1. Introduction
   
   The traditional Tibetan houses of agriculture and pastoral areas are different: in the agriculture area, people live in the houses constructed with wood and stones, in the pastoral area, people live in tents mainly. We will separate our discussions accordingly.
   
   
2. House
   
   Depending on the availability of the materials, the Tibetan houses are built with more woods, for those living near forest, or more stones, for those living near mountains. Usually, the walls are one meter thick and built with stones. The roof is built with scores tree trunks, and then covered with a thick layer of clay. When it is finished, the roof is flat.
   
   In the valley area, the whole structure is like a castle with small windows as big as gun holes. No doubt, this is for defense purpose. In the city, there are big windows facing south to let sun light in. The houses are either one or two, three, four story high. For one flat house, sometimes a guarding wall is built around to keep the animal in and outsiders out. For a three story high house, the lowest level is a barn for animals or a storage place. The second story is the living quarter for human beings. The third story is the worshiping hall or sometimes the grain bin. The stairs are outside the house and usually made of single tree trunk from roof to roof. Once the ladders are withdrawn, the higher levels become inaccessible.
   
   Inside the living quarter, there are kitchen, living rooms. There are fireplaces and stoves in the kitchen. The common fuels are wood and dung. The furniture are painted in bright colours. The lavatory is usually at the highest part of the house as an extension. This way, the house is clear of the smell.
   
   
3. Tent
   
   The pastoral people sometimes build houses as home bases for the old folks and for storage. They usually enjoy a life of nomad and live in the tents. There are two kinds of tents in the pastoral area: black yak wool tents and white cloth tents.
   
   
   1. Black Yak Wool Tent
      To make black yak wool tent, people use yak wool to make big ropes first, and then tie the ropes together. For a good size tent, which covers 300 square ft, it requires about 200 lb wool. The tent is square at the base with a window at the top which let smoke out and sun light in. In a snowy day, the window can be shut.
      
      The front part of the tent is split into two pieces to make a door. There is nether bed, nor chair inside a tent. People sit on carpets and cushions. At the middle of the tent, an earthy fireplace is set up. Behind the fireplace, there are fuels (yak dung). The tent is naturally divided into two quarters. Man occupies the left half, and woman the right half. The inner part of the left side is the worshiping place equipped with Buddha statue, scripts, lamps. The right side is for utensils and food storage.
      
      Outside the tent, sometimes people build a wall of sod or dung to guard the animals or protect them against cold wind.
      
      
   2. White Cloth Tent
      Usually, the pastoral people have a couple white cloth tents. These tents are smaller and elegant, good for traveling. In a religious or racing gathering, people come with white cloth tents. The elders, teens, and guests usually stay in this kind tents. The fireplace is usually outside the tent. There are big hexagonal tents well decorated with religious signs, mainly around monasteries or for the use of religious occasions.

Back to top