distribution of uses. The ground floor was used for stables and accessed through the main entrance door on the side facing the valley. From there an internal staircase leads up to the upper floors. The upper floor with the rabsel element is used as a living area. Surprisingly, the room behind the rabsel presently does not have the prominent use suggested by the elaborate structure from the outside. The space directly behind the rabsel is separated by light wooden walls and might have been used for miscellaneous purposes such as storage and at times as a shrine room. The room behind the rabsel window facing the upward slope and thus the south-western side is used as a kitchen and living room with adjacent storage rooms. Here was the place where

195

Bhutan

South-west elevation.

196

Rammed earth house in Eutsa

0

197

1

2

4m

Section A-A.

0

Section B-B. 198

1

2

4m

Rammed earth house in Eutsa

0

1

2

4m

The upper end of the hato-pole. Second floor plan.

the traditional mud stove was situated. Special supporting beams in the floor still indicate its former location. The old stove has been replaced by a more modern steel stove called bukhar (bu khar). Facing the south-eastern side there is a relatively new balcony connected to the kitchen room in the upper floor. It serves to provide a direct access to the living area of the house from outside. The house does not have internal plumbing; water is fetched from a private well outside the house in the garden. Toilet facilities are also outside the house in a separate wooden shelter.

RITUALS AND PROTECTIVE DEVICES

The hato in the south of the house.

There are weekly offerings of milk and rice to the earth spirits lu (klu) residing in a small shrine in the garden. Four protective flags, darchang, are placed near the south corner of the compound, white, red, blue and green representing air, fire, sky and water. Above the front door of every house a painting or carving showing a deity, called sungo (sun sgo), protects the inhabitants against natural calamities and diseases. One ritual stands out because of its integrating function for the entire community of Eutsa: every year, one day before the people from Eutsa are heading off to Shangawang, a ritual called habay (lha bon) is being performed in which the protective flag on the roof of every house is being replaced by a new one, marking the beginning of the migration to the winter quarters. The white flags with three colored stripes on the roofs are called namdar, representing sky (blue), fire (red) and earth (yellow). In the days before the ritual, the family whose turn it is prepares a wooden pole about 5–6 m long. The family will spend one night in a simple temporary shelter made of bamboo mats on a plot nearby the house shown in this book, next to a big tree, where the pole will be erected the next day. The next morning before 9:00 a.m., the namdar flags on the top of all houses in Eutsa have to be replaced by new ones, which is done by the men and boys of the village households. After 9:00 a.m., all people from Eutsa gather at the place where the pole will be erected. The pole is completed by a person

from another village, the so-called phajo (pha jo), with a nestlike structure near its top and some additional branches wrapped with white sheep wool. The structure vaguely resembles an antenna. After this procedure the pole is called hato (lha to) and is being erected by the people. The ritual marks the end of harvest time and the beginning of the winter term and the start of the yearly migration down to Shangawang. Reportedly, there used to be two such hatos in Eutsa, but one had not survived the last year, as it has been damaged and pulled down by children. Allegedly, it is very difficult to find a phajo nowadays. There is no phajo in the village community, so that he (always a man) has to be called in from other villages in the valley. The phajo is neither a monk nor a lay monk nor an astrologer, but rather an ‘ordinary person’ who has no special qualification except that he knows how to build and fix the top of the hato. The source of his knowledge and qualification was not known by our informants. His qualification and role is hereditary and handed down from one generation to the next in one particular family. Families who perform this function have their own special deities.

199

Khumbu

The village of Khumjung. Photo taken in 1974.

The village of Thame with Kongde Ri towering the valley. Photo taken in 1974.

Khumbu1 is part of the Solu-Khumbu District, which is the northernmost district of the Sagarmatha Zone in Eastern Nepal. Together with the lower-lying Solu, Khumbu is one of the areas in Nepal that is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Sherpas. Some of the highest mountains of the world are located in Khumbu, including Mt. Everest with 8,848 m, Lhotse with 8,501 m and Lhotse Shar with 8,383 m. Khumbu has gained international awareness through countless mountaineering expeditions and the key role the Sherpas have been playing in them as guides and porters. The Sherpas still speak their own unwritten language that stems from a Tibetan dialect of the 15th century (Fisher 1990, p. XV)1.

and the Sapt Kosi before eventually running towards the North Indian plains. The inhabited areas in and along the partly gorgelike valleys begin at the top valley entrance at 4,500 m, with summer villages close to the glacial moraines, and reach down to 700 m in the south. The difference in altitude between valley floors and adjoining mountain ridges varies from 2,000 m in the south to 4,000 m in the north. The rugged terrain combined with the exposure to monsoon rains has made road construction virtually impossible up to now. Today, the easiest access is from an airfield in Lukla at 2,300 m or another one at Syangboche at 3,750 m. The upper reaches of the Dudh Kosi lead to the Nangpa La Pass at 5,730 m, which was used as a trade route for salt to Tingri in Tibet in the past. Namche Bazaar, Khumbu’s main town, is located on a terrace some 600 m above the valley floor. Ter-

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Several source rivers fed by the glaciers in the north merge into the Dudh Kosi River at 4,100 m. It runs down towards the south through deep gorges and discharges its waters into the Sun Kosi

1 Transcriptions from Sherpa either use Devanagari or Latinized forms roughly following the pronunciation. In this chapter we follow the latter practice.

200

30° N

Sherpa village on the southern slope of the Dudh Kosi at 3,500 m altitude.

Lunpo Gangri 7.095 m

Yarlung Tsangpo

SHIGATSE LHATSE

Shishapangma 8.027 m

Cho Oyu 8.201 m

Mt. Everest 8.848 m

KATHMANDU

KHUMBU, Thame

Kangchenjunga 8.586 m

GANGTOK

0

100 km

85° E

Map of Khumbu with the location of the surveyed house. I

nd u

s

Khumbu lies above the tree line and has mountain grass and shrub vegetation. Coniferous forests providing the timber needed for house construction grow only below 3,000 m. In some areas, the tree line extends up to 4,000 m with rhododendron and birches. A special species in the region is the Blue Pine known for its straight grained wood and strength. It is used for construction, carpentry and joinery.

races like this are the typical topographic formations where most Sherpa settlements in Khumbu are located.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION2 Khumbu belongs to the Eastern Himalayas that are strongly influenced by the humid monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal. The annual precipitation may be as high 1,100 mm. Generally the main precipitation falls during the summer monsoon. In general, the climate is moderately cold with average temperatures in July around 12° C and in January around -0.8° C. The climatic snow line varies from 5,000 m to 6,000 m. Most of

HISTORICAL FACETS Legends and evidence from old texts suggest that four proto-clans from Kham have crossed the Nangpa La to resettle in the uninhabited upper valleys of Solu Khumbu at the beginning of the 15th century (Oppitz 1968, p. 75f). Around mid-16th century, the ancestors of the modern Sherpas arrived via the

2 Data in this section are retrieved from http://de.climate-data.org (July 2016).

201

Khumbu

same route. Not until the 19th century did the Sherpas come in closer contact with other ethnic groups such as the Tamang, Newar, Magar and Rai, who immigrated from the west and south. Living in a largely secluded mountainous environment and under extreme climatic conditions, they kept close cultural links with Kham and U-Tsang over the Nangpa La Trade Route. The Sherpas are mostly Buddhists following the Nyingma School, but due to their isolation sustained their own local culture and customs (Sestini and Somigli 1978, p. 15). The 19th century saw a wave of immigration from Tingri and Gyalrong in Tibet (Oppitz 1968, p. 95), in the 20th century also from Tibetan refugees and other ethnic groups from the Terai, i.e. Nepali lowlands in the North Indian plain. Christoph Fürer-­ Haimendorf, who was one of the first anthropologists to carry out field work in Khumbu as early as 1953, notes that already in the 1950s about one third of the households surveyed by him were recent migrants from Kham (Fürer-Haimendorf 1964). It may be interesting to note that these recent immigrants do not belong to the Sherpa core clans and therefore occupy a lower status in the Sherpa society. By far the most critical change factor was the increasing number of tourists flocking into Khumbu either as mountaineers or for trekking, starting from the mid 1950s. The establishment of the Sagarmatha National Park further added to the attractiveness of the area for tourists (see Brower 1991, p. 54).

ECONOMY The Sherpas developed a unique economy described by Fürer-Haimendorf as ‘farming economy based on transhumance’ (Fürer-Haimendorf 1988, p. 24ff.), which involves the seasonal migration of households and their yaks between various homesteads located at different altitudes. Barley, buckwheat, turnip, radish and potatoes, which are grown up to 4,200 m, are the main products contributing to their subsistence (see Stevens 1996, p. 105ff). Since their introduction in the mid-19th century, potatoes became the main agricultural product (see Brower 1991, pp. 54–55). However, the Sherpas’ agricultural basis was never self-sustaining. Trade with Tibet, in which Sherpas primarily acted as middlemen in the salt and

202

grain barter between Tibet, the Nepalese midlands and India, provided the Sherpas with an additional income source (see Fürer-Haimendorff 1988, p. 5; Fisher 1990, p. 58). After the closure of the frontier to Tibet dried up this income source, an ever increasing tourism sector emerged as a substitute. The opening for visitors in 1951 led to a fundamental restructuring of the economy which directly or indirectly affected almost every household of Khumbu (Brower 1991, p. 55). It dramatically transformed the economic life of the Sherpas by making their livelyhood increasingly dependent on expedition and trekking tourism. Even though there is no road connection to Khumbu, tourism has had an impact not only on the economy but also on the settlements and the local architecture, as many of the farmhouses have been turned into tourist lodges.

SETTLEMENT STRUCTURE Christoph Fürer-Haimendorf (1988, p. 10) provided us with an early description of the settlements structure that is still valid for settlements off the main tourist tracks: “Houses are invariably scattered over a considerable area, with fields and kitchen gardens intervening between single homesteads of small groups of houses. Though two or three houses may stand in a line, they never face each other, and it is usual for the houses of a village or at least each part of the village, to face all in the same direction.” The underlying pattern can be attributed to two factors: first, the need to catch a maximum of sun – especially in winter –, which leads to an orientation in a southerly direction, but second also to the intention to face the houses downslope towards the valley bottom which may be related to prevailing wind directions. The latter does not necessarily coincide with the first one. Every village has a small gompa, chorten and mani walls. As a physical expression of the three-tier economy the Sherpas have developed over the centuries, Fürer-Haimendorf (1988, p. 7) distinguishes three types of permanent settlements: main villages located in between the other two settlements, which are often used only for a few weeks per year, winter settlements, called gunsa, and summer settlements close to the mountain pastures, called yersa or phu.

Sherpa village on the southern slope of the Dudh Kosi at 3,500 m altitude.

View on Thame from the moraine ridge in the north.

203

Khumbu

Stone house in Thame

Isometric view from south-east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The village of Thame, which in some maps is also called Thame Og, lies about 15 km south of the snout of the Nangpa Glacier on the old trail leading to the Nangpa La, a glaciated pass of 5,716 m connecting upper Khumbu with Tibet. Another trail starting from Thame leads over the 5,750 m Teshi Lapcha Pass into the neighboring Rolwaling Valley, which is also inhabited by Sherpas. Together with Thame Teng (or Tyangmoche), which lies about 700 m further up the Dudh Kosi Valley behind the ridge of an old moraine, the village of Thame consists of about 50 households, a small monastery, several chorten, mani walls and land for planting potatoes, buckwheat and some barley. Thame Og occupies a terrace at an altitude of 3,800 m extending not more than 600 m from east to west and 250 m from north to south with an orientation towards south-east. Formed by old moraines, this terrace shows the typical features of small

Sherpa settlements elsewhere in Khumbu in terms of altitude, orientation and the availability of arable land. Across the river to the south, the valley is towered by the steep north face of the Kongde Ri with a height of 6,187 m. In the past, Thame was the northernmost permanent settlement on the old trade route to Tibet. It is only reachable by foot from Namche Bazar, the administrative and commercial center located about 400 m lower in altitude. The land along the river banks of the tributary to the Dudh Kosi has been leveled and terraced by the villagers. The houses are loosely spread within the walled-in fields. All houses consist of only two stories and display a narrow rectangular layout of almost­identical size, albeit with differing orientations. The dwellings have gabled roofs, originally all covered with slate stones.

204

VILLAGE

Thame DISTRICT

Solu Khumbu REGION

Sagarmatha COUNTRY

Nepal ALTITUDE

3,820 m

4 100

4

00

0

380 0

3750

3800

39 00

385

0

370 0

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

Thame Village from the south with the old moraine ridge behind the houses.

South elevation.

205

Khumbu

Storage on the ground floor, below the sacred room.

View from south with the old window of the sacred room.

Window with yak skull for protection.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The documented house is located at the northern edge of the cultivated land of Thame Og. It is facing south as half of the other houses in the village do. The outstanding feature of this two-story house is the sacred room for daily offerings and ceremonies, the lhakhang, which is housed in a structurally separated annex to the main building called lhang. The lhang is clearly recognizable by its bigger proportions and a roof that is slightly elevated over the roof of the main building. The lhang features a finely elaborated big old window facing south. Compared to other houses in Thame this annex is rather unusual and indicates that the house must have been built by an affluent family. Regarding building materials and construction methods the house follows the common and rather simple construction patterns of Khumbu: the materials are mainly natural stones and earth. Since the village lies above the tree line, all necessary timber for ceiling and roof construction had to be carried up by yaks from the lower parts of Khumbu. The walls are made from crudely dressed stone with only the main facade facing south being plastered and whitewashed. The ground floor ceiling is supported by a beam carried by several roughly hewn posts which are simple logs without heads. Only the post in the big living room on the first floor is crowned by a large elaborately carved head.

The roof follows a purlin design, with rafters laid on side purlins and on a ridge purlin on top. The ridge purlin is carried by one post, an interior wall and the two gable walls at both ends of the building. The internal masonry separating the residential part of the building from the lhang is part of the structural system supporting the beam. The roof pitch is approximately 25 degrees. Rafters visible from the interior carry several insulation layers and the roof battens, which are placed at a distance of 30–45 cm and are covered by slate stones. A strip of 1 m on either side of the ridge is left uncovered by stones so that the smoke from the cooking fire can escape. It is covered by a bamboo mat, called malingo. A special ceiling material made from bamboo, called daaten, is used to carry the roof insulation made from dry pine needles and shrubs. The roof has no overhang on the gables and only some 20 cm at the eaves. The simple windows of the residential section vaguely follow a traditional design. The openings are quite small and can be closed entirely by timber shutters from the interior. The windows appear larger from the outside than from the inside, as their lowest section is closed with timber panels, called melung. The main door to the first floor in the eastern wall is decorated with a carved timber beam imitating the more elaborately assembled lintel construction typical for the lhang and religious buildings in Khumbu.

206

Stone house in Thame

Kitchen and family room on the first floor.

Entrance door of the sacred room viewed from inside.

207

Khumbu

West-east section A-A.

0

North-south section B-B.

208

1

2

4m

Stone house in Thame

Ground floor 0.1. Chakhang, used as stable for storage. This room is separated by an

0.1

0.2

0.2

Ground floor plan.

First floor 1.1 Khangpa ma is the big multi-purpose family room, used as a kitchen, for

1.1 1.2

First floor plan. 0

1

2

1.8-m-high wall, with the western part used for storing potatoes, fodder for the animals, firewood and for composting yak dung, while the eastern part is a stable for dzos and yaks. Wokhang, the room below the lhakhang. It is used for storage of grain, straw, bags with potatoes, winter fodder for the animals and firewood.

4m

1.2

dining, sleeping and as storage. The eastern wall is covered by a rack carrying pots, plates and other kitchen utensils. The old earth stove is placed at the eastern wall within the main living space. Nowadays, an additional metal stove has been set up and is used more frequently for cooking. The living room is visually protected from the entrance by a wooden screen called sapkyor. Benches, called shutri, are placed along the southern wall with low tables, called choktsi, in front of them. The entire northern wall is covered by a rack carrying all kinds of household goods such as carpets, huge copper pots, plastic boxes, bags and baskets. Lhakhang, sacred room. It is the place for daily offerings of water, burning incense, lighting the butter lamps and other ceremonies with the participation of a monk. On the western wall there is an altar with statues, called chosham, ritual silver vessels and butter lamps. The northern wall is entirely covered by the traditional shelves for storing the classical Buddhist scriptures, called kanjur (bkang ‘gyur). The main beam, called dungma, the post, called ka, and the post head are painted. Numerous thankas and prayer flags cover the walls which are partly clad with wooden planks, decorated with highly artistic paintings. This is the only room where an old carved window still exists. This window, called trama, is crowned by the protruding cornice-like lintel construction composed of two layers of beams and planks, which is locally called langta phangta. Instead of modern glazing, it displays the traditional intricately crafted window grids with a translucent plastic sheet replacing the previous rice paper. All the other windows of this house are younger than ten years and have glass panes.

Elaborately painted table in the sacred room.

Elaborately carved and painted details on the upper part of the shelves for storing the scriptures of the kanjur.

Sacred room on the first floor with thankas and shelves for storing scriptures.

209

Khumbu

0

1

2

North elevation.

THE INHABITANTS

PROTECTIVE DEVICES

The house is inhabited by a couple with two children of school age. They are contemplating to send the eldest daughter to Kathmandu for further studies. The father works as a mountain guide, while the mother sells part of the potatoes they grow in Namche Bazar.

There is a small lukhang, which is a shrine for pacifying the spirits of soil and water, integrated into the wall on the slope east of the main entrance. It is crowned by a bunch of bamboo sticks with small white flags. A yak scull for protection is hanging from the lintel of the eastern door to the ground floor stable. Three bunches of bamboo sticks with small prayer flags in blue, white, red, green and yellow, called nenga, have been placed on the roof ridge of the residential part of the building.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The ground floor is used for stables and as storage and is accessed through the doors from the walled-in space in front of the house. The first floor has no internal connection with the ground floor. It is accessed through a door in the eastern gable wall and consists of one large living room with the adjacent lhakhang.

210

4m

Stone house in Thame

East elevation.

0

1

2

4m

West elevation.

211

Khumbu

South elevation.

212

Stone house in Thame

0

213

1

2

4m

Dolpo

View on Bijer Village.

mendorf is still an obvious trait today. The other remarkable feature is the existence of an agro-pastoral society that over centuries has developed an amazing resilience to extremely harsh climatic and geographic conditions and the ability to cope with the adverse effects of the closure of the borders with China. The identity of the Dolpo people is deeply rooted in the sustained socio-religious bond of Buddhism and Bon. Today, the majority of the people in Dolpo are Buddhists of the Nyingma School. A smaller group adheres to Bon, a religion with pre-Buddhist origins that has survived the centuries in peripheral and remote parts of the Tibetan cultural region in a reformed version.

In cultural and linguistic terms, Dolpo1 is the northern part of the district Dolpa in Western Nepal. The entire district had a population of 36,700 in 2011 while Dolpo had roughly 10,800 inhabitants2 spread over an area of some 7,000 km2 (government of Nepal 2014). Among Nepal’s northern border regions imprinted by Tibetan culture, Dolpo stands out as one of the most remote areas of the country even today. Comparing Dolpo with Khumbu, Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf noted in 1988: “Whereas the Sherpas are a population of Tibetan stock and culture which developed a way of live significantly influenced by interaction with the tribal and Hindu people of the middle-ranges of Nepal, the people of Dolpo appear (…) almost totally untouched by contact with Nepalese populations.” (p. 137). The seclusion of the region observed by Fürer-Hai-

GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW Dolpo is a sparsely inhabited region demarcated from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in China by mountain ranges up to 6,000 m in the north-east and delimited by the barrier of the

1 Lacking an accurate Tibetan transcription of Dolpo terms, we use the commonly applied Latinized transliteration in this chapter. 2 Rough calculation from the Buddhist part of the district population.

214

Kailash

30° N

6.638 m

Lunpo Gangri 7.095 m

TRADUNTSE DOLPO, Khoma DOLPO, Ringmo MUKTINATH Dhaulagiri BIRENDRANAGAR

Yarlu ng

gpo T s an

8.172 m

POKHARA

0 85° E

100 km

Map of Dolpo with the location of the documented houses.

brings minimum temperatures as low as -15° C in winter and peaks up to 25° C in summer (see Lillesø et al. 2015, p. 17). Almost 200 days per year the temperature is below the freezing point (ibid.). The mean precipitation in this climate zone is only 223 mm per annum (ibid.). Settlements such as Tinje, Saldang, Bijher, Tarap and Khoma, the latter being the location of one of our example houses, are located in this part of Dolpo. Lower Dolpo enjoys a moderate sub-alpine climate with mean temperatures around 13° C and a precipitation of over 1,000 mm per year, varying widely depending on the location. This is the area where our second sample house in Ringmo is located. Depending on altitude, topographical features and distance from the southern mountains, vegetation zones of Dolpo are extremely diverse. Most of Dolpo lies above the tree line (see Kleinert 1974, pp. 359–360) and has shrub, juniper and alpine meadows up to 5,000 m. Due to the difference in precipitation, the tree line in Upper Dolpo is almost 1,000 m lower compared to the southern parts of Dolpa District. In Southern Dolpa the slopes are forested with blue pine, spruce, hemlock, cedar, silver fir, poplar, rhododendron and even bamboo (retrieved from http://de.climate-data.org. July 2016). As a summary, James F. Fisher’s note on eco-regions hits the point: “There is nothing topographically homogeneous about Dolpo District, and viable ecological adaptations reach from irrigated, riverine paddy fields to wind-swept alpine pasture suitable only for brief summer grazing.” (Fisher 1987, p. 18).

Dhaulagiri Himal in the south with several peaks up to 8,000 m. The Kanjiroba Himal with over 6,000 m rises in the west. Almost 90 percent of the region lies above 3,500 m. The region can roughly be divided into two parts: Upper Dolpo in the north is characterized by high-lying, wide valleys and a barren landscape similar to U-Tsang across the border, or parts of Ladakh. In Lower Dolpa the rivers have dug deep gorge-like valleys. Their slopes are partly forested benefitting from monsoon rains sweeping over the mountain ranges in the south. Five major river systems with numerous tributaries form Dolpo’s complicated valley system: the remote Panzang Valley (Nepalese: Paniyan Khola) in the north runs parallel to the border to Tibet towards north-west. The Tsharka River (Nepalese: Chharka) originates from the mountains bordering the Kali Gandaki Valley in the west. With an average height well above 4,300 m, this area is the most uninhabitable part of Dolpo. The Tarap Valley drains the region towards the south to the Bharbung Khola and allows for a more intensive cultivation. The Nangkhong Valley (Nepalese: Nagon Khola) drains the western part of Dolpo northwards and joins the Panzang River in Dora Sumda. It is the most populated among the valleys of Dolpo (for details see Bauer 2004, pp. 114–118). Finally, the waters from the Phoksundo Lake are drained southwards through the Suli Khola. To this day, Dolpo has no road connection with the outside world.

CLIMATE AND VEGETATION High mountain ranges to the south and the west act as barriers for monsoon rains, which only moderately arrive in the valleys of Lower Dolpo. More than two thirds of the district belong to the Trans-Himalayan climate zone with extreme differences between summer and winter. The alpine dry climate prevailing in Upper Dolpo

ECONOMY “The only common physiographic denominator that gives the terrain any geographic unity is the inhospitable nature of the landscape to most forms of human livelihood.” (Fisher 1987, p. 18). Against these adverse natural conditions the people of

215

Dolpo

View on Tinje Village with barley fields in the foreground.

Dolpo have developed and sustained an economy based on three posts: agriculture, pastoralism and trade. Arable land is scarce and lies in altitudes of up to 4,200 m. The low precipitation in the north requires irrigation systems. Barley, buckwheat, millet, potatoes and radish are the most common agricultural products planted mostly for subsistence (see Fisher 1987, pp. 46ff for details). The pastoral activities – relying on yak, cattle, sheep, goats and horses – are mostly subsistence-based and produce dairy, wool and livestock for trade with Tibetan nomads in the north and Hindu ethnic groups in the south (see Fisher 1987, pp. 100ff). Due to the rugged and snowy terrain, herds were often brought to the Tibetan Plateau for winter grazing before the border was closed. Trade has long been an essential necessity. “The special position of the people of Dolpo cannot be fully comprehended, however, unless we view them in their economic interaction with the inhabitants of the neighboring regions comprised within the trading system based on the Kali Gandaki route.” (Fürer-Haimendorf 1988, p. 138). Apart from bartering their own products, similar to the Sherpas in Khumbu, the Dolpo traders played the role of middlemen between farmers in Southern Nepal who produced a surplus of grain and Tibetan nomads offering salt for grains and rice from the south (see Fisher 1987, pp. 95ff for details). One caravan route led directly over the Khang La in the north to the Changthang Plains, anoth-

er one to the Thak Khola, which is the northern part of the Kali-Gandaki Valley, in the west, where the main north-south trade via the entrepot town of Tukuche took place. Marietta Kind points to the importance of the Phoksumdo Region, where traders from the north came with salt, wool and tea from Tibet which they traded for maize, wheat and buckwheat from the lower areas (Kind 2013, p. 55). The political changes in Tibet in the mid-20th century resulted in a collapse of the traditional north-south trade and severely affected Dolpo’s economy (Bauer 2004, pp. 73ff). Dolpo has been open for trekking only since 1989.

HISTORICAL FACETS Dolpo is strongly associated with the history of Bon and has been part of the ancient Bon-Empire Zhangzhung in Western Tibet which declined with the rise of the Tibetan Buddhist Dynasties in the 6th century. With the concomitant encouragement of Buddhism in Tibet and the prosecution of Bon followers, Dolpo became one of the refuges for Bonpa during the time of the Yarlung Empire in Tibet (Kind 2013, p. 44). Upon the collapse of the Yarlung Dynasty in the mid 9th century, Dolpo came under various kingdoms including Jumla, Purang and Guge in Western Tibet, and in the 14th century under the suzerainty of the kingdom of Lo, which controlled the north-south trade route in the upper Thak (Kali Gandaki) Valley. Dolpo paid tribute

216

House in Tinje, view towards the east.

to Lo in taxes, manual labor and religious services including the carving of mani walls and the painting of Thankas (Bauer 2004, p. 62). Despite its delicate position in the rivalries between western Jumla and eastern Lo, Dolpo maintained its identity and cultural influence mainly because of its remoteness. The rise of the Gorkha Dynasty in the 18th century created a unified kingdom of Nepal, incorporating Dolpo’s powerful neighbors Jumla in the west and Lo in the east. As a consequence, Dolpo became ‘automatically’, i.e. without any invasion of Gorkha troops, part of the kingdom of Nepal (Fürer-Haimendorf 1988, p. 149). However, cross-border trading and cultural-religious relationships with Tibet continued although the level of interaction gradually declined. The cross-border exchanges came to a full halt only in the 1950s with the closing of the Chinese-Tibetan border. Culturally, Tibetan Dolpo was merged with a Hindudominated area in the south to form the Dolpa District, which is the largest among Nepal’s districts. Even though the administrative restructuring affected Dolpo, due to its remoteness the area kept its autonomy in cultural terms.

reducible minimum of timber required for posts, rafters and door-frames. There is no universal, typical pattern followed in the lay-out of settlements. Where a wide valley favors a dispersal of homesteads, the houses of a village may be built in three or four groups, separated by fields, but within each group the buildings stand close together, either wall to wall, or with small spaces for courtyards and cattle-enclosures left between the individual dwellings.” (Fürer-Haimendorf 1988, p.156). The reasons for the clustering of farmhouses in small hamlets are speculative: extreme temperatures in winter combined with wind and snow may have led the families to cluster their homesteads as the spatial proximity also brought advantages in managing livelihoods and social contacts.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS As for Khumbu, Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf has also left us a precise description of the Dolpo settlements that perfectly fits the examples presented on the following pages: “The villages of Dolpo are clusters of houses built of stone and the ir-

217

Dolpo

Rammed earth house in Khoma

View on the easternmost neighborhood of Khoma from south with the documented house in the center.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT The village of Khoma (kho mad) lies in Upper Dolpo on a terrace about 100 m above the floor of a barren valley. The village extends over six clusters of houses with about twelve houses each. A trail winds through the farmland surrounding the clusters, connecting Shimen in the Parzang Valley with Saldang, one of the bigger villages in Dolpo. With an altitude of about 4,200 m, Khoma is an example for one of the highest locations inhabited by humans in Nepal. The surrounding mountains and valleys are almost bare of vegetation. The village of Khoma, including the agricultural land, covers less than 0.3 km2 and is comprised of the families’ homesteads, surrounding vegetable gardens, irrigated barley fields, a small monastery as well as several chorten and mani walls. The monastery now follows the Nyingma school of Buddhism and, according to a local legend, is placed in the stomach of an elephant that in turn is associated with the village of Khoma. The surrounding mountains, visible from the village, are regarded as sacred places.

Animal husbandry has decreased since the winter pastures on the Tibetan Plateau are no longer accessible. The villagers grow mostly barley, some potatoes, radish, pumpkins, cauliflower and cabbage. Timber for construction has to be brought to Khoma from Phoksundo in Lower Dolpo by horses and yaks. Since the use of timber involves high transport costs, local building materials such as earth and stones are preferred wherever possible. This is certainly the reason why all Khoma dwellings are constructed with rammed earth. Locally available slate stone that can be cut into thin sheets is used for roofing and flooring, as well as for door and window overhangs. As in all of Dolpo, houses in Khoma are relatively small and simple compared with other areas of the Tibetan cultural region. A quote from Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf (1988, p. 159) highlights the contrasts: “Most of the subsidiary Sherpa houses in yersaand gunsa-settlements are far more commodious and comfortable than the one and only house of many a Bothia [i.e. ethnic Tibetan, the authors] family in Dolpo.”

218

VILLAGE

Khoma DISTRICT

Dolpa REGION

Mid-Western Region COUNTRY

Nepal ALTITUDE

4,200 m

0 425

4200

4150

4100

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

The village of Khoma from the hills in the south.

219

Dolpo

Staircase with log ladder from first floor.

Store room on first floor with wooden box for grain storage.

Sacred room on the second floor.

Kitchen on the first floor.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The ground floor walls are built with undressed stone from the surrounding area. The rammed earth walls rising on the stone plinth are battered, i.e. they slope inward, as it is typical for the entire region. Unlike in other parts of the Himalayas, here, the wall tops are protected against rain and snow with dry twigs rather than slate stone. Massive rammed earth walls not only encase the entire building but function also as partition walls inside the building. The interior walls form part of the structural system and support an interior timber post-and-lintel structure. The post-and-lintel structure is minimal, consisting only of one post and two beams per floor. The ceilings are constructed with timber joists and cross battens, covered by layers of stones and earth. All the interior floors are simple compressed earth floors. The interior walls are mostly plastered.

The building presented here is located in the easternmost cluster of houses of Khoma. For this house Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf’s description (1988, p. 158) holds true: “The rooms are narrow, low and dark; tiny window openings, or in some cases only a hole in the roof, let in the light as well as the rain and wind. The only door may not be much more than 3 feet high and through this one steps into a pitch-dark entrance often lying 1 or 2 feet below ground level”. The house is small and extremely modest even for local standards, with no window of noteworthy size. Houses in this cluster are attached to each other with no space in-between. An outstanding feature of this house is the total lack of openings except the entrance door and two small openings for ventilation. Another feature not uncommon in Upper Dolpo is that the ground floor stables are dug about 70 cm into the soil below ground level. Cracks in the mud wall and insertions of rough stone in the south facade indicate that there may have been a terrace over the second floor in the past.

220

Rammed earth house in Khoma

Ground floor 0.1 Barkhang (bad khang), store room for rice bags, also used as access to the 0.2

first floor. 0.2 Barkhang, previously a stable for sheep and goats as well as storage for

0.1

0.3

0.3

salt from Tibet and grain from the south. Today used for storing clothes, blankets, bags made from yak wool and plastic bags with salt. Shed for yaks.

First floor 1.1 Barkhang, store room for firewood from shrub on the hills above the

Ground floor plan.

1.1

1.2 1.3

village. This room is also used as a staircase where the notched log ladders from the ground floor and further up to the second floor are placed. 1.2 Makhang (ma khang), formerly used as a kitchen and for sleeping, with steel stove in the center and the typical rack for brass and aluminum pots at the eastern wall. The walls and the ceiling are entirely black from the soot of the open fireplace. This room has a small window for ventilation (40 x 40 cm) and a skylight to the roof terrace above. This is the only room of the house with a flooring of wooden planks. The ceiling height in this room is between 1.8 and 2 m. 1.3 Barkhang, store room for clothes, baskets and juniper branches. Second floor 2.1 Room used as summer kitchen and family room, partly uncovered and

open to the north. It is also used for drying meat. 2.2 Chokhang (chos khang), sacred room. This room still shows the original altar and the open compartments for storing books of the Kanjur. The eastern wall is decorated with three elaborately painted thankas.

First floor plan.

2.1

2.2

0

1

2

4m

Second floor plan.

THE INHABITANTS monk before construction begins, to placate the spirits of the soil and to ask for building permission. The date for this initial ceremony is fixed by the monk. 2) After the completion of the first story a ceremony is carried out by the workers. 3) Once the entire house is completed a ritual called rabne is performed for the fire god. This ritual precedes placing the stove inside the house and setting up of prayer flags on the four corners of the roof. 4) Finally, the house owner invites a monk to perform a ritual inviting the deity Kunchoksum to reside in the new house. Thereafter, an annual ritual is performed in the first month of the Nepalese lunar calendar, upon which the white prayer flags fastened on the four roof corners are renewed.

The house has been abandoned by the owners, a couple with two daughters and one son, years ago. It is now inhabited by the son only, who is a monk and who uses mainly the Chok­ hang. These circumstances offer the rare opportunity to do­ cument a small, structurally simple and relatively unchanged house typical for Khoma and other villages in Upper Dolpo in the past.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES Building rituals regulate the construction process from deciding about the exact location to the final consecration of the finished house and are common throughout the Tibetan cultural region. In Khoma, this process is structured by four rituals and contains the following steps1: 1) The Salang is performed by a 1  Based on oral information from the monk residing in this house.

221

Dolpo

East elevation.

0

1

2

4m

South elevation.

222

Rammed earth house in Khoma

0

1

2

4m

0

1

2

4m

North elevation.

223

Dolpo

Section A–A.

0

West elevation.

224

1

2

4m

Rammed earth house in Khoma

0

0

1

2

1

2

4m

4m

Section B–B.

225

Dolpo

Stone house in Ringmo

Isometric view from the east.

LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENT stream in another place and come back in springtime. Thus, Ringmo is another example of seasonal transhumance. In the past, the economy of the village was based purely on agriculture, animal husbandry and some trade. Today, additional income is generated through the collection and trade of caterpillar fungus, locally called by the Tibetan name yartsa gunbu. On the skillfully terraced land that extends onto the fertile alluvial delta of a tributary stream in the west, the inhabitants grow barley, buckwheat, potatoes and radishes. The village is surrounded by coniferous forest extending especially on the eastern side of the river.

Ringmo Village is located in Lower Dolpo about 400 m from the southern end of Phoksumdo Lake. The village has some 35 houses clustered on the western bank of the Phoksumdo River which drains south into the Bheri River 28 km downstream. The lake is an alpine fresh water lake formed by an ancient landslide and is an important halt in the Great Bon Pilgrimage of Dolpo (Kind 2013, p. 71). The compact village is surrounded by barley fields extending on either side of the river, several chortens and coniferous forest. In the past, Ringmo had a special relationship with Jumla and served as a center for bartering trade between the northern valleys of Panzang and Nangkhong and the lower areas further south (Kind 2013, p. 55). The Bon Monastery Thasung Tsholing (mtha ’srung mtsho gling dgon) lies about 1.3 km away on the eastern shore of Phoskumdo Lake. In contrast to the people of Upper Dolpo the inhabitants of Ringmo enjoy the proximity of the warm Bheri Valley in the south. During winter most families of Ringmo live further down-

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE HOUSE The documented building is said to be one of the oldest houses of Ringmo. It is located in the center of the house cluster described above. In terms of style and size it represents a typical dwelling of Ringmo. An eye-catching feature of this house

226

VILLAGE

Ringmo DISTRICT

Dolpa REGION

Mid-Western Region COUNTRY

Nepal ALTITUDE

385

0

380

0

3750

3700

3650

365 0

37 00

3,630 m

0

200 m

Site plan. Scale 1:8,000.

View from the north.

227

Dolpo

View from the west.

Main entrance to the kitchen and family room from the staircase on the second floor, showing typical grooves in the vertical elements of the timber frame.

Entrance room with door to the stable on the ground floor.

shared with others in Ringmo are the beams placed horizontally in the outer stone walls at a distance between 50 cm and 1.1 m. They serve to stabilize the house against tremors and offer better earthquake resistance. These timber beams are interconnected at the corners with grooves and dowels. Except for one small window in the kitchen and two openings for ventilation, the house has no windows. All building materials, i.e. stone, earth and timber, come from the immediate surroundings of the village. Locally available stone and timber are used for the construction of walls, floors, posts and beams. The timber is logged in the nearby forest. A particular highly cohesive mud for plaster and flooring comes from a place nearby called Chamathang. Special red-colored mud, locally called nagaling, is applied as a thin layer on the battered exterior walls. Thin sheets of slate stone are used for roofing and flooring as well as for window and door overhangs. Houses in Ringmo are generally built by master builders of the area, who in the past received a payment in kind, mostly grains and salt. House building does not follow a preconceived plan; new houses are rather built by copying already existing houses in the neighborhood. With new influences, as demonstrated

Post, post head and main beam in stable, ground floor.

228

Stone house in Ringmo

Ground floor 0.1 Barkhang (bad khang), storage for blankets, carpets and leather straps for 0.2 0.1

0.2 0.3

0.3

animals; also used as entrance room and for accessing the first floor. Hokhang (hoh khang), stables for one horse and cows; the niche in the western part of this room is also used for storing fodder for the animals. Barkhang, used for storing firewood.

First floor 1.1 Barkhang, storage for kitchen devices, baskets and a wooden chair. Ground floor plan.

1.2

1.3

1.1 1.2

1.3

This room is also used as a staircase for the notched log ladders that arrive from the ground floor and go up to the second floor. Makhang (ma khang), kitchen and family room, also used for sleeping. All timber elements are blackened by the soot from the steel stove. The northern part of flooring is made of timber planks, the other of compressed mud. A modest rack on the western wall stores the few kitchen devices, such as pots, vessels and cups. There is also a small shrine used for domestic rituals. A skylight and a small window in the north-eastern wall allow for a minimum of lighting and ventilation. Barkhang, storage for baskets. It has a small opening to the south.

Second floor 2.1 Khadog (kha dog), roof terrace; the roofed part is used for storing hay. First floor plan.

2.2 2.3 2.2

2.1

The roof is partly covered with plastic sheets, since the monsoon rains are soaking through the layers of loam. Barkhang, open store room. Barkang, store room used for hay. The elaborate plastering still recalls its former use as Chokhang, the sacred room. After building the new house in Ringmo, this function was transferred to the new building.

2.3

0

1

2

4m

Second floor plan with roof terrace.

by one of the houses in Ringmo not documented here, new style elements from the south have intruded the village, featuring bigger dimensions, whitewashed facades and large glazed windows.

THE INHABITANTS The house is only temporarily used by the owner and his family. The family is comprised of the parents and two sons, one of which lives in Kathmandu for studying. They own another house in Ringmo that is spacier and more comfortable and yet another one in Dunai, the district headquarters in the south, where they live during winter. In the past, the family kept 40 to 50 cows and yaks. Yaks were kept in the mountains or in the open shed attached to the house.

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONAL USE The vertical arrangement of functions follows the common pattern: the ground floor for animals and storage, the second floor for family living and a roof terrace for working, drying hay and herbs and a sacred room, called Chokhang. As is typical for

Kitchen and family room on the first floor.

229

Dolpo

North-east elevation.

0

South-east elevation.

230

1

2

4m

Stone house in Ringmo

Section A-A.

0

1

2

4m

Section B-B.

231

Dolpo

0

Details of the door from the entrance room to the stable and notched log ladder.

Staircase with notched log ladder to the roof.

232

1

2

4m

Stone house in Ringmo

0

1

2

4m

Details of the small window in the kitchen on the second floor.

A ritual, locally called serkem, is performed by a monk on the site before the construction begins to avoid calamities during the construction period. The owner makes additional offerings to the earth spirits. Before the foundation is laid, a monk offers grain (usually wheat) to the earth spirits in the four corners of the foundations in a ritual called sandu. Once the interior posts are erected, white ceremonial scarves called khata, blessed by the monks, are tied around the posts. Another ritual is performed after the placement of the main door. Khata are tied around the door and window frames. Once the construction is completed, a ritual called rabne is performed to celebrate the success and ensure good fortune for the future inhabitants. Two big darshing prayer flags are placed nearby the house.

Dolpo, the space for accommodating all required functions is minimized. With less than 60 m2, this house utilizes only one third of the ground that big houses in other parts of the Tibetan region cover.

PROTECTIVE DEVICES AND RITUALS Ringmo also offers its own set of building rituals: a local monk conducts a survey of the qualities of the site and decides about the exact location of the main door. If there are several site options for the new building, the monk will examine samples of the soil from each location. On request by the owner he also fixes the exact day for the start of construction.

233

Structural design

Enveloping the interior: structural diversity

A – Timber and wall.

B – Timber detached.

A – TIMBER AND WALL: WALLS WITH INTERCONNECTED TIMBER STRUCTURE divided into small units used as stables and is often constructed with walls only, without any timber posts, whereas in Gyalrong the entire house is often built without any timber posts. In that case, the interior space is also divided into relatively small units by massive walls with the beams spanning from wall to wall. In all regions where timber posts are used on the ground floor they are set on pad stones to prevent the timber from absorbing ground moisture. They have no footing or joint and are simply placed on the stones. Houses of this structural system rely on the weight of their own mass for stability. Additional mass is added by the heavy structures of ceilings and the roof. Both are constructed with several layers of timber boards, twigs, earth and sometimes stones laid on top of the ceiling joists. Ceiling structures are quite similar in all structural variations.

The most wide-spread structural system in the Tibetan cultural region consists of two elements: massive load-bearing walls and an interconnected timber post-and-beam structure forming one integrated structural system. The areas with this structural variation are typically sparse in timber resources and the only available trees that provide construction timber are soft poplars or short-growing conifers. The exterior and interior walls of houses with such a structural system are built massively either in natural stone masonry as in Lhasa, Lhoka, Minya, Gyalrong, Dolpo and Bumthang, in mud brick masonry as in Lhasa, Lhoka and Ladakh or in rammed earth as in Phobjikha. The walls form the outer shell of the building and divide the interior space into individual rooms. All walls are load-bearing and the widths of interior and exterior walls are largely the same. The width of walls made from sundried mud bricks is only 30 cm, while the width of stone and rammed earth walls ranges from 60–90 cm. The building is constructed in a successive process that alternately erects the walls and the post-andbeam structure story by story. The ends of the beams and ceiling joists are placed on top of the walls and are connected with the masonry or rammed earth. Thus, the ceiling and roof loads are partially distributed onto the walls. The structure of the upper floors is aligned with the structure of the ground floor, walls are built on top of walls and the upper posts are set on top of the lower posts. The interior layout may be exactly the same on the upper floors as on the ground floor or internal walls may be reduced in width towards the top providing larger rooms on the higher floors. In Ladakh, the space on the ground floor is

B – TIMBER DETACHED: WALLS WITH DETACHED TIMBER STRUCTURE

The regions of Dabpa and Chatreng in Kham and Chentsa in Amdo apply a different structural system. Here, the sole function of the outer massive walls is to envelope a structurally independent internal timber construction. The thick outer walls enclose a large interior space. In Dabpa the walls are built in stone masonry and in Chatreng in rammed earth. The walls are battered starting with a thickness of about 90 cm at the bottom and decreasing to about 50 cm towards the top. The interior space is spanned with several rectilinear rows of posts and

234

C – Timber grid.

D – Log structures inserted.

followed by the free-standing timber structure erected inside. The ceiling loads are carried entirely by the timber structure as additional rows of posts and beams are placed along the walls to support the ceiling joists. The timber grid is regularly spaced and all floors show exactly the same grid pattern. With a few exceptions on the ground floor there are no massive walls within the building. All rooms on the upper floor are partitioned with light timber walls that are constructed after the roof has been closed. In Kongpo a gabled timber purlin roof structure is placed on top of the flat roof, covering the entire compact volume of the building.

beams. This internal timber structure does not touch the outer walls. All vertical loads are carried by posts placed along the walls. The post-and-beam structure is built successively on each floor as the wall is erected to its full height. The alignment of beams on the upper floors differs from the ground floor. Most beams on the upper floors are turned orthogonally to the axis of the ground floor. In many cases the timber structure on the upper floors is more elaborate compared to the ground floor. The interior layout of the space is arranged after the structure is completed. While the ground floor remains mostly one large open space, the space of the upper floors is partitioned by light timber walls. Room layout and proportions follow the grid arrangement of the posts. The span between the posts is approximately 3 m in both regions.

D – LOG STRUCTURES INSERTED In the region of Kandze the structure is a combination of several principles. The ground floor is built similarly to the design type A with load-bearing walls and an interconnected timber post-and-beam structure. Massive rammed earth walls encase the entire space of the ground floor. The round log beams are not joined with each other or the posts but only laid on top of the posts’ heads. The ceiling joists of the ground floor are joined to the wall, partially distributing the ceiling loads onto the wall. The upper floor is a combination of load-bearing wall, timber log and post-and-beam structure. Commonly, at least two log structures are built on the upper floor at opposite sides of the building, constituting part of the front elevation. The log structures form individual rooms constructed from half-round logs

C – TIMBER GRID: WALLS WITH A DETACHED BI-AXIAL TIMBER STRUCTURE In the region of Kongpo the structural system differs from neighboring U-Tsang. The region is rich in timber resources, thus allowing for a unique variation of the timber structure in the houses. The interior post-and-beam structure is bi-axial as all posts are additionally connected by a secondary beam aligned orthogonally to the main axis. Thereby the structure is additionally stiffened and reinforced in both directions, forming one constructive unit. The building is constructed by starting with the erection of the massive outer stone wall in its total height, which is commonly two floors in the region of Kongpo,

235

Structural design

E – Two-floor timber.

F – Log house.

with interlocked saddle notch corners. They provide support for the beams. Larger spans outside the log structures are spanned with supporting posts. The beams of the upper floor are aligned in two directions. They are hewn to a rectangular shape and joined by dovetail joints. The space is further divided into rooms by light timber partition walls set between the posts. Commonly, the two floors are built over two years. Once the rammed earth structure of the ground floor is completed and closed with a ceiling, the entire structure is left to dry and settle over the winter. This ensures a proper drying of the rammed earth before further loads are applied. The upper floor consisting mostly of carpentry work is built the following year in spring.

beams as opposed to being placed on top of the posts. Almost all rooms of the house are built as log structures that are inserted within the post grid. In contrast to Kandze the log structures are not load-bearing but inserted free-standing within the posts. Older structures show a variation within the timber structure of high perforated posts and a regular one-story-high post-andbeam structure mixed with load-bearing walls, such as in the presented exemplary Gesang Tsang House from Dawu. Recently built houses have a more regular timber structure consisting of standardized elements placed in a uniform grid.

F – LOG HOUSE All walls in Pome are built entirely from timber. Another rather rare characteristic is that houses frequently have only one story containing the main room. The load-bearing timber walls are a mix of log structures and post-and-plank walls. The plank walls are held by posts. The log structures can be made of round logs, half-round logs or planks with interlocked saddle notch corners. Usually there is one larger log structure that holds the main room of the house. This log structure is spanned with two beams placed on one central post. A unique characteristic for Pome is that the outer post supporting these beams is placed on the exterior of the building. The timber structures can be compact and entirely covered with one gabled roof or consist of several volumes covered with several gables roofs.

E – TWO-FLOOR TIMBER: TIMBER POST-AND-BEAM STRUCTURE WITH ENCLOSING WALL On first sight farmhouses in Dawu and Kandze show a common appearance, although their internal structural design differs significantly. In the Dawu Region the construction of the house starts with erecting the entire timber post-and-beam structure prior to building the outer walls. Most commonly, the timber structure is two floors high. Subsequently, a stone masonry or rammed earth wall is built around the timber structure. The twofloor high posts are perforated by timbers that support the

236

Levels and covers: ceilings

Ceiling laid out with bamboo in Ura Village, Bumthang Valley.

Boards laid on rectangular ceiling joists in sacred room in Ura Village, Bumthang Valley.

Ceiling structure of a ground floor room in Ura Village, Bumthang Valley.

Stones are laid on top of the round ceiling joists in some parts of Kham.

Timber herringbone ceiling pattern.

Elaborate timber panel ceiling in sacred room of Dromi Tsang House in Sumdu Village, region of Dabpa.

Timber herringbone pattern during construction.

Construction of ceiling with poplar twigs in Leh, Ladakh.

Ceiling assembled with poplar twigs in Leh, Ladakh.

237

Twig material for ceiling construction in Ladakh.

Structural design

Ceiling layers:

Bearing the loads: posts and beams

Timber flooring Loam Twigs Ceiling joists

B

Ceiling layers: Timber flooring Loam Twigs Ceiling joists A

B

B

phos khang with chos tshag phos with nyu rgyas

A A

Section A-A.

bzhes deng B

Ceiling layers: S 1:50

ba dunga

S 1:50

Timber flooring A

Loam

Horizontal view.

Twigs Ceiling joists

B

Section B-B.

ka S 1:50

S 1:50

S 1:25 A B

Isometric explosion of the assembly with local names of the elements in Wylie transliteration.

A

S 1:50

S 1:50

Ceiling layers: Timber flooring

THE DROMI TSANG HOUSE AS EXAMPLE FOR DESIGN TYPE B

Loam Twigs Ceiling joists

B The structure presented here is widespread in the region of Dabpa. As elsewhere in the Tibetan cultural region, the timber structure of the ground floor is built with round logs whereas the upper floors are constructed with rectangular squared timbers decorated with elaborate details. The example shows the first and second floors of the Dromi Tsang House (shown on p. 104). The spanA length between the posts is about 3 m. All timber elements and especially theB posts in this region are of large dimensions. The presented post has a rectangular diameter of approximately 40 x 40 cm at the bottom. It is tapering upwards and decorated with vertical flutes. The beam is significantly narrower than theA post with a diameter of approximately 18 x 28 cm. A secondary timber beam of approximately 18 x 12 cm is laid on top of the main beam providing support for the ceiling joists. The beam is joined to the post’s head with a round notch and a rather unique groove joint. The long round notch is carved into the full length of the beam and laid into a groove in the long head of the post.

S 1:50

S 1:50

Isometric view of the assembled post-and-beam structure.

238

A

B B

A

Sections.

B B

A

A

S 1:50

S 1:50

S 1:50

S 1:50

Horizontal view.

B B

S 1:25

Isometric view of the assembled post-and-beam structure. S 1:50

Isometric explosion of the assembly.

S 1:50

THE GESANG TSANG HOUSE AS EXAMPLE FOR DESIGN TYPE E The structure presented here is typical for the region Dawu. This example shows details of the timber post-and-beam structure of the Gesang Tsang House (shown on p. 138). Only the central parts of the house have a post-and-beam structure stretching over two floors. Other parts have onefloor-high posts. The timbers are round with varying diameters within the house. The diameters of the posts stretching over

two floors are approximately 40 cm at the bottom and tapering towards the top. The one-floor-high posts have diameters of 20-25 cm. The two-floor posts are about 5 m high and carry two beams. The lower beam is joined to a timber perforating the post. The upper beam is placed upon a full-length head that is either perforating the post or joined to the post with a tenon joint. All joints are secured with large wooden pegs.

239

Structural design

B

dung ma A

Section A-A.

sgog

B

A

S 1:50

Horizontal view.

S 1:50 sgog

S 1:50

S 1:50

ka

Section B-B.

Isometric explosion of the assembly on the ground floor with S 1:25 local names of the elements written in Wylie transliteration. B

A

dung ma

S 1:50

S 1:50

sgog

sgog

ka S 1:10 S 1:50

S 1:50

Isometric view of the assembled post-and-beam structure on the ground floor.

Detail of assembled post-and-beam joint on the ground floor.

S 1:25

THE SANJE SHIGAR HOUSE AS EXAMPLE FOR DESIGN TYPE C The structure presented here is commonly found in the region of Kongpo. It shows details of the Sanje Shigar House (shown on p. 70). The unique characteristic of this region is that the post-andbeam structure is constructed bi-axially, i.e. all posts are additionally connected by secondary beams aligned orthogonally to the main direction. The local name of the secondary beam is droh (sgog). The timber structure of the entire floor forms one constructive unit, as it is joined and reinforced in both axes. The span of the grid is about 3 m in both axes. The only difference

within the floors is in the shape of the timbers: on the ground floor the structure is built with round logs, whereas the structure of the upper floor is built with squared rectangular timbers. The posts have a complex composition of notches at their top, allowing a total of four beams to be joined to one post. The ceilings are constructed with timber boards laid on top of the ceiling joists. A layer of earth is placed on top of the boards to further insulate the ceiling. The first floor is built with timber flooring made of heavy timber boards laid on top of the soil layer.

240

Bearing the loads: posts and beams

B

A B

Section A-A.

S 1:50

A

S 1:50

Horizontal view.

S 1:50

S 1:50

Section B-B.

M 1:25

B

Isometric explosion of the assembly on the first floor.

A

S 1:50

S 1:50

B

S 1:50

S 1:50

M 1:25

Isometric view of the assembled post-and-beam structure on the first floor.

M 1:10

Detail of post-and-beam joint on the first floor.

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Structural design

The outer shell: stone – mud – timber

STONE MASONRY WALLS In several of the regions investigated here, natural stones are used for load-bearing walls as it is the case in Lhasa, Lhoka, Kongpo, Dabpa, Minya, Gyalrong, Dolpo, Khumbu and Bumthang. The craft of stone masonry has a long tradition in the Tibetan cultural region. Different regions use different kinds of stones, depending on locally available resources. The stones are taken from the ground or broken from nearby rocks and split. Stones used for masonry are igneous and metamorphic types of rock. Commonly used stone types are: granite or metamorphic rock such as slate and schist, sometimes quartz varieties (see Alexander 2012, p. 35). Slate and schist stones are used for specific building elements. An experienced local ‘stone master’ (rdo pa) chooses a rock site that provides stone suitable for house construction. Wedges and chisels are used to cleave the stone from the rock. The stone is then brought to the construction site for dressing. A specific type of slate stone is used for overhangs of window and door openings or roof coverings. In Central Tibet, this slate stone is called yamba. It is characterized by distinctive cleavage planes that allow for splitting into very thin slabs. Once large sheets are split from the rock, they are transported to the construction site where they are repeatedly split to a thickness of less than 1 cm. The thin and sharp slate stone is suitable to lead rain water away from the building’s walls and openings. Due to its characteristic appearance it makes for distinctive design features. Examples of such elements were mainly found in the regions of Ladakh, Lhasa, Lhoka, Dabpa and Khumbu. In all regions walls are built on a simple shallow type of rubble trench foundation. The stone masonry walls are built with mud mortar composed of locally sourced clay and sand. The mortar is continuously prepared and mixed with water in small portions directly on site to ensure a suitable workability. A common characteristic of masonry structures are battered walls. The inward slope is created by reducing the thickness of the wall from bottom to top. Commonly, the sloping is created only on the exterior. Only in some rare cases the thickness of the wall, though sloping, remains the same from bottom to top, resulting in a

Chipped broken range rubble masonry in Dabpa.

Random range rubble masonry in Minya.

visible incline on the inside. The slope provides additional stability in case of earth tremors. The reclining slope is generally about 1 to 3 degrees for low domestic buildings with a maximum of three to four floors. The most common type of stone masonry within the Tibetan cultural region is rubble masonry. Ashlar masonry is relatively recent within the Tibetan cultural region and came only with the introduction of machines that facilitated mechanical production. Nowadays, pre-cut and identically shaped stones can be ordered directly to the building site and have been used more widely in the last decade. Worked with traditional tools, the masonry units are usually of different size and shape, creating a

242

rubble masonry wall. According to the specific region and its building knowledge, different patterns have emerged on the visible exterior wythe of the wall. The horizontal layers are laid in regular or irregular patterns. Various appearances have been created by using different types of stone laid in different courses. The appearance of the interior side of the walls varies as well. Generally, masonry walls are built of multiple wythes of

ing their long side. The bedding in-between the large stones is filled with small chip stones. The walls’ corners are very distinctive as they are built with large trapezoid capstones with very thin or no gaps at all. The masonry is unplastered and uncolored; therefore the stone pattern remains visible, making it a strong feature of the building. A slate stones is applied at the wall’s frieze as well as window and door overhangs, throwing

Mason applying loam plaster on a mud brick wall.

Loam mixture used as binding mortar for the mud bricks.

the same raw material, size and shape. In some cases the inner wythes of the wall are filled with rubble, irregularly shaped stones and mud. In the region of Dabpa, a distinctive style of chipped broken range rubble masonry is applied for the construction of walls, as we were able to investigate in detail in the village of Sumdu. The exterior wythe is treated mostly for its appearance, while the central and interior wythes serve structural purposes. A distinctive pattern of chipped courses is created on the exterior wythe. The roughly squared stones are laid in a broken range pattern. The height of the course is determined by the large riser stones. The large stones are laid in stretcher courses, show-

rainwater away from the wall. Heavy slate stones are used to cover the gabled roofs of the buildings. In the region of Minya, a random range rubble masonry style is standard for the construction of stone walls. The stones are roughly dressed or undressed and of various roundish shapes and sizes. The masonry is brought to course at intervals of about 30–60 cm. A characteristic feature of the masonry in this region are the thin timber ring beams dispersed with the stones at intervals of about 90 cm. Timber ring beams protecting the walls against earthquakes are included in close intervals in the stone walls in the lower region of Dolpo, specifically in Ringmo. In Ladakh, Lhasa and Lhoka the lower part of the wall is built with

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Structural design

Half-round patterns on plastered wall in Chusum.

The mud brick walls in Chusum are plastered with red loam.

stones, whereas higher parts are built with mud brick masonry. The stone walls here also show chipped broken range masonry. Specific decorative patterns or motifs, such as a triangular shape representing a chorten, a swastika or a different colored band around the wall are often found on stonewalls. Such decorations are built with rare stones of different colors such as quartz, limestone or red granite.

In Ladakh, pure high-quality clay sediments are found, extracted and used for different purposes. This clay is of a light gray color and locally called markalag. Markalag is used to enhance the clay content of local soils whose clay content is too low for the construction of mud bricks. The loam is mixed to a proper plasticity/viscosity adding water. In some cases fibers of dried straw are added to reinforce the binding. Small stones may also be added to the loam mixture as aggregate. Once the mud is properly prepared, it is pressed into a wooden mold. Once the surface is leveled, the mold is pulled off. The brick is then exposed to the sun for about two to three months. The drying of the bricks requires a large plot of even ground so each brick can be fully exposed to the sun. During that time the mud bricks cannot be exposed to any rain. Therefore mud brick construction is preferred in dry areas such as Ladakh and U-Tsang. Once completely dry, the bricks are stacked and stored. The preparation work is time-intensive but reduces the on-site construction process. Different regions use different brick sizes. The bricks sometimes vary in size within one building. In such cases larger bricks are used for the lower parts of the wall. The average format of bricks is 25–30 cm by 15–20 cm with a height of 10–15 cm. Mud bricks are laid on a

MUD BRICK MASONRY WALLS Mud is a widespread and easy-to-use building material. If a particular area provides soil with high clay content, it can be used for the production of mud bricks. The soil must be free of any organic material and have the proper clay content. The procedure of preparing mud bricks consists of mixing, forming and drying. The mud bricks have to be prepared prior to construction and can therefore be considered a prefabricated masonry unit. Mud brick construction is quite common in the regions of Ladkah, Lhasa and Lhoka, as well as in other regions in U-Tsang. In contrast to rammed earth walls, prefabricated mud bricks require a higher percentage of clay.

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The outer shell: stone – mud – timber

Horizontal boards clamped by timber spacers. The timber spacers of the formwork are perforating the wall. Example from Lower Paro Valley in Bhutan.

Chusum in U-Tsang). The final appearance of the walls varies as clay comes in various colors from white to gray, brown or a deep orange or red. For example, a unique feature in the area of Chusum is the red color of the plastered houses, as the local loam is red. Within the same village the houses can also be built with unrendered stone masonry. In Lhasa and Lhoka, the surface of stone and mud brick walls is additionally coated with a lime wash that results in a white color. Typically, additional broad frames are plastered around the openings of doors and windows.

stone masonry base that brings the mud brick masonry about 80 cm away from the ground. Sometimes the entire ground floor is constructed of stone masonry and the upper floors are piled up with mud bricks. Mud brick walls are load-bearing walls, carrying the weight of ceilings and roofs. As interior partition walls, they are piled up between timber posts. Mud brick masonry is laid in regular courses, commonly in traditional stretcher bonds. Small stones are wedged between the bricks to increase the density of the masonry and level out small height differences. The bricks are bound with mud mortar, composed of a mixture of clay and sand. Mud mortar contains a high amount of water. This is why the masons will set a maximum number of layers that can be piled up in one day. The wet masonry then has to set and dry. This procedure allows for adequate drying of the mud mortar and minimizes shrinkage. Usually the height is about a meter a day which corresponds to about five courses of bricks. Once the wall is built up and dry, the surface is coated with mud plaster. The plaster consists mainly of sand and silt with a small amount of clay. The first rendering is done with a coarse plaster mixed with straw. A finer plaster is used for the second coating. On the interior an even finer layer of plaster might be applied providing a very smooth surface. This plaster consists mostly of very fine sand and sieved loam. Its surface can be consolidated by rubbing a round stone across the surface applying strong pressure. Half-round patterns are often stretched into the exterior plaster on top of the mud bricks to improve the water repellence and weather resistance (as for example in Lhasa and

RAMMED EARTH WALLS Rammed earth constructions are made of loam composed of a mixture of clay, silt, sand and gravel. In the regions investigated for this documentation, houses built with rammed earth walls are common in the areas of Chatreng, Kandze, Dawu, Chentsa, Phobjikha and in upper Dolpo. Generally, rammed earth technologies are widely applied in the Tibetan cultural region. The soil used for rammed earth construction must have a high percentage of sand and gravel and a low percentage of clay and silt. The loam for the construction of domestic dwellings is usually taken directly from the building site or a site nearby. It is dug out from underneath the sod layer that is only about 40 cm thick on the alpine meadow soils. The loose and dry loam material is filled into a wooden formwork and compacted inside. Traditionally, the formwork is made of horizontally placed boards on both sides of the wall under construction and held

245

Structural design

Villagers ramming the upper wall of a house in November/December. The vertical poles are clamped with strings holding the horizontal boards.

An almost completed wall in the region of Kandze. The ramming has been done in full length courses.

In Bhutan, it is common practice to ram the earth in closed units forming blocks, with the formwork closed on all four sides.

Women ramming the earth with timber poles in Bhutan. Window jambs function as formwork.

together and kept apart by timber spacers. The two opposing boards have to be well clamped to resist the compression forces. Rammed earth walls are quite thick with an approximate diameter of 60–90 cm for domestic dwellings. The compression is done by long timber ramming poles of various properties. For example, different sizes and shapes of poles are used for ramming the surface and the edges. In the region of Kandze, the long horizontal boards of the formwork are braced by high vertical logs that are pulled together by strings to ensure a retaining wall diameter. It is also common here to assemble the formwork along the full length of the wall and compact the loam in courses along the full length. In each course about 20–40 cm of loose loam is filled into the formwork and manually compressed. Once each course is fully compacted, the boards are disassembled, moved up and set up again. Commonly, the rammed earth walls are left to dry over the winter before the upper floor is assembled. In Bhutan, the ramming process is done in successive block-like units. The formwork is built about 80 cm high with a maximum length of 2.5 m. Timber spacers set up in close intervals of about 60 cm clamp the boards at their bottom and top. The earth is compacted around the spacers and a hole is left in the wall in their place once the formwork is removed. The formwork is closed at its head sides with additional boards closing the block-like units at all sides. Once the earth in each block has been compacted, the formwork is moved horizontally to com-

pact another block next to it. Openings in the walls are created by placing the timber jambs including the door frame and in the case of windows the complete window as part of the formwork and ramming the earth around it. In Phobjikha and other places, additional horizontal timber beams are placed within the rammed earth to enhance earthquake resistance. Traditionally, the building of rammed earth walls is carried out by all family members and neighbors from the community. Therefore construction is generally undertaken before the start of the farming season or after the harvest, when most fieldwork is finished.

TIMBER WALLS In forested regions such as in Pome and Dawu as well as in Kandze and in Bumthang and Phobjikha in Bhutan timber is a preferred material for the construction of exterior and interior walls. Timber walls are built as log structures, post-and-plank walls or timber frame walls. The log structures can be constructed with full round logs, half logs (D-profile) or planks. The log elements are laid horizontally on one another with an interlocking corner connection. Saddle notches join the corners. The post-and-plank walls can be constructed of planks or round logs. Frame walls are usually built from squared timber. In the regions of Kandze and Dawu, the upper floors are con-

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The outer shell: stone – mud – timber

Timber log wall in Pome. The logs are chinked with loam.

Example of thin planks from Pome.

Timber wall on the upper floor in a house in Kandze region.

Log construction in a house in the region of Drango.

structed with timber log structures. They are built as part of the front elevation and constitute the individual rooms on the interior of the house. The log structures here are made mostly of half-round logs with a D-profile. The logs are laid with the flat side towards the interior, thus providing a flat wall within the room. Such timber walls are single-layered as no additional layers or materials are applied. The logs are flattened on the top and bottom and horizontally seated on one another. Sometimes the flattened side of the log is grooved along the entire length. To avoid displacement, a connection between the elements is made by inserting small timber dowels at large intervals. Frames of doors and windows are also joined to the logs with dowels. The timbers used in the region of Dawu are comparatively large in diameter, composing heavy log rooms. The logs can be as thick as 40 cm. In Kandze, they are smaller with diameters around 15–20 cm and timber frame walls closed with timber panels are characteristic. These timber panel walls are colorfully painted. In Pome, logs are brought into the shape of planks as thin as 6 cm. Only here the entire houses are built with timber only. The horizontal joints between the logs are shaped in a special way to prevent the intrusion of rain water. Together with wooden dowels, these special joints counterbalance the inevitable distortion of logs over time. Longer walls are assembled as postand-plank constructions, whereby the horizontal timbers are

held by vertical posts. Additional posts are also placed to hold the frames of window and door openings. The posts mostly have a rectangular cross section. If the post-and-plank walls are assembled with round logs, the ends of the logs are hewn to fit the rectangular groove in the posts. Round logs are usually used for the construction of stable or storage rooms. Living rooms in Pome constructed as log structures built with halfround logs were found chinked with loam on the exterior to improve the insulation and prevent water intrusion. In Phobjikha and Bumthang in Bhutan, a large part of the elevation on the topmost floor is built as a timber frame wall, called rabsel (rab gsal). The timber frame construction is built cantilevering the massive stone or rammed earth wall on one to three sides of the building. The sections of the timber frame wall are constructed with alternating open and closed parts. The open parts are built as timber frame windows. The closed frames are filled with a structure made of split woven bamboo that is coated with a loam plaster usually mixed with cow dung. Walls made of woven twigs are also common in Eastern Tibetan areas. Here they are either built on the exterior in front of stone or log walls serving as additional weather-repelling elements or as light interior partition walls covered with loam plaster.

247

Structural design

Opening the wall: doors and windows

Irregular facade openings in a rammed earth wall in Chatreng.

Irregular openings in a stone house in Minya.

MASS AND VOID terior space. The resulting composition is often an asymmetrical arrangement of large and small openings that can be merely functional or appear with decorative elements. The main rooms and their openings are generally oriented towards the sun to capture the daylight. The southern and eastern walls, respectively, have the most openings, while the northern wall is often built without any opening at all. In many areas, openings are highlighted by a frame that is either merely painted on the wall around the opening or applied as a thick mud plaster relief. Regarding the coloring of those frames there is no common pattern. In Ladakh, Lhasa, Lhoka, Kongpo and Chatreng, the frames around the openings are plastered on the wall and colored in black, thus forming a strong contrast to the often whitewashed outer surface of the walls. A black frame is also painted directly on the bright-colored stone masonry in Gyalrong. An opposing concept is a white frame on a dark wall. Such white frames are painted directly on the rammed earth walls in Kandze and Dawu and on the dark-colored stone masonry in Minya. Some buildings in Upper Dolpo also have white frames. However, there are no frames in Dabpa, Kumbhu, Phobjikha, Bumthang, Lower Dolpo and Chentsa. With a few exceptions, wall openings show vertical proportions. The few examples for horizontally formatted openings can be found in Minya and Gyalrong, albeit these are second-

Farmhouses in the Tibetan cultural region clearly mirror the properties of available materials and local climatic conditions. Materials used for construction are determined by the resources available in the surroundings of the building site. They receive minimal processing or treatment and maintain their original characteristics like coloring and texture. This practice creates a certain level of harmony between the structures and the surrounding landscape. Walls are mainly constructed from stone and earth. Timber is sparsely used for exterior walls but widely applied in the interior. The massively built walls have a corpulent, heavy and solid appearance giving them a strong surface texture. There is almost no differentiation into structure and cladding. The outer walls of Tibetan houses do not have an additional layer on the outside for protection against rain, snow, sun or wind. The stone or earthen material used for the structure remains visible. In fact, the character of each building results from the properties of the materials themselves. The relation between mass and void plays an important role in creating the architectural expression of the buildings. Openings in the massive walls consistently form a strong contrast to the heavy bodies. The facades show a unique composition of openings decorated with delicate grids within the solid walls. Typically, openings reflect the function of the interior behind the wall and do not follow any aesthetic concept. Size and style of openings are defined by the purpose of the respective in-

248

Door in rammed earth wall in Sushede, Kandze. Typically for the region, the frame is multi-colored.

common element over a vast region producing a sense of ‘Tibetan’ identity.

ary window openings. A common principle valid for the entire Tibetan region is the vertical increase of window size with the number of floors. A load-bearing timber lintel crowned by an overhang that leads rainwater away from the walls completes the door and window openings. This entity is of structural, decorative and symbolic significance. According to André Alexander Tibetans see the windows as the eyes of the building and the overhang construction as eyelashes (Alexander 2012, p. 37). The lintels and overhangs are important representative elements and therefore treated with corresponding attention. The overhang is assembled by layering small pieces of timber in alternating directions as to form a strong structural element. By layering planks and short pieces of wood the entity of the assembly gains a structural quality that compensates for the weakness and poor quality of the available timber. In Lhasa dialect and Ladakh the assembly is called shingtsag (shing tsag) literally meaning ‘stack of wood’. Interestingly, in some regions such as Dabpa and Chatreng the structural aspect seems irrelevant as the dimension of the lintel is large enough to carry the load without the need for additional layers. Thus, the overhang is clearly applied as an aesthetic element. Timber overhangs on top of the lintel seem to be a specific characteristic of Tibetan building culture. Even though they have different forms, assemblies and details, they form a

ENTRANCE DOORS The entrance door is always the biggest and most expressive opening in the ground floor wall. It embodies the passage between the exterior and interior and, compared to other openings on the ground floor, it is elaborately designed. The importance of the main entrance door is in many cases further enhanced by a projecting roof. The cantilevering roof ensures protection from rain in the door area and keeps snow from accumulating directly in front of the door. In contrast to the outer side that may be richly decorated, the interior side of the door is always very plain. Interestingly, the entrance door is the only element that is identified with the same term throughout the vast region: go (sgo). Stones (rdo mani) painted or carved with sacred scriptures or images may be placed on top of the door’s lintel or cornice. There may also be a yak skull or holy scriptures or images printed on paper hung above the entrance. These devices are believed to protect the inhabitants against evil spirits and misfortune. Other protective devices such as dried bird heads, animal claws and bags containing precious stones or soil are often found hanging above the door on the interior.

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Structural design

Entrance door in rammed earth wall of the Gesang Tsang House in Dawu. The overhang shows a painted triangle pattern, common in this region.

Yak skull above door in Ura, Bumthang.

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Opening the wall: doors and windows

Cantilevering roof above the door of Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo. The beam is decorated with an eternal knot carving symbolizing a high social status of the household.

Short beams are laid underneath the lintel providing structural support in Eutsa, Phobjikha.

Door of Langstse Tsang House in Chatreng. The lintel is supported with posts set on both sides of the opening. The additional post can be removed and both wings can be opened if a larger opening is required.

constructions, additional timber jambs are set around the frame. These jambs are used as formwork during the building process and remain within the wall. Such additional jambs were found in Dabpa, Chatreng, Dawu, Kandze, Bumthang and Phobjikha. Many doors have devices to lock the door from the inside. On the inside, a horizontal timber bar can be pulled from a shaft in the wall before the wing, thus closing it firmly. In some cases there are mechanisms that allow moving the horizontal bar also from the outside. These mechanisms prevent the door from moving with the wind and keep animals from entering the house. As a more recent development, locks with metal chains are used to lock the door from the exterior if the house is left unattended.

The level of detail and decoration of the main door also conveys a message about the importance and function of a specific building. The design of an entrance door to a simple farmhouse differs significantly from the entrance to a mansion or a religious building. Especially carvings and a specific coloring indicate a religious use or a higher social status. In the past, carvings of window and door frames in domestic architecture were reserved for sacred rooms only. Nowadays, the amount of decoration around the windows has increased and decorative elements formerly reserved for sacred rooms and buildings only are now widely applied in domestic architecture. The timber door frames are set in place directly during the construction process of the wall. Subsequently, the wall is erected around the frame. In wide rammed earth or stone masonry

251

Structural design

Door in whitewashed wall in Dopo, Lhasa. The lintel is supported by short beams.

Simple door assembly of Tchare Lumbu House in Minya. Carved stones are placed on top of the slate stone overhang.

252

Main entrance door in timber log house in Dzhongsa, Pome.

Opening the wall: doors and windows

Door in timber log house in Pome.

Door in Khumbu. The lintel is supported by two right-angled logs.

Entrance door in rammed earth wall in Nara, Chentsa.

253

Entrance door in Tinje, Dolpo. The door frame is built with round logs.

Structural design

Objects hanging above the plain interior side of the door in Gye Tsang House for protection.

Door to storage room on the ground floor in Lhoka.

Door to valuable goods storage in Pome.

Timber key of the lock system.

The room is closed with a timber lock system.

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Opening the wall: doors and windows

0

1

2

4m

Door of Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 70).

255

Structural design

Door of Langste Tsang House in Chatreng. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 116).

0

Door of house in Eutsa, Phobjikha. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 190).

256

1

2

4m

Opening the wall: doors and windows

Door of house in Thame, Khumbu. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 204).

0

1

2

4m

Door of Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 104).

257

Structural design

Interior door placed in a mud brick wall in Gye Tsang House in Lhoka. The paneled door wing is held by a simple frame. The wall is decorated with patterns applied with tsampa.

Interior door made of heavy boards in timber frame wall in Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo.

Decorative curtain on interior door placed in a plastered timber frame wall filled with woven bamboo in Bumthang.

INTERIOR DOORS The interior door wings are often built more decoratively than the sturdy door wings of entrance doors. They are placed into massive walls or light timber partition walls and are often built as frame-and-panel doors. The edges of the frame are often carved with varying profiles. In some parts of the Tibetan cultural region it is common to hang fabric door curtains. These curtains help to prevent heat loss and serve as decorative elements. Adorned by decorative borders, the curtains feature appliques or embroideries of the eight auspicious symbols, the most common of which is the eternal knot.

If the doors are placed into massive walls, the door wing is hinged into the supporting timbers of the frame located underneath and on top of it. The upper groove may also be set directly into the door’s lintel. Timber frame walls are mostly built with an additional element at the opening wide enough to hold the groove for the round tongue of the door wing. Timber sliding doors are a distinctive feature of the Kandze Region. Here, the door wing is slid horizontally in a long groove along the timber frame and panel wall.

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Opening the wall: doors and windows

Sliding door in timber frame wall in house in Sushede in Kandze. The panels of the door and the wall are richly painted.

Double-wing door in a heavy log wall in Gesang Tsang House in Dawu. This door provides entrance to a large storage room; its importance within the house is emphasized by careful decorations.

Decorative curtain on door in house in Eutsa in Phobjikha.

Interior doors in timber partition wall in Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa.

PRESERVATION AND COLORING Red paint is commonly applied to the timber as a basic wood preservation tool increasing its durability and resistance to humidity, fungi and insects. The paint comes as a powder which is mixed with water and animal glue. After stirring and boiling the mixture, it is applied to the timber. Before industrial paint was available, all colors were obtainable as powders only. In Dabpa, the application of a broth including yoghurt, salt and charcoal results in a dark, almost black timber coloring. The black color represents the affiliation of the residents with the Karma Kagu School of Buddhism. Karma Kagu lineage is associated with the reincarnation line of the Karmapas, who are holding the Black Crown. In the Litang area, the same timber elements are colored in red. Litang is dominated by the Gelug School of Buddhism, which is associated with red.

Other commonly used colors are blue, white, green and yellow. They correspond to the colors of prayer flags where they represent the five elements: space, air, fire, water, and earth. Especially in Lhasa and Lhoka, each single element of the overhangs is colored in a different color, frequently a composition of blue, red, green and yellow. The application of many colors is also common on the windows in Chatreng. Some structural timber elements are highlighted in the facade through a bright orange color in Kandze. In Zhake, Gyelrong, the window overhangs are colored in yellow and green. In Pome, Minya and Dawu, the painting of a triangular black and white pattern is customary.

259

Structural design

Principle of frame and wing assembly.

ASSEMBLY (FRAME AND WING)

DOOR IN DABPA

Commonly, the door frame is made of sturdy solid pieces of squared timber. Round timbers are used in a few regions only. The basic version of the frame consists of four elements: a threshold, two posts and a head timber. The frame is set on support timbers that provide footing for the frame and hold the door wing. The door wing is hinged into the upper and lower support elements. The door wing is usually made of several wide planks of around 4–6 cm in thickness. The vertical elements are joined horizontally by a trapezoidal timber that is pressed into a groove in the planks. The door wing may also be assembled of many relatively thin horizontal half-round rafters as found in Kandze and Dawu. The frame’s exterior edges often have decorative grooves cut into the timber with special molding planes. Various patterns are created by specifically profiled blades.

The example presented here is an assembly typical for the region of Dabpa. It shows the main entrance door of the Dromi Tsang House (shown on p. 104). A characteristic feature of doors in Dabpa is that they are built with two wings. The middle post (gyu ‘dzus) of the frame can be taken out to further enlarge the opening if necessary. Such doors are locally called nyesgo (nyes rgos). They are also found in the region of Chatreng. The three posts of the frame are set upon a heavy piece of threshold timber, joined with a wedged mortise-and-tenon joint. The tops of the posts are connected with the upper horizontal part of the frame by a miter joint. Heavy jambs are set around the frame and interlocked with the stone masonry of the 90-cm-wide wall. The large frame is placed upon three supports (ba), one of which provides the groove for the door hinge.

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Opening the wall: doors and windows

bad khad

bad led

phos rgag

bad led

bzhes deng ba dunga gri

ba

ya 'jung

gyu 'dzus

rgos ngazha

200 cm

ba

0

Isometric explosion of the door assembly in Dabpa with local names of the elements written in Wylie transliteration.

The protruding roof structure above the door is a decorative crowning and protects the entire opening from rain. The overhang is carried by short beams cantilevering from the stone masonry. The protruding beams have carved heads that in turn support the main beam (phos rgag) carrying the joists. The assembly is closed with a cover of boards, some earth and a layer of slate stones.

261

Structural design

Lintel 1

Lintel 2

M 1:20

M 1:20

A – Short beams underneath the lintel. Principle applied in Lhasa, Lhoka, Phobjikha and Bumthang.

B – Short beams on top of the lintel. Principle applied in Ladakh, Kongpo, Pome, Dabpa, Chatreng, Kandze, Dawu, Minya, Gyalrong and Khumbu.

WINDOW LINTELS The window frames use the same principles as the door frames. Within one region the joinery of doors and windows is always identical. In order to fix the frame, the horizontal elements of the frame extend into the walls. Most windows have a lintel-and-overhang assembly similar to the doors. In many cases, the overhang construction fulfills the basic function of distributing the vertical loads on a considerable number of elements joined together. Thus, it is not only a lintel beam supported by additional elements but rather the entire composite structure that assumes the function of the lintel. In some cases, particularly in regions with plenty of timber, the overhang construction has become a merely decorative element as the lintel beams are big enough to carry the entire load. Most houses presented in this book feature a mix of these two functions.

Regarding the position of this main lintel beam, there are two general principles as shown in the diagrams. A – In Lhasa, Lhoka, Phobjikha and Bumthang a main lintel beam is supported from underneath by short protruding beams. They provide extra stiffness and thereby prevent the lintel from bending under the excessive strain of the walls’ loads. B – In Ladakh, Kongpo, Pome, Dabpa, Chatreng, Kandze, Dawu, Minya, Gyalrong and Khumbu the short protruding beams are placed on top of the main lintel beam, distributing the vertical loads. In areas with sufficient hard wood the main lintel beam tends to have a bigger diameter. In that case the assembly of the upper protruding beams is mostly decorative.

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Opening the wall: doors and windows

bad khad

bad led

bod tos

bad led

dang bod

A

sdam

B

sapyu chag chos tshag

C

Isometric explosion of the window assembly in Dabpa with local names of the elements written in Wylie transliteration.

Three principles of assembly of the protruding beams found in the Tibetan cultural region.

200 cm

0

WINDOW IN DABPA

PROTRUDING BEAMS

The example shows a window of the sacred room in the Dromi Tsang House (shown on p. 104). All windows of this house are built in the same way, varying only slightly in size. The assembly principles of the window frames and jambs are similar to the door. The carved eternal knot pattern (chos tshag) on the jambs is unique to this window, underlining the sacred function of the room. The window frame is constructed with four carved vertical bars, which do not contain glazing. The crowning overhang of the window consists of five alternating layers and the three protruding layers feature distinct assemblies. The first layer is made of one solid piece of timber (dang bod) that is carved to resemble several pieces, while the other two layers (bad led) are assembled with single elements placed in alternating directions. Slate stones cover the entire assembly of the overhang.

The protruding beams of the overhang show three different variations: A – In Dabpa, Chatreng and Khumbu a massive one-piece lintel is carved to appear as several single protruding heads. B – In Gyalrong the protruding short beams are held together by a notched board that connects all the pieces. C – The most widespread principle common in Ladakh, Lhasa, Lhoka, Kongpo, Pome, Kandze, Dawu, Minya, Bumthang, Phobjikha and Khumbu is an assembly of single elements placed in alternating directions. The spacing between each of the protruding short beams is closed with small timber panels.

263

Structural design

Windows in timber facade in house in Sushede in Kandze.

Grid windows with panels assembled in a sun wheel pattern in Kandze.

Window in timber facade in the Gye Tsang House in Dawu.

Window in timber facade in house in Dzhongsa in Pome.

Decorative lintel-and-overhang assembly on a window in Chusum.

264

Opening the wall: doors and windows

Corner window in Gye Tsang House in Lhoka.

Corner window in Ladakh.

Balcony structure in Ladakh.

Window in Ladakh.

In the previous decades, the window frames in most regions were built with delicate timber grids in various patterns. The grids were closed with paper sheets or cotton textiles. Today, it is common that a simple glass pane is attached with small nails behind the timber grid, though many windows in this documentation were found unglazed. A common traditional design is a closely spaced rectangular grid, often decorated with carved flowers, as found in Kongpo and Dawu. Typical for the region of Chatreng is a broad variety of round grid patterns, resembling flower motifs. In the regions of Bumthang and Phobjikha, the openings are mostly spaced with vertical bars. In Lhasa, Lhoka and Ladakh a specific type of corner window is common. In Ladakh, the window and the room behind it are called chongtse (tshong tse); in Lhasa and Lhoka, the window and the room are called sogzong (thog gzhong). These windows are oriented towards the south and east, thus capturing sunlight from two sides. These rooms are the most representative rooms of the house and are accordingly furnished with the best furniture. They are used for receiving guests and sometimes as the main living room for the family. Especially in the cold winter months, these rooms provide a lot of comfort during the day as they are warmed up by direct solar gain. Balcony constructions in domestic architecture exist only in Ladakh. They are attached to the kitchen and used for drying

herbs. The long but narrow balconies provide just enough space to step outside. They are constructed by extending the ceiling joists of the rooms underneath about 80 cm beyond the exterior wall. The railings are built with mud bricks. Commonly, there is a representative array of timber windows behind the balcony. A protruding shingtsag made of timber and mud bricks is built on top of the balcony providing weather protection. In Pome, Kandze, Dawu, Bumthang and Phobjikha, the floors that hold the main living rooms are built almost entirely in timber. In Kandze, the timber facade is built as a mix of log structure and frame-and-panel wall. Cut into the log wall, the window openings are decorated with additional protruding frames and large carved panels above the window frame. The panels in the lower part of the openings are often decoratively assembled with sun wheel patterns. In some cases in Dawu, a decorative front facade is built in addition to the heavy log wall exposed in the interior. The window frames are placed directly into the log walls. The openings are closed with sliding timber shutters on the interior. In Bumthang and Phobjikha, most openings are placed into the timber frame wall of the rabsel (rab gsal) structure. Unlike in the other investigated regions where there are no openings in the back wall, it is very common in this area to also place a large window opening built as a rabsel structure in the massive back wall.

WINDOWS

265

Structural design

Window with timber grid and black plastered frame in Sanje Shigar House in Kongpo.

Ground floor window in Gye Tsang House in Lhoka.

Window and door in house in Dopo in Lhasa.

Window with decorative grid in Langste Tsang House in Chatreng.

Windows in Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa.

Window in Tchare Lumbu House in Minya.

266

Opening the wall: doors and windows

Window in house in Zhake, Gyalrong.

Window in Ringmo, Dolpo.

Small window in Thame, Khumbu.

Large window in the back wall in house in Ura, Bumthang Valley.

Small window in house in Ura, Bumthang Valley.

Small window in house in Eutsa in Phobjikha Valley.

267

Structural design

0

Window in Farkethang Gongma, Ladkah. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 28).

268

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4m

Opening the wall: doors and windows

0

1

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4m

Small window in Phobjikha Valley. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 190).

269

Structural design

0

Vertical section, exterior and interior view and horizontal section of Gye Tsang House in Lhoka (house shown on p. 60).

270

1

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4m

Opening the wall: doors and windows

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Small window in Thame in Khumbu. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 204).

271

Structural design

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Sacred room window with endless knot carving in Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 104).

SACRED ROOMS eternal knot (dpal be’ u), representing continuity and dependent origination as the underlying reality of existence (Beer 1999, p. 176, Cooper 1986, p. 93). Its geometric form is converted into a three-dimensional symmetrical carving. Elaborate examples of such patterns on interior doors leading to the houses’ sacred rooms were found in Dabpa and Chatreng. An endless knot motive placed at a domestic entrance door indicates that the building has a sacred room inside. The door frame and jamb of the sacred room in the Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa are decorated with a total of four different carvings. The first carving around the opening is an alternately left and right turning swastika pattern interspersed with longevity medallions. This pattern is followed by a carved lotus flower and the eternal knot. The jambs are carved with a complex floral pattern crowned with a small lotus at the door’s top.

The sacred functionality of rooms is indicated by specific decorations and carvings on the doors and window elements. Especially the door frames are carved with particular patterns arranged in a certain order. Starting form the inner side of the frame, the first row of painted or carved ornaments shows the semi-circular lotus flower ornament, followed by a row that is decorated with the symbol of the eternal knot. The composition of these two patterns is called pema chudzo in Lhasa Tibetan dialect. The lotus flower (pad ma) symbolizes purity, perfection, renunciation and divinity (Beer 1999, p. 37, Cooper 1986, p. 112). It is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the most common symbols in Tibetan art. As an ornamental form it is mostly painted, sometimes carved, on the timber as a repetitive semi-circular geometric pattern. Another element of the eight auspicious symbols frequently used is the

272

Opening the wall: doors and windows

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4m

Elaborately carved door of the sacred room in Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 104).

Sacred room window with endless knot carving in Dromi Tsang House in Dabpa.

Sacred room window in Tchare Lumbu House in Minya. Lintel carved with treasure vase and lotus flower symbol; the frame is carved with an eternal knot pattern.

273

Structural design

0

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Sacred room door in Dakchanga House, Ladakh. Exterior view, vertical and horizontal section (house shown on p. 40).

Sacred room door in Dakchanga House, Ladakh.

274

Opening the wall: doors and windows

0

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Sacred room window in the house in Thame, Khumbu. Exterior view, horizontal and vertical section (house shown on p. 204).

Sacred room window in the house in Thame, Khumbu.

View of the overhang assembly on the sacred room window in the house in Thame, Khumbu.

Sacred room window in Dolpo.

Eternal knot carving in Ladakh.

275

Structural design

Decorating the facade: ­ crowns and cornices

S 1:20

S 1:20

Isometric view of the cornice assembly in Kandze.

Isometric view of the cornice assembly in Dabpa.

Almost all of the documented houses have a variation of a timber cornice crowning the top of the outer walls, regardless of whether they are stone masonry walls, rammed earth walls, mud brick walls or timber walls. The cornice can adorn the entire house or only the representative front facades. In Chatreng and Chentsa, the cornices embellish only the interior facades in the courtyard and not the outer rammed earth walls. In general, the horizontal cornice band consists of an array of protruding short beams or round timbers with horizontal timbers laid on top. In many cases the timber assembly is covered with a layer of thin slate stones. The spaces between the protruding timbers are closed in several ways. In Kandze, for example, small wooden panels are used that are inserted into grooves in the short beams. This construction is similar to the compound elements over the windows and doors. In masonry walls the spaces between the protruding timbers are filled with stones, as for example in Dabpa. The projection of the short beams varies in the different regions. In Dabpa and Kongpo, for example, the protrusion is minimal, while it is quite significant in Kandze or Dawu, where they create overhangs of 40–50 cm over the wall. In some areas, the protruding beams are not inserted into the walls but are the protruding ends of the interior ceiling joists. In this case, the outer ends of the joists are hewn to a squared shape. To

achieve close intervals, additional short beams are set between the joists, as for example in Bumthang and Phobjikha. The timber of the decorative band is either painted or left untreated. Colors applied to the cornices vary widely from region to region. Cornices serve a threefold purpose: functional, symbolic and decorative. The functional purpose of the protruding cornice is to lead rain water away from the outer wall. The symbolic purpose is to indicate the function of the building or its parts and to express the social status of its inhabitants. For example, the residence of an honorable monk such as a Rinpoche is recognizable by red coloring and additional ornamentation of the cornice, such as the eternal knot and lotus flower decoration, called pema chudzo in Lhasa dialect. The more elaborate the cornice, the wealthier the inhabitants and the higher their status. A manor or mansion has more cornices than a farmhouse and more elaborate ones. Religious buildings are allowed to have more than two cornice bands, which often feature additional circular ornamentation. The traditional Tibetan cornice on monasteries includes an assembly of panbey (span bad) made of bound twigs colored in red, often decorated with gilded ornaments. Today, it has become common to equip residential buildings with such decorations.

276

Two cornice bands without the use of red stones on a smaller and more modest house that does not have a sacred room in Sumdu, Dabpa.

In Minya, the Tchare Lumbu House is crowned with a cornice style that is not built anymore. It consists of two layers of projecting beams set directly on top of each other within the masonry.

In Kandze, a double-layered cornice band runs on top of the rammed earth wall and the timber facade of the two main facades. The two arrayed layers of protruding beams are supported by brackets at regular intervals.

In Dawu, the cornice on top of the timber facade of the Gesang Tsang House consists of two layers of protruding timbers painted in white.

Recently built cornices in Minya have a different design. Each of the two layers of projecting beams is covered with a horizontal timber board while the spaces between the beams are filled with painted timber panels.

In Lhasa and Lhoka, the walls are crowned with a single-layered cornice band that is part of the parapet. A specific kind of very thin slate stone is used to protect the timber and lead the water away from the wall. The elevated roof corners are typical for these regions.

In Phobjikha and Bumthang, the bottom and top of the rabsel are decorated with a cornice band. The lower band is single-layered and made of the projecting ceiling joists with additionally inserted short beams.

In Pome, the timber facade is decorated with a timber cornice band, such as in the example of the house in Dzhongsa. The spaces between the protruding beams are painted with a triangular pattern.

In Chentsa, two layers of protruding beams are set on top of the timber facade facing into the courtyard. The load-bearing beams are decorated with carved timber ornaments.

277

Structural design

Closing the top: flat and sloped roofs

The flat roof is covered with a layer of twigs on top of the ceiling boards in the region of Kandze.

The first course of loam is placed as roof covering in the region of Kandze.

Final courses of clayey loam smoothed over the dried surface of the compacted loam in Ladakh.

Construction of roof parapet with thin sheets of slate stone in Ladakh.

FLAT ROOFS finely sieved clayey loam that is successively smoothed over the surface closing the cracks. Under the rain, the clayey loam swells a little, which adds additional seal. In Ladakh, Lhasa and Lhoka, the flat roofs have parapets that lead rainwater away from the wall and prevent moisture from penetrating it. The parapet tops are covered with a layer of thin slate stone. In some regions, the roof area is additionally water-proofed with pounded limestone. In other regions, a cantilevering roof cornice protects the wall. The flat roofs are built with minimal pitch that leads the rainwater off the roof to a timber gutter, which drops the water to the ground. The gutter is commonly made of a hollow timber log.

In the arid and semi-arid areas of the Tibetan cultural region, most houses have flat roofs. The roof covering consists of several layers on top of the timber post-and-beam construction. Layers of timber boards, bunches of twigs or sometimes slab stones are placed on top of the ceiling joists. If the ceiling is closed with timber boards, an additional layer of small slate stones is often placed on top of the timber. This assembly is covered with several layers of earth. The sealing of the roof is done in several courses: first the entire roof is closed with a thick layer of loam. The loam is manually compacted with timber rammers and left to dry. The drying causes the loam to shrink and to subsequently show cracks. The final layers consist of

278

Undressed sheets of slate stone prior to construction.

Thin slate stones placed on the protruding roof in Kham.

Dressed sheets of slate stone.

279

Structural design

In the region of Dabpa, the sloped roofs are closed with thin stone slabs.

Gabled wall in Dabpa.

Sloped roof with a gable wall in Kongpo. The roof is covered with layered timber shingles held by gabled branches at the edges.

Interior view of the timber shingles covering the roof in Kongpo.

SLOPED ROOFS In the areas with an annual or seasonal precipitation of more than 700 mm, such as Kongpo, Pome, Dabpa, Phobjikha, Bumthang and Khumbu, the houses are covered with sloped roofs. The main bodies of the houses in these areas are built in a compact layout to ensure full roof coverage. The supporting structure of the sloped roofs is invariably made of timber; the covering is made from timber or stone. In most cases the pitched roof structure is placed on top of a flat roof that is closed with earth. This construction provides a well-ventilated space between the sloped roofing and the building itself, which is used as additional storage space. The only exception is Khumbu, where the sloped roof structure is set directly on top of the upper floor and becomes part of the living room underneath. Commonly, the roofs have a pitch of less than 30 degrees. The roof structures in Bumthang, Phobjikha and Kongpo have large overhanging eaves, whereas in Dabpa and Khumbu the overhang is minimal. All the pitched roofs investigated here are examples for purlin roofs. The purlins are supported by posts; the ridge purlin may be additionally supported by a gable wall. Such gable walls can be found in stone houses of Kongpo, Bumthang and Khumbu. The posts and beams of the structure are often additionally connected by horizontal tie-beams. In

Khumbu, the outer purlins are supported by the stonewall of the house and additional posts along the wall. In Kongpo, Pome, Bumthang and Phobjikha, the outer skin of the roof is made of timber shingles. In Dabpa and Khumbu, the roof is covered with stone slabs. The stones are weighed down by their own mass without additional fixings. The large slabs of stone are several centimeters thick, making the roof covering durable and long-lasting with a life time of at least 75 years or even longer, while a wooden shingle roof requires regular maintenance. Several layers of shingles are placed in overlapping rows on top of the roof battens. The timber is left untreated. Every 3 years, the shingles are all turned. This process also serves to check every shingle and rotting or weak shingles are eliminated and replaced. The loose shingles are weighed down by round field stones placed on laths at regular intervals. In Kongpo, at the roof’s edges the shingles are held together by gabled branches. In Bumthang, the roof assembly consists of shingles (shing lep), roof battens (gram shing), rafters (bang ga), several purlins and posts. The posts and lowest purlins (lung si) are set on tie-beams (dhing ri) that are laid down on supports (kawa).

280

Closing the top: flat and sloped roofs

The timber shingles are weighed down by field stones in Kongpo.

Ridge purlin inside the living room in house in Thame in Khumbu.

Sloped roof of house in Thame in Khumbu covered with thin stone slabs.

Roof structure of house in Eutsa, in Phobjikha.

Sloped roof on house in Ura, Bumthang.

View of timber shingles of roof on house in Ura, Bumthang.

281

Structural design

Up and down: stairs and ladders

Ground floor stairs of Langste Tsang House in Chatreng.

The railing on the first floor of the house in Sushede, Kandze.

Ground floor stairs of the house in Sushede, Kandze.

Ground floor stairs of Gye Tsang House in Lhoka.

STAIRS Most of the stairs found in the houses presented in this book are cheek stairs. The cheeks of these stairs are made of sturdy pieces of timber and each step is inserted into a carved slot. The railings are mostly made of long round timbers attached to those cheeks. The stairs found in Phobjikha and Dolpo are an exception to this rule. Here the steps are not built from individual elements but the entire staircase is carved out of solid timbers. In Phobjikha, two or three such carved timbers are assem-

bled to provide a wider staircase. The simplest form of stairs is found in Dolpo, where the steps are most commonly carved into one heavy log. This narrow notched log ladder is set at a steep angle and built without the support of a railing. Such notched log ladders are also common in other regions, where they are set on the house’s exterior or the terrace to provide access to the roof. They are commonly held in place by heavy stones.

282

Stairs made of three solid carved timbers in the house in Eutsa, Phobjikha.

Steps carved into one solid timber provide access to the roof of the Langste Tsang House.

Stairs made of two solid carved timbers in another house in Phobjikha.

Stairs in Thame, Khumbu.

Notched log ladder in the house in Ringmo, Dolpo.

283

Stairs in Dakchanga House in Ladakh.

Tibetan houses – vanishing or changing?

WHAT IS TIBETAN? rials available, and the technology (the tools for achieving the desired environment). I will call the socio-cultural forces as primary and the others as secondary or modifying. (Rapoport

The farmhouses documented in the previous chapters have ­refuted the notion of a coherent, let alone uniform ‘Tibetan architecture’. In fact, the many differences in terms of building materials, styles, sizes, construction methods, functional differentiation etc. have unmasked this idea as a chimera with no support from evidence on the ground. Neither battered rammed earth walls nor flat roofs nor the arrangement of functions can serve as meaningful criteria to delineate something like Tibetan rural architecture. On the contrary, what we have seen is an immense richness and diversity in terms of design, materials and building techniques, resulting in solutions that are meticulously adapted to the availability of local resources and micro-climatic conditions. The integration in local physical conditions and local material circuits is in fact something that traditional Tibetan farmhouses have in common with the dwellings of other ethnic and cultural groups in the Himalayas. They show an almost symbiotic relationship between man and nature that extends well beyond the premise of securing private wellbeing; it is imbedded in circular concepts of space, resources as well as social and economic networks. Detlef Kantowsky (1985, pp. 135ff) called those concepts ‘Mitwelt’ in contrast to German ‘Umwelt’ (‘together-world’ in contrast to ‘surrounding-world’). They include the efficient use and re-use of resources based on a strong undercurrent of shared values and beliefs. While the ‘Mitwelt’-concept can be taken as a generalized model of a traditional man-environment relationship, it becomes­ concrete only as part of a cultural system. Amos Rapoport, in his seminal book on House Form and Culture from 1969, showed that climate, defense needs, materials, technology etc. are important factors but not determinants of built form: My basic

1969, p. 47). Using this explanatory model, it becomes­logical why certain details with a cultural-religious connotation have migrated from Kham to Khumbu and Bhutan and from Lhasa to Ladakh, while other details and the overall shape of the house were adapted to the local requirements and weather conditions. If Rapoport’s hypothesis holds true for the Tibetan region, it must be possible to identify certain culturally defined elements that make the Tibetan architecture different, if not unique compared to other cultures in the region. Which are they? Beatrice Diamond Miller (1993, pp. 222ff.) asked questions such as “Is there Tibetan culture(s) without Buddhism?” and “… one may ask, whether or not Buddhism’s ‘cognitive framework’ really still affects all (or most) aspects of Tibetan culture(s)...” (ibid. p. 224). In the context of our investigation it seems that many aspects of the vernacular architecture – even today – are in fact affected by Tibetan Buddhism or Bon. Tibetan rural architecture seems inextricably linked with Tibetan Buddhism split into its various sects, Bon traditions and various local beliefs and practices. Together, these play the ‘primary role’ in Rapoport’s sense, which is overlaid by other factors such as climate, terrain, interaction with other groups, etc. Buddhism and Bon and their manifestation in a scholarly monastic system along with local traditions and beliefs provide the powerful and complex cultural reference frame not only for the daily lives of people but also for shaping their built environment. As a consequence, this frame manifests itself in material aspects such as architectural form, details and artifacts as well as in non-material aspects ­such as rites and ceremonies. All these manifestations together re-affirm the cultural reference system across languages, large distances and nationalities. They provide identity and at the same time space for variation and diversity. Some of the physical expressions of this cultural bond are shown in the images in this chapter.

hypothesis, then, is that house form is not simply the result of physical forces or any causal factor, but is the consequence of a whole range of socio-cultural factors seen in their broadest terms. Form is in turn modified by climatic conditions (the physical environment which makes some things impossible and encourages others) and by methods of construction, mate-

284

Lhato on the rooftop of a private house in Kibber, Spiti.

Lhato on a rooftop in the village of Marpha in the Kali Gandaki Valley, Nepal.

Prayer flags assembled on mountain slope in Kham.

Textile chorten in Northern Kham.

285

Lukhang in Paro Valley, Bhutan.

Tibetan houses – vanishing or changing?

Lukhang in the Ura Valley, Bhutan.

Shrine adorned with juniper twigs for the earth spirits in Tar, Ladakh.

Chorten dedicated to Chenrezig, near the Amnye Machen Mountains in Amdo.

Textile tower above Metu Village in Pome.

Wall of carved stones demarcating one of the village entrances of Sumdu, Dabpa.

Stone chorten marking the boundary of Sumdu Village, Dabpa.

Passage chorten marking the entrance to Bhijer Village in Upper Dolpo.

286

The artifacts shown in the images receive significance, sense and power through their non-physical connotation. A wider concept of space is manifested in a wide range of rituals and practices performed to ensure a harmonious coexistence with other beings sharing the lived space. This becomes evident when humans alter the landscape, for example, by excavating rocks, digging earth or cutting trees – and building houses. Circumambulations on a regional level such as the Grand Bon Kora in Dolpo (see Kind 2012, pp. 69ff.) or on village level as described for example for villages in Northern Nepal (see Gansach 2003, pp. 39ff.) or Eutsa in Bhutan (see p. 190) are expressions of the cyclic re-creation of the lived space. Rituals like these express a sacred dimension of space structured by landmarks (chorten or sacred mountains) and thresholds (boundaries) ­demarcating the inside and the outside of a cultivated area. Such rituals are common in various forms throughout the Himalayas. The existence of sacred rooms, even in small and very modest houses, and complicated construction rituals are other indicators­of the importance attributed to the cosmic dimension of lived space. In addition to all physical expressions of socio-religious bonds there is also the affiliation of villages and people to monasteries which are either part of the settlement itself or are located nearby. Monks play an essentially important role in the construction processes, lifecycle rituals and domestic rituals.­

rowing’ details and decorative elements previously allowed for religious and feudal buildings only as an exclusive distinction of the sacred from the profane or the powerful from the ordinary. A constant trickle-down effect of those elements first to the more affluent classes and later to a wider social group as a sign of status led to the propagation of previously restricted details and ornaments. Changes based on this mechanism led to a broad and sustained refinement of vernacular architecture – but never eroded its core. Technical knowledge and knowledge about its cultural implications, associated rituals and their ‘indigenous communication’ (see Mundy and Compton 1999) to wider geographic areas and other social groups have always been the key for an enduring balance between progress and conservation. The second cause of changes became effective with modern transportation, the introduction of non-local building materials and improved access to previously remote areas. New building styles and techniques intruded into the value systems of local people, changing their priorities and their relation to the environment. Modern kitchen facilities, often added to the old clay stoves or iron stoves, are one example from the interior of houses. As shown in the images from Ladakh, the traditional composite lintel construction of the shingtsag is replaced by technically and aesthetically poor replicas made of concrete. Some of these changes, such as the introduction of bigger windows, make life easier or more comfortable; others merely serve the demonstration of modernity and status based on values from outside the local cultural realm. A third factor of change can be seen in the growing tourism industry and a widespread exposure to external values through TV, media and traveling. These factors in combination propel the transformation process towards new architectural elements. Throughout history, ruptures in the development of vernacular architecture have always been existent. Forced or voluntary migration, as for example in the case of Bhutan or parts of Kham where a sloped roof had to be added to cope with heavy rains are a case in point. However, these changes did not erode the underlying cultural core of vernacular architecture, or in Rapoport’s words the ‘primary socio-cultural forces’ of build-

WAYS TO THE FUTURE: CONTINUITY AND RUPTURES Architecture without architects has never been static but rather continuously changing due to external factors and internal developments. Over a long period of time, changes in vernacular architecture in the Tibetan cultural region were triggered by conquests, migration and the influence of different Buddhist schools. With improved accessibility, exposure to the outside world and the political developments in the 20th century, changes even in remote areas have gained pace. One of the fundamental mechanisms underlying changes of the traditional rural architecture has been the practice of ‘bor-

287

Tibetan houses – vanishing or changing?

Chorten in the vicinity of the Bhijer Village in Upper Dolpo.

Window decorated with carvings previously reserved for religious buildings in the region of Kandze.

Cornice on village house with monastic elements in the Chatreng Region.

Richly decorated entrance door to a residential building in the Kongpo Region.

Richly decorated house in Minya. Window carvings, framings, cornice and additional cornice decoration realized with tiles.

288

Cement-plastered wall with mimic traditional lintel.

Replica of overhanging lintel structure (shingtsak) made of prefabricated concrete elements in Ladakh.

Formwork for a replica of a post head in concrete in Leh, Ladakh.

House in the region of Minya with a sloped ‘Chinese’ roof structure covered with ceramic roof tiles, placed on top of the flat roof.

New house in the region of Kongpo. The wooden shingles are replaced by corrugated tin in bright purple. The masonry is covered with ceramic tiles.

Contemporary house in the region of Lhoka. The masonry is completely covered with ceramic tiles. Metal frames hold the window openings.

289

Tibetan houses – vanishing or changing?

Rammed earth wall ruptured by cement bricks in Amdo.

Traditional mud brick construction mixed with reinforced concrete elements in Ladakh.

New style of stone masonry with industrially dressed stone and plastic windows placed in timber frames in a house in the region of Dabpa.

Glazed room attached to a house in Amdo.

ing. To a certain extent this is also true for contemporary value changes or technological innovations. They do not necessarily destroy the undercurrent of traditional knowledge and values. However, the speed of changes, together with the incompatibility of many modern technologies with traditional building techniques and materials leads to inconsistencies. An insider, Tashi Rabgyas, points to the economic advantages of tourism, looking at culture ‘as a burden’ (Rabgyas 2004, p. 30). He argues that the changes occurring in Ladakh will not touch the resilience of Buddhism as the cultural root. This may be true in general terms, but regarding vernacular architecture, changes result in a partial reversion of values and a clear shift of priorities to more comfort, bigger houses, bigger industrially produced windows and the introduction of modern technologies. Photovoltaic elements on the roofs bring light into the darkness of the homes in remote villages, but at the same time the car batteries used for storing electric power create a health hazard villagers are not prepared for. Another example is the use of cement and concrete for sealing flat roofs or in combination with traditional rammed earth walls. The clash of these materials causes cracks and structural damages deriving from their different properties. In contrast to the view of the inhabitants, who for various reasons tend to embrace the benefits of

modern technology, conservation experts portray the transitory stage of architecture as a loss of cultural heritage. The most serious threat to traditional rural architecture is the erosion of the ‘socio-cultural root forces’ which affects social and economic structures and as a consequence also the building culture. The related changes tend to break what has been depicted by Detlef Kantowsky’s model of man-nature relationship. This relationship implies a cyclic relationship between man, matter as well as non-material forces. Klaus Seeland (1980 and 1985) called those cycles ‘pre-modern ecology’ because they are ensuring the future availability of (local) natural resources through pre-modern concepts of space, resources and mechanisms, and thus ensure long-term sustainability. The importance of placating the spirits of the soil and the air, special traditional regulations for cutting wood and digging for loam, the complicated rituals for preparing the ground and constructing a building have to be seen as parts of this concept, in which construction is integrated in a larger cosmological concept of creating and recreating human habitat. Despite historic evidence of its resilience, this concept seems increasingly endangered; not so much by technical changes but rather by social and economic changes. Many villages in Central Bhutan, for example, have an aging population left be-

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Solar hot water system installed on the roof of a house in Jiaju, Gyalrong.

Old timber windows salvaged from the old Gye Tsang House, used for decoration with additional metal frames. All surfaces are tiled.

New house with sloped roof in Central Tibet

Green house attached to a house in Ladakh.

hind by a young generation who goes for studies and jobs to the capital Thimphu or to India. Villages are thus depending on remittances from the next (urbanized) generation who comes for visits only once or twice a year. When asked for the future of their houses and the village culture, villagers have no answer. Trends like this are common in many parts of the Tibetan cultural region. Not only do they erode the economic base of villages, they also tend to break up their cultural foundations based on a complex body of local knowledge, resources, traditional technology, mutual help, principles of sharing and exchange. Traditional technologies require the local presence of people and a smooth transmission of knowledge from generation to generation. Another example are parts of the Tibet Autonomous Region where semi-nomadic tribes have been settled in villages, requiring them to abandon their previous physical environment and complex economic and cultural background. The architecture of those new ‘Tibetan’ villages displays a newly constructed Tibetan identity, which is mimicking some traditional elements but is devoid of the consistence and significance of traditional architecture (see Herrle 2008 on the construction of identity). However, there are also cases that give rise to the notion that the antagonism between modernization and tradition dominat-

ing the debates about the conservation of architectural heritage can be resolved. These solutions oscillate between what may be called ‘modernized traditions’ and – viewed from the opposite end – ‘indigenized modernities’, the latter term proposed by Jyoti Hosagrahar (2005, p. 2) who asks himself whether there are ‘other’ modernities beyond the one that originates from the West and/or colonial influences. For reasons we can only speculate about, in some regions, people continue to build their houses using traditional materials and construction methods. Maybe they do so because traditional architecture provides a counterbalance to a felt loss of identity, or because local materials are cheaper and have low transportation costs, or because the local materials provide a more comfortable inhouse climate and better insulation. In any case, the new houses are bigger, have bigger windows and offer more space and comfort. Yet, still based on the local traditions and knowledge, they represent an impressing degree of continuity, identity and aesthetic strength. New houses in parts of Kham, Amdo and other places provide evidence for this trend. Bhutan is a unique case where architecture in villages, including vernacular buildings, has been adopted by the government as a key policy issue (see Herrle et al. 2014). Strict regulations on rural architecture to preserve the local identity are comple-

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Tibetan houses – vanishing or changing?

New house in the region of Dawu.

New house in Seragung, Chatreng.

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New house in Chemre Valley, Ladakh.

Extension of an existing rammed earth house in Chatreng.

House construction in the southern region of Dawu (Bomei), with plastic windows on the ground floor.

Enlarged corner window in a new house in Upshi, Ladakh.

mented by restrictions on the use of timber and a strong commitment for environmental protection. The introduction of corrugated tin sheets as roofing material may be considered as counterproductive but in reality helped to secure the forest ecosystem and preserve the architectural heritage. This policy has contributed to preserving the rural architecture at an impressive level of consistency, which seems to be quite in contrast to the architectural appearance in urban areas. Bhutan has a longstanding experience in guiding and moderating the process of change and modernization in architecture without sacrificing the cultural roots. Flexibility and practicability seem to be key factors for the continuity of the rural building culture. Marc Dujardin reports a case where the village community decided to relocate the village deity (Dujardin 2003, p. 33), because the new highway was believed to harm the Tsengkhang, i.e. the shrine of the deity. This example shows that traditional systems can adapt to modern requirements if new solutions are flexible and enjoy the support from government. Encouraging examples for ‘modernizing traditions’ point towards a possible way to the future that avoids the destruction of cultural assets by a one-sided economic modernization process on the one hand and a merely physical conservation of buildings neglecting the needs of its inhabitants on the other.

The entry points to such a path lie with a clear commitment and consistent government policies as well as with the encouragement of local communities to further improve traditional buildings to provide better living conditions. Most vernacular farmhouses in the region are part of diverse and complex ‘cultural landscapes’ (see Heyd 2002 on the nature-culture dichotomy). The term ‘cultural landscape’ has become a category for protection in the World Heritage Convention, representing “combined works of nature and of man [… that…] are illustrative of the evolution of the human society and settlement over time, under the influence of the physical constraints and/or opportunities presented by their natural environment and of successive social economic and cultural forces, both external and internal.” (UNESCO 2012, p. 14). Although none of our examples is located in a UNESCO-registered area, this definition perfectly describes the complexity of vernacular housing and its vulnerable economic and socio-cultural systems on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayas. Without the recognition of local needs and the involvement of residents and house owners, efforts to secure the continuation of vernacular architecture as a cultural asset and source for identity may be in vain.

293

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The project team

THE AUTHORS

Dr. Peter Herrle is professor emeritus at Technische Universität Berlin, where he was professor for International Urbanism and the director of the Habitat Unit at Faculty VI until 2012. He is also a permanent advisory professor at the College for Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) at Tongji University in Shanghai and consultant to international development organizations. Inspired by travels and studies in Central Asia and the Himalayas over the past 30 years, Herrle initiated a comprehensive four year research project on vernacular farmhouse architecture in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau, which he also led as principal investigator. He published extensively on architectural and urban development issues including architecture and identity, housing and governance and is founding editor of the ‘Habitat International’ series at LIT Publishers as well as co-editor of the ‘Megacities and Global Change’ series at Steiner Publishers.

Anna Wozniak served as senior researcher in the research project on vernacular farmhouse architecture in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau. Since 2004, she has been extensively involved in architectural survey and conservation projects in Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh and Tibet cooperating with NGOs and government organizations. She graduated from Technische Universität Berlin in 2008 with a design project in Leh, Ladakh. Wozniak currently works as a freelance architect mainly in the Tibetan cultural region focusing on traditional building techniques and sustainable development in rural areas. She takes a special interest in rammed earth building technologies.

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MEMBERS OF THE RESEARCH TEAM

Daniel Rudolf Becker started his career as a journeyman in carpentry. He then obtained a master’s degree in architecture from Technische Universität Berlin in 2012. After graduating, he was working with German Welthungerhilfe in Nepal designing community centers and ‘Green Schools’. Since 2014, Becker has been working as shelter delegate for the German Red Cross in Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Throughout his career, an important focus of his work has been on participatory processes and the engagement of local skills and knowledge in planning and building processes.

ment. Borschewski first experienced rural Tibetan architectural heritage while taking part in a field trip to Kham in Sichuan in 2012. After this experience, she became a member of the team. She now works as an architect in an architectural firm in Stuttgart since 2015. Giacomo Ceccarelli holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Construction Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan. He continued his studies at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and worked as a freelance architect in Amsterdam and Berlin. Inspired by a survey on architectural heritage in Ladakh, he joined the team of the research project on Himalayan vernacular architecture for surveys and thematic mapping in the Khumbu Region, Nepal, in 2013. Ceccarelli graduated from Technische Universität Berlin in 2015 with a master thesis on eco-development for Madhyapur-Thimi in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Together with Anna Wozniak he is currently working on a project for sustainable development of rural areas in Sichuan, China.

Peter Berten is professor emeritus at Technische Universität Berlin, where he was head of the Design and Building Theory Unit from 1995 to 2006. He is a member of the teaching team for a postgraduate master’s program in real estate management and urban development. He was visiting professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) at Tongji University in Shanghai and worked as a freelance architect and in partnership with architects, urban planners and engineers in Berlin in a wide range of projects including housing, urban rehabilitation and preservation. Berten also worked on the development of prototypes for timber-frame constructions including energy-saving concepts and received the German timber-frame construction award.

Lena Marike Wellmann holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from RWTH Aachen University and a master’s degree in Architecture from Technische Universität Berlin. Throughout her master studies, she has been dealing with architecture and urbanization issues in Asia. Through her experience in building survey work in Germany, Bhutan, Syria and Lebanon she has developed a special interest in architectural heritage documentation and conservation. Wellmann’s master thesis highlights questions of building culture and modernization in Bhutan. She has been part of the research team from the beginning. Since 2015, she works as an architect and freelance researcher in Berlin.

Nadja Borschewski graduated in interior design from the Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Design at OWL University of Applied Sciences, where she specialized on housing and hospitality architecture. She then continued her architectural studies at Technische Universität Berlin. After graduating with a master’s degree, she worked for several architectural firms and the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environ-

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Picture credits

Page 20 Photograph taken by Sven Hedin in 1907. We thank Mr. Håkan Wahlquist from the Sven Hedin Foundation at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm for generously providing us with a high resolution scan of this image and granting the permission to reprint it.

Page 22 Two black and white photos by Albert Tafel reprinted from Albert Tafel 1914, plates XXIX and XXXI. Reprinted with the permission from the Leipzig-Institute für Länderkunde. Page 23 Two black and white photos by Arnold Heim from 1930. Reprinted with the permission of ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv.

Page 21 Three watercolor drawings by Sven Hedin published in Sven Hedin 1909 vol. II plate opposite p. 348. Reprinted with kind permission of Mr. Håkan Wahlquist from the Sven Hedin Foundation at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. Mr. Wahlquist provided us with a high resolution file of the bottom one of these three drawings.

Page 23 Sketches from Eduard Imhof dated Sept. 14th, 1930. Reprinted with the permission of ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv and Ms. Beatrice Imhof, granddaughter of Eduard Imhof.

Page 22 Two drawings by Eduard Imhof. Reprinted with the permission of ETH-Bibliothek, Sammlungen und Archive/Bildarchiv and Ms. Beatrice Imhof, granddaughter of Eduard Imhof.

Copyrights of all photos, sketches and drawings other than those mentioned above belong to the authors.

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Layout, cover design and typesetting Miriam Bussmann, Berlin Project management Henriette Mueller-Stahl, Berlin Copy editing Esther Wolfram, Hamburg Production Katja Jaeger, Berlin Paper Hello Fat Matt 1.1, 135g/m2 Lithography [bildpunkt] Druckvorstufen GmbH, Berlin Printing Medialis Offsetdruck GmbH, Berlin Cover illustration House in Kandze, east elevation, color rendering by Lena Marike Wellmann

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the German National Library The German National Library lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in other ways, and storage in databases. For any kind of use, permission of the copyright owner must be obtained. This publication is also available as an e-book (ISBN PDF 978-3-0356-0868-2). © 2017 Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH, Basel P.O. Box 44, 4009 Basel, Switzerland Part of Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Printed on acid-free paper produced from chlorine-free pulp. TCF ∞ Printed in Germany ISBN 978-3-0356-1031-4 987654321 www.birkhauser.com