Buddhist Communities (b): Tai-Phake Vernacular Architecture

The Tai-Phake or the Phakial community migrated from Myanmar to Assam in AD 1775 as per the recorded history (Gohain:2009). This Buddhist group is well known for their expertise in the art of dying. They have an interesting tradition of maintaining the records of family history. “Holikboi’ is such a record in which genealogies of a particular family are recorded. The small population of the Phakials are concentrated in few villages of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.

1) The Architecture:

The Tai-Phake villages are usually situated near river, especially near the Dihing river. They live in a single, hip roofed stilt house (houn-hung), constructed in a wellmanaged campus, enclosed by bamboo fence (ta). The platform is constructed 5 to 6 feet above the ground and the underneath space is used for different purpose such as store different item such as firewood, to keep the cattle, or to establish the loom. The average length and breadth of a house is about 60 feet and 20 feet respectively. Earlier, the urium wood was used in the post of the houses.

The houses are usually constructed in north-south direction and the main door (chuptoo) faces the north cardinal direction. A ladder (hokkrai), placed in east-west direction is used to climb to the initial open veranda like space called patle. The kitchen (houn-on / hountang-khao) is a parallel separate structure on a slightly squatter platform. Apart from this house, a granary (yey) is constructed to the east of the main house.

The house is internally partitioned into compartments. The first room attached to the patle is known as kan-nok / houng-top, which is the living room where guests are entertained. In earlier days, the kan-nok had no enclosing walls. From the kan-nok, a corridor (taitin) leads to the inner compartments of the house. These compartments are used as bedroom (kan-non / ti-non) which do not possess any door. The southernmost rear room is called kanthou / kham-tang-chom / hongpai-fra, which is the domestic prayer room of the house. In the eastern wall of the kanthou, a raised and protruding platform altar is constructed in similar fashion of the khakfraa of Khamti people. This altar is called xingfra where icon of Buddha is kept for family prayer.

The room adjacent to the kanthou is the room for the main couple of the family. The main post of the house called phinam / chao-phi-nam remains in one of the corner of this room. The phinam post is regarded as sacred, auspicious and revered. Hence, there prevalent different taboo and this room have restricted entry. The other rooms are used by the other members of the house.

Constructed parallel to the residential house, the kitchen is approachable from the patle. The kitchen is partitioned into two halves and the inner half contains the fireplace (fang-fai) in an approximately central location. The other half is used as dining area where different household articles are also stored. The fang-fai is constructed on the bamboo platform with earth, held within a wooden frame. The fireplace supports a three-legged hearth called king. Above the fang-fai, a one or two-tiered hanging shelf called kha-phai is made while a ledge called khing is made in the opposite wall to keep utensils.

The kitchen possesses a back door, opposite to the main door, that leads to an open bamboo platform. This open platform, called chan / zann, is used as the scullery and to sun cloth. The prayer room kanthou is accessible from chan through a door. Sometimes, there remains two chan in a home . The chan is a very significant place of the house where elderly members sit and young members listen to different folktales or songs from them.

2) Construction Technique:

The construction of the Phake house starts with the ceremonial planting of the main post called phinam / chao-phi-nam, which is the penultimate post in the eastern row . In the pit of this post, they put different items such as turmeric mixed water, silver, stone, iron to please Earth God Fi- nin and for the prosperity (Gogoi &Gohain:2016). The house is supported by three rows of posts. The posts of the lateral two rows are called chao-pik, while the middle row posts are called chou-cham.

To construct the platform, the posts are notched at the height of 5 / 6 feet to attach the lengthwise member of houn. Above this, breadth-wise bamboo called twung / toung are laid at an interval of about 6 inches. The twung / toung are secured with a bamboos placed from below. These lengthwise bamboos called hoonfang or hounfwang are tied at interval of about 2 feet. Above the tung, bamboo splinter (splitting a bamboo to 4 or 6 splits) called kep in lengthwise direction. The kep supports the topmost layer of called phak, which is the bamboo split . The bottom sides of Phak are kept towards west, which are secured with cane strand placing bamboo splinter above.

After the construction of the platform, the roof truss is constructed. For this, first purlin and then common rafters are attached. It then supports the rafters (kon), over which palm frond are laid and secured for roofing. The walls are made of bamboo split or weave with bamboo splints that remain un-plastered. However, sometimes the walls of the kitchen are plastered with mud.

3) Beliefs and Rituals Associated with House:

The Phakes consult the almanac to select the site as well as fix the date to start construction. Generally, the Tai months of Nwun- cham (February), Nwun- chi (March), Nwun- chip- eyit (October), and Nwun- chip- chong (November) are favoured for construction of a new house (Gogoi & Gohain:2016).

There is prevalent different traditional belief, practices, and taboos in respect to construction of house. Thus:

The first son of the family usually does not undertake any auspicious work in Nun-Si (March) and the Second son in Nun-Sam (February), because it is considered taboo for them in those months as in the saying “Ai Kam Si, Ngi Kam Sam” (Ai-first son; Kam-taboo; Si-four /fourth month; Ngi-Second Son; Sam-three /third month). This taboo is followed by the Phakes. (Gohain:2015:110)

When Phake construct a new house, it is customary to link it with a rope to the old house. This is done to avoid a taboo if earthquake occurs. Thus, if the houses are not connected and an earthquake comes then certain parts of the house like a post, a plank, a rafter, and a leaf from the roof are to be removed and replaced before occupying the new house. Alternatively, the owner approaches the Earthquake deity, personified by a person, and asks his house back without any evil befalling on him to stay there in. Simultaneously, during construction of house, there hangs a piece of bamboo believing as a watchdog that prevents the climbing up of the evil spirit “Phikrep’ (Gohain:2015).

The chao-fi-nam post is regarded as residing place of the God or ancestor spirits (fi-nam) which is held with significance and reverence. So, nobody is allowed to touch the post anywhere. For any repairing work of the house, it is mandatory to offer prayer with flower before this post, after which only the post can be touched. They offer rice and curry on this post during the Poi-San-Ken festival, celebrated in the month of Bohag. The house is customarily purged too on this occasion. On the occasion of house warming, they arrange a ceremony called Mangala and invites the Bhante Baba who does the purifying of the house.