During the celebration of any festival, if you visit a Santal village one thing that would surely grab your attention are the beautiful and colorful houses.
The amazing thing about those houses is that most of them have been built by the ancestors of the people living there without even hiring any worker or labor.
Santal tribe is the third largest tribal community in India. Most of the Santal population are poor, marginalized and live a simple life. Without a steady source of income for most, the only way to live a decent lifestyle is to use all the natural resources around them in an efficient and prudent way.
In this article, I am going to tell you about traditional Santal architecture.
Through years of experience and knowledge Santals have developed these structure of houses starting from from simple tree branch houses to two-floor mud houses. These houses are simple yet elegant and require minimal investment, so that even a family without a steady source of income can make them.
I am well aware of this fact because we have had one clay house for over 40 years. The walls and floors of the house were smooth and was almost 14 feet high. I was amazed when I discover that the house was made entirely of mud and was made by my grandparents by themselves.
The only drawback of these mud houses is that it needs good care and maintenance every year. So, as you can see before any festival, all the village women are busy with mud and clay to take care of their houses.
Making of the Walls
Traditionally, the walls are mainly made of mud. Nowadays, they make it with bricks as well.
The first step for building the house is preparing a mixture of clay for the wall. This mixture consists of a good quality clay which becomes hard when its dry and hay dust or rice hulls (outer shell of rice grain).
After mixing the clay, hay dust/ rice hulls and water, it is left aside for a few days. The extra water evaporates and the mixture achieves appropriate texture and strength. Now, using that mixture they make the walls.
The width of the wall is generally around 40 cm. When the mud wall is completely dry, it is coated with a layer of clay to get a smooth finish.
This wall is as strong as brick walls and can last very long if good care is taken.
Making of Roof
There are various types of roof structures popular among Santal people. The roof’s basic frame is made of Sal wood and bamboo, similar to the structure found in wooden houses.
For the ridge beam, king post and main rafter, Sal logs with over 15 cm thickness are used. The common rafter and other supporting beams are made with bamboo, which is ripped into two-parts and nailed to make grids. After that clay tiles or hay shade is put on top of it.
The Floor
The mud floors of any Santal houses are as smooth as any modern house floors if maintained properly. To keep the floor smooth it is needed to be coated with cow dung at least once per week. I have discussed the coating process in detail below.
Maintenance of the house
Mud Plaster: The wall needs a plaster to protect it. Village women put layers of mud and cow dung mixture to make the walls smooth. The walls needs at least three to four layers of mud to achieve an even surface for the first time. But later, to maintain the wall two layers of mud is enough to get the desired result.
When the last layer is almost dry, a stone is rubbed over it to get a better finish.
Cow dung as a primer before paint: Now, when the mud plaster is completely dry, they apply a diluted cow dung layer like a primer before painting the wall. This layer is necessary, because without this layer, if color is put on the mud wall, the smoothness of the wall will be ruined. This also works as a protective layer for the wall.
For the floor, they mix cow dung with black color clay which makes the floor look elegant. They also prepare the black pigment by burning hay.
Coloring the wall: Santals mainly use natural color in the whole process. The process of coloring the wall is called “Patao”. First, they dilute white clay (Kaolin Clay) with water and coat the wall using a piece of cloth. Two layers of white clay are put to get a perfect finish. Then they carve various designs on it with their fingers.
In addition to the above, they also draw a picture representing a folktale or flowers with colour.
Parts of the House:
The Santal houses are always rectangular and it is divided into five-parts.
- Bonga Orah (worship room): This room is used to worship the spirit of their ancestor and only members of that family can enter. This room is prohibited for other members. Daughter of a family loses her right to enter this room after her marriage and gets the right to enter the Bonga Orah of her husband’s house.
- Gitich Orah (Bedroom)
- Gora Orah (Cowshed)
- Daka Orah (Kitchen)
- Racha (Courtyard)
Also Read: Is modernity a threat to Santhal culture?
The different structures of Santal House:
Let us now discuss the different types of housing structure which are popular among Santal people.
Jhanti Orah
Jhanti means sticks. In this type of houses, the whole house is made of mainly bamboo sticks or bamboo-like long, thin branches. The roof is made of hay/ palm tree leaves or other similar kinds of leaves which can sustain for a long time.
These houses have no window or strong door and the height of the house can be up to 7ft. Cow dung is mixed with water sprayed in the walls so that animals do not eat the leaves and branches used to make the house.
Presently, Jhanti houses are rare as they do not provide security nor privacy for the family living there. Jhanti houses are mainly found at the end of villages and are used for selling Handi (Rice Beer).
Kumbah Orah
Kumba Orah is a little improvement over Jhanti orah. It is similar to a Jhanti orah in shape and height but more secure. The walls are made of thin branches but on top of that, a layer of mud is put to make it a bit stronger.
For the roof, firstly bamboo or big Sal log is used for beam and column; then bamboo is ripped into two halves and it is used to make roof grid. On top of that hay or palm leaves are used for shade.
Chatom Orah
Chatom (umbrella) house looks like an umbrella. In today’s date, it is rare and the headman of the village used to have Chatom Orah for meetings or gatherings.
Buruj Khunti Orah
Buruj means tower and khunti means log or piece of wood. So, Buruj Khunti Orah is a house with a roof made of a strong wooden log and has a portion supported with towers.
These types of houses are big and strong. The wall is made of mud and rice husks. Hay or clay tiles are used for shade. The roof in front of the house is extended and that extended part is supported by towers. This extended part is used as a veranda.
Aath Chala Orah
The modified pattern of Buruj khunti Orah that has eight inclined roofs is called aath Chala (eight roofs) orah/house. Aath Chala house was popular among affluent Santal families.
However, without the extended four inclined roofs, the house is called Chaar-Chala (Four roofs) house.
Kotha Orah (two-floor house)
Traditionally, the Manjhi (Headman) of the village used to have a two-floor house. It is the sign of a wealthy family. From outside it looks like Buruj Khunti house or eight roof house.
Conclusion:
The Santals collect all the necessary materials, wood and ore for coloring from the forest. Every Santali family owns bamboo bushes as it is essential to make and maintain a house. When a family plans to stay permanently in a place, they always plant a bamboo tree in their backyard.
That’s all my friends. If you have anything to ask or add please let me know in the comments below. If you like this article, do not forget to share.
Feature Image Credit: Saheb Ram Tudu