It's a quiet early morning. There is no other sound but birds chirping. Looming in the mist is a village dotted with fields, trees, and houses. As the mist thins, huge trees, brushy shrubs, dense bamboo forest, and a cluster of exquisite bamboo houses can be clearly seen. Curvaceous Dai women in colorful clothes are busy on their way to farmland, a bamboo basket hanging on each end of their shoulder poles. Thus starts a day's work. This pastoral scene is everywhere in the villages inhabited by the Dai ethnic group in the southwest frontier of China in Yunnan Province .

 Bamboo for shelter

Bamboo is a large part of the Dai life. They cook rice in bamboo tubes, store wine in bamboo containers, and live in bamboo houses.

The bamboo houses, a kind of railing-styled two-storey building, have been the Dai traditional dwellings for over a thousand years. The most typical bamboo structures are found in Xishuangbanna in Yunnan. A variety of tropical fruits like bananas, coconuts, and grapefruits, are planted around the houses, exuding a sense of exotic horticulture. Designed in an upside-down V shape, the roof acts as an ideal rain diverter in subtropical areas with heavy rain.

The lower storey, without enclosing walls, is for raising cattle and storing odds and ends. The upper storey, supported by dozens of wooden pillars, is over two meters high off the ground. It's the living quarters, consisting of a living room, a kitchen, and bedrooms.

The floor of the second storey is made of bamboo strips, polished to a shine after years of use. Through the slots of bamboo strips one can steal a glimpse of the downstairs. The center of the living room is covered with bamboo matting, where the Dai eat and receive guests. Hanging on the roof are various kinds of bamboo farm tools. Bamboo containers for fetching and storing water are placed on a balcony outside the living room. It's also where Dai women do their needlecrafts. Outsiders are not allowed to enter the bedrooms, which are separated from the living room by walls of bamboo strips. Slits in the bamboo strips always let a breeze into the house keeping it cool. The good ventilation keeps the house dry and comfortable to live in.

Page:

1

2

3

4

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.