As we travel from south to the north-eastern part of India, the terrain changes drastically — the shades of green grow lush, the twists in roads increase exponentially. Be it the gushing Brahmaputra and the river banks, the verdant, lofty mountains of Nagaland, or the swirly Meghalaya, fondly known as the abode of clouds, the vastness and diversity of the Northeast is unfathomable.
But as one drives along these girdling mountains, valleys, plateaus, and river banks, one of the common sights is stilted houses — that remain firmly perched on the undulating landscapes. These houses are elevated from the ground level and stand on strong poles, either bamboo, timber, or stones. They are built with the raw materials available to the local dwellers, and reflect the occupation of the inhabitants.
Structure and functionality
There was a time when people procured most of the materials from their immediate surroundings. They would construct houses near steep or plain farmlands, which mostly had community ownership.
Jagath K Dasan, an architect who has travelled across the terrains to understand the vernacular architecture, emphasises that bamboo houses built on Majuli island (the world’s largest river island) help stave off the moisture from the ground that remains marshy most of the time. He says that there are many houses nestled on the island with the same structure, characterised by bamboo stilts and a fireplace in the centre of the house, which is a gathering spot where people sit and cook. While the floors are made by splitting the bamboo, placing the sections across the beams, and fastening them with natural fibres, the walls are made by weaving the bamboo into mats. He says, “The bamboo is woven into long strips of mats and is sold in markets. These bamboo walls are further plastered with mud.” He says the floors have narrow gaps and can feel wobbly while walking. However, they are sturdy. These houses are commonly known as Ikra houses.
Pranab Kumar Dihingia, a contractor, who has grown up seeing the traditional architects of Assam, highlights the major communities of Assam — the Mising tribe, the Deoris, the Khelmas, and the Karbis — for whom stilted houses are a cultural highlight. For the Mising community, who dwell on the river banks of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, this low-cost technique of traditional chang ghar (stilted house) has been a saviour from floodwaters. Pranab informs, “These lightweight and flexible, yet tensile bamboo-made houses are also a protection from the attacks of wild animals, too.”
Traces of tradition
Explaining the familial tradition of the agrarian communities, Kasanchi Ch Sangma, a site engineer from Dobasipara, Meghalaya, comments that “the natives inherit large areas of land from their ancestors, and these patches of land aren’t sold to anyone, not even to someone from their own tribe.” This long-running practise of preserving ancestral land is one of the reasons why we don’t see dense population in the hills. She adds, “Most of the people here practice terrace farming, jhum cultivation. And just near the cultivation area, we see stilted houses, often used for relaxation.”
Delving into the intricacies of the houses, Kasanchi explains, “Stilted houses are generally made of a specific bamboo called baruwa bamboo or beru (Bambusa balcooa). Since this kind of bamboo has structural strength, it is used for columns (stilts) as well as walls and beams. Timber or wood called Macaranga peltata (Chagro among Garo tribe) is also widely used for the columns and beams.”
In the heavily forested village named Pangthi in Nagaland, rich in biodiversity, with hills on one side and a steep valley on the other, there is a small patch of habitation. A resident from this village, M Tsabemo Ngullie, recounts the days when they procured bamboo and timber from the dense groves, and says that the custom is being followed even today. On the peculiarities of these houses, called Zenki in Lotha (Nagaland’s local language), he says no metal fasteners were used in the entire process of making. “No nails were used to make the walls; people would weave ropes out of bamboo and lace the joints.”
There is a time to procure these raw materials. “Bamboo is tender during March to October, making it rot easily when exposed to moisture. So they are cut anytime between November and January,” shares Tsabemo. During this time, just before new shoots emerge, one can get drier bamboo stems. This also avoids any damage done to the growth of new shoots.
The roofing is usually thatch, which is changed every five years, says Tsabemo. Most often, new layers of roof — dried leaves from the forest and reeds — are added over the old ones, making it a thick and resilient roof bed. “When it rains heavily, we can’t even hear the pattering sounds of the raindrops. One can sleep peacefully even during heavy downpours,” Tsabemo chuckles. However, he laments that the roads are cut through the hills, which makes them fear landslides. “There was no such fear of landslides back then.”
He informs that the area between the ground level and the house is kept dry and cleaned regularly. This is where cattle and pets are housed. “This undercroft is protected by fences hewn out of mature bamboo.” The space is also used as a storage area. Granaries were often built in the same way the houses were made, but with urbanisation and people migrating to cities and outside, granaries are becoming a rare sight today.
These environment-friendly houses do not demand intense excavation and avoid much disruption to the ground underneath. On the uneven hilly terrain, the stilts are erected in a way that the base formed is flat, making it suitable for both steep and marshy terrain.
Today, modern materials are finding their way to even the hinterlands of the north-east. But a ride through the villages is a reminder that old knowledge and tradition haven’t left them. The people walk along nature, bearing in mind the vulnerabilities of the region.
The seismic zones: Sikkim now falls under the Seismic Zone IV/V, according to the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority. This means that the state falls into the category of the highest hazard zone. Jagath stresses that the “structures in Sikkim resist the seismic vibration using a mix of centuries-old indigenous building techniques.” He particularly speaks about the houses under which stones are stacked up to form the base. The stone below the structure absorbs the shock during an earthquake. During a heavy shock, “the posts slide slightly over the stones rather than transmitting all ground acceleration into the living area.” Jagath highlights that scaffolding of architecture, consisting of bamboo and timber, “relies on flexibility, low mass, and energy dissipation rather than structural rigidity”.