House of
Adi Tribes
Arunachal Pradesh
INTRODUCTION
● Located in Arunachal pradesh, northeast India.
● Typical Adi homes are raised on slits which stores firewood and
poultry.
● Specific names are given to each part of Adi homes and it has
unique functional significance.
FEATURES
Usually built in rectangular shape.
Size varies according to the numbers of family members .
Construction Materials: bamboo,palm,cane and timber.
Constructed mostly in east-west direction so that it
receives maximum sunlight.
● The number of housed per village ranges from 13-400.
● The plot for construction is chosen based on some rituals.
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CONSTRUCTION
● Main material-Bamboo
● 23 varieties of trees are used for construction.
● The front spaces of the house serves two main purposes.
-outer front spaces called Tunggo gotek is used for drying
grains,seeds,clothes and also serves as sit out in the
evenings especially during summer.
-Inner front space called Tumggo go rang is used for
weaving,storing dried grains and social space to spend
time with guests.
● There are 1-3 doors but no windows.
● Walls are made of timber and bamboo. The walls near the
main door is decorated with skulls of hunted animals like
dears, wild boars,pigs and domesticated animals.
● The central part of the building is a fireplace. This area has
mud flooring.
● For roofing, most preferred material is leaves of teak. The
leaves above fireplace lasts longer for 8-10 years whereas
leaves of other areas lasts4-5 years.
● Time taken to build a house is just 1-2 days depending on
the number of people involved and the size
● Participation of both men and women is seen during
construction.
Walls decorated with ammal skulls
Fireplace
COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF THE
BUILDING MATERIALS
● The collection time of materials for building an Adi house
depends upon the waxing and waning of the moon.
● Leaves used for thatching are collected two weeks before
the construction of the house.
● Raw materials used for construction and thatching leaves
are collected within three days before the new moon.
● The materials collected before new moon are said to be
free from infection and lasts long whereas others don’t.
CHANGING DESIGN OF ADI HOUSE
Major changes in the design of
traditional Adi house include
● addition of windows with
glass pane
● addition of ceiling below the
thatched roof
● dividing the undivided inner
space of the house to several
rooms
● Leaves being replaced by
sheets
ADVANTAGES
● Promotes
sustainable
architecture and
encourages usage of
bamboo as a major
construction
Material.
● Resistant to
earthquake because
of its lightweight
construction.
DISADVANTAGES
● Longitivity of this type of
house is 10-12 years by
replacing its roofing
material every 3-5 years.
● Wooden foundation geys
damaged due to bacterial
action and there is danger
of structure collapsing.
● During heavy rainfall roof
starts leaking.
Thank you ….
Fathima Farha EM
S3 Barch