What kind of houses do the Dai people live in?

The Dai people live in the houses of dry-fence construction

Since ancient times, the Dai people living in Xishuangbanna have taken the bamboo buildings of dry-fence construction as their traditional residence. In the flowery Dai village in Xishuangbanna, a unique form of bamboo buildings hidden in the bamboo and banana forest, countless winding paths linked to the bamboo buildings, often a symbol of peace and friendship between the forest waterfront peacock wings open screen, painted a picture of the enchanting scene.

The dry-stand bamboo buildings have a unique style, which has the advantages of comfort, hygiene, moisture-proof, insect-proof and so on.

The Dai family's bamboo building square, divided into the upper and lower two layers, the upper layer of people, about 2 meters from the ground, to a number of wood (or with a large bamboo) for the column. The lower floor without walls, used to raise livestock and stacking of goods. The roof of the bamboo floor is modeled as a hiatus, and the level is covered with grass rows. There is a staircase for climbing up, a corridor and a balcony for drying things and keeping cool. The interior is divided into two rooms by a bamboo fence, with the inner room being the master's bedroom and the outer room being the guest room. Inside the entrance of the guest room, there is a fire pit four or five inches above the ground for cooking, heating and lighting. The outer room is a place to receive guests, but also the center of indoor activities. Bedroom is a large room, men and women of several generations in the same room, the floor and lie down, only the use of black cloth mosquito nets, as the interval. The interior furnishings are simple, most of the utensils are bamboo products, except pots, pans and jars. The rest of the tables, stools, buckets, baskets, lunch boxes, etc. are made of bamboo gabions. The walls were mostly windowless, and the sunlight and wind penetrated through the cracks of these bamboo pieces. Outside the building, bamboo is used as a fence, and inside the mansion, there are strong and sturdy coconuts, tall pomelo trees, fruitful bananas, sweet and delicious papayas, and green and verdant bamboo bushes. A poetic and picturesque, embellished with a rich subtropical scenery.

The bamboo buildings of the Dai ethnic group have two major advantages.

One is that bamboo buildings can prevent mosquitoes and insects, moisture and wild animals.

The second is that the materials used to build bamboo buildings come from convenient sources, which are locally sourced and economical. The materials used by the Dai people to build bamboo buildings are mainly big green bamboo and a small amount of wood. Bamboo is a specialty of the Dai region, and the bamboo building roof covered with grass rows are locally grown thatched compilation and become, this system of grass rows of thatched broad sources, but also very economical. In addition, the Dai people to build a new house when the whole village to help each other's habits, a house, the whole village to send grass rows, gift bamboo, out of labor.

Therefore, the speed of the Dai people's construction of new houses is quite fast, and a bamboo building can be completed in just one day. When a new house is completed, the whole village goes to congratulate it. The Dai people's favorite folk singer "Zanha", more to their own songs to congratulate the master moved into a new home. The amount of Dai bamboo buildings has changed with the progress and development of the society. The most important change is in the building materials, from the dry-rail bamboo buildings gradually to wooden buildings, brick and wooden structures, and steel mixed structures. However, due to the Dai people's love for their own national traditional building forms, in addition to a small number of Dai people's homes to modernize the building changes, while most of the Dai people's homes still maintain the dry-rail type of building structures and shapes.