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VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR IN THE SOUTH-EAST

ASIAN CONTEXT

Article in Vernacular Architecture · January 2018

DOI: 10.1080/03055477.2018.1524217

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Vernacular Architecture, Vol. 49 (2018), 99–120

VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR IN THE

SOUTH-EAST ASIAN CONTEXT

Rawiwan Oranratmanee

This paper explores the vernacular architecture of the Shan ethnic group in Myanmar within the context of South-
east Asian architecture. The purpose is to understand the relationship between the settlement system, village and
houses that together form the cultural landscape and architecture of the river valleys of mainland South-east Asia.
The fieldwork is comprised of an architectural enquiry through geographic surveys of settlements and
measurements of houses, and a social enquiry, including observations and interviews about the social dimensions
of architecture. The detailed spatial analysis embraces three tiers, namely settlements, villages and houses,
together identifying the characteristics and underlying concepts of Shan architecture, meanwhile deepening the
understanding of the holistic relationships between people, ethnicity, geography, social system and the production
of dwellings and cultural geographies of South-east Asia.

KEYWORDS: Vernacular architecture, cultural southern China as the representative case studies of the
landscape, house, Shan, Myanmar, Southeast Asia oldest surviving examples of house forms evolved
from ancient tree-house dwellings,5 the knowledge
from which is used to explain the archetype of houses
built on the ground, which have been one of the prom-
SOUTH-EAST ASIAN VERNACULAR
inent Chinese prototypes of vernacular dwellings.6
ARCHITECTURE
Worldwide, South-east Asian housing typologies and
Vernacular architecture is defined as architectures that
timber building technologies were often used as the
are built by ordinary people to meet their specific
prominent case studies of pile dwellings of the tropics
needs, accommodate their values, and respond to the
and timber building technology.7
economies and ways of life of the cultures that pro-
duce them.1 Cultural landscape, on the other hand, is EXISTING STATE OF KNOWLEDGE ON SOUTH-
part of our collective identity; it exhibits close ties EAST ASIAN ARCHITECTURE
between humans and the built environments in specific There have been scholarly attempts in recent decades
geographic areas.2 The study of the interrelationships to bring together the comprehensive knowledge on
between vernacular architecture and the cultural land- South-east Asian architecture. These include, for
scapes of diverse global societies has been accumu- instance, the works of Fox,8 Waterson,9 Schefold,10
lated and comparative worldviews of building Oranratmanee11 and Seo.12 These regional analyses
traditions continue to unfold the diversity and com- outline some predominant features relating to the spa-
plexity of human habitats around the world.3 Ongoing tial and social aspects of architecture. Further contribu-
academic studies not only contribute to the global tions to the understanding of South-east Asian
knowledge on architectures, but also remind us about vernacular architecture studies have been made, includ-
the risk, vulnerability and loss of cultural heritage as a ing the identification of characteristics of South-east
result of rapid change. Asian houses by Schefold based on Waterson’s
South-east Asia is a vast and complex region, com- authoritative book on South-east Asian houses, which
prising hundreds of languages and cultures. It is not outlines seven principle characteristics of houses,
only a geographical area, but also a product of social including: 1) the tripartite house, 2) multi-levelled
discourses and political histories.4 It has long been one floors, 3) outward-slanting gables, 4) outward-slanting
of the prominent sites for exploring vernacular archi- walls, 5) gable finials, 6) saddle-backed roofs and 7)
tecture, especially architecture of ethnic groups in the treatment of roots and tips in the use of timber as floor
tropical climate zone. The geographic relationship panels (see Fig. 1).13
between South-east Asia and neighbouring regions, Field studies have also developed a clearer picture
together with its diversified ethnic cultures, has made of the diffusion pattern of architecture in the region,
South-east Asia an intriguing site for cross-cultural including, for example, the cultural map of house
case studies. These include, for example, the study of forms, which shows the similarities and differences of
stilt houses in the area between South-east Asia and South-east Asian dwellings (Fig. 2).15 In addition,

# The Vernacular Architecture Group 2019 DOI: 10.1080/03055477.2018.1524217

100 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 1. Characteristics of South-east Asian houses (after Schefold14)

Figure 2. Cultural map of South-east Asian house forms (credit: the author)

cross-cultural studies between South-east Asia, East South-east Asian regional studies. Most pre-existing
Asia and Asia have been undertaken, including the works by architects on South-east Asian vernacular
works of Izikowitz and Sorensen,16 Funo,17 Ara and architecture tend to pay a lot of attention to the spatial
Rashid,18 and Kubota, Rijal and Takaguchi,19 contribu- qualities of design, but less attention to the relative
ting to the shared understanding of human habitats concepts between cultural landscape and vernacular
between South-east Asia and Asia. architecture, especially the interrelationship between
Although the body of knowledge about South-east social and spatial aspects of built forms.20 Another gap
Asian architecture has continually progressed over lies in the investigation of more recent changes in ver-
time, there are still some gaps in the recent debates on nacular architecture, particularly in the last decade,
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 101

Figure 3. Map of study area, Shan and Tai settlements in upper South-east Asia (credit: the author)

which can deepen our understanding about the resili- Myanmar.22 A review of previous studies about Shan
ence of vernacular architecture in the present- reveals the current state of knowledge about the sub-
day context.21 ject. Scholarly works include the social studies of
Leach,23 Hallet,24 Milne,25 Poolsuwan26 and Sai Aung
Tun.27 These social studies, which are in the early
CASE STUDY OF SHAN IN MYANMAR stages of academic exploration in Shan State, provide
This paper aims to explore the spatial and social valuable information about Shan in broad terms, yet
aspects of South-east Asian vernacular architecture they lack a detailed investigation on the spatial dimen-
through the detailed investigation of the Shan in sion of cultural landscape and architecture. Some
102 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

livelihood as rice farmers who live in the lowland

geographies in the tropical monsoonal climate zone.
The Shan social system bears some common character-
istics of Tai, including the common language belong-
ing to the Tai-Kadai language family, the belief system
comprising a combination of animism and Buddhism,
the kinship system with an extended family structure
with patrilineal descent and patrilocal residence, and
the subsistent farmer way of life.37

IDEOLOGIES ABOUT SHAN SETTLEMENTS

Existing studies on Shan have revealed some basic
Figure 4. Ideology of Baan-muang system of Tai ethnic
aspects of their cultural landscape and architecture and
group (after Sai Aung Tun39)
its morphology. The ideology of Shan settlement
adopts the integrative concept of the interrelationship
between village and township used commonly among
architectural explorations include those by Lubeigt,28
the Tai ethnic group,38 namely baan-muang in Tai lan-
Clement-Charpentier29 and Panin,30 which explore
guage (Fig. 4).
Shan architecture in the bordering areas between
The baan-muang system, as shown in Figure 4,
Myanmar and Thailand, yet little has been done in
consists of several rings of social relationships: indi-
Shan settlements in other geographic areas. Recent
viduals living together in a family system, several
work by Oranratmanee involves fieldwork investiga-
families with social ties grouped together to form a
tion of the Shan cultural landscape and architecture in
village or baan, many baans over a wide area
India,31 Myanmar32 and China,33 which has amassed
grouped together to become a town or a city or
more data which complements Shan architec-
ture studies. muang and several muangs with a shared governing
Shan is a sub-group of the Tai ethnic group living system then forming a state and, ultimately, a
in a vast area in upper mainland South-east Asia. The nation.40 According to Tambiah,41 the Tai’s baan-
largest Shan settlements are in Shan State, Myanmar, muang system is a concept of ‘galactic polity’ in a
while smaller settlements are found in North-east politico-territorial sense, which means a kingdom or
India, southern China and northern Thailand (see a a principality in terms of its centre-oriented space
map showing Shan together with Tai settlements in and its satellite domains. Tambiah also noted that
Fig. 3). Historical studies, especially the Shan the baan-muang system is an open and interdepend-
Chronicles,34 have recorded that the area of today’s ent way of life linked by the social and economic
Shan State bears some historical significance as being relationships of the lowland groups of the South-east
a part of an ancient trade route, namely the southern Asian peninsula.
Silk Road, linking China, India and the Middle East.35
Moreover, it is the capital of the Shan feudal states MORPHOLOGY OF SHAN LANDSCAPE AND
during the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, before being ARCHITECTURE
defeated by the Chinese Empire. During the period of A Shan proverb states that ‘wherever there is water,
Shan rule, the Shan expanded their territory to south- the Shan live’. The ideal site for settlement was
ern China, north-eastern India and northern Thailand, regarded as a seasonal floodplain with a network of
which led to cultural assimilation into mainstream waterways surrounded by hill slopes and forest resour-
Chinese, Indian, Thai and Burmese cultures.36 Due to ces, thus a settlement in a river valley usually follows
political turmoil between ethnic minorities and the the spatial land form. According to the literature by
Myanmar military government, Shan State has been a Sai Aung Tun,42 a Shan settlement is comprised of a
relatively closed area to external contact. Even so, small number of kinfolk wandering together to search
most traditional environments in Shan State are well of a place to settle. Once the ideal site is found, they
preserved due to the strong social ties and conservation perform rituals to ask for permission from the spirits
concerns by the Shan themselves. As a result, Shan of the land and test the condition of the soil for rice
State has been a crucial source of information on plantation. Once favourable, the process of settlement
Shan studies. begins through a ritual of ancestral spirit worship by
In terms of culture, Shan and their Tai ethnic group, inviting them to reside in a wooden pillar or a spirit
who are one of the largest South-east Asian rice culti- house that signifies the heart of the settlement. This
vators, have been practising a traditional method of wooden pillar or spirit house becomes the centre of
wet-rice cultivation deeply rooted in South-east Asia. each settlement and is assigned as a sacred node for
The dwelling culture of Shan is a result of their communal ritual practices. Once the settlement is
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 103

Figure 5. The myth about house forms (after Zhu Liangwen45)

defined, the kinfolk agree on village sites and bounda- house with a round-ended roof (see Fig. 6). Lubeigt47
ries, allocate land use for rice fields, organise the water and Clement-Charpentier48 similarly noted that the
supply and irrigation systems and define the rules for main house simply contained necessary functions of an
forest use and conservation. extended family living together, comprised mainly of a
Nartsupa43 noted that Shan villages were socially common hall signified by the hearth for family cook-
and economically constructed based on the concept ing, a gathering space and some sleeping corners for
of a self-sufficient economy rooted in South-east family members. A rice granary is usually built inside
Asian agricultural society: individual villages were or next to the main house; the size of the rice granary
small, compact and self-reliant, while each village reflects the wealth of its owner.
consisted of dwelling compounds with some shared According to rules regarding orientation, the front
communal functions, including a Buddhist temple, part of a Shan house usually faces south, while bed-
an open space and sometimes a small, local market. rooms face north.50 Panin51 explained further that
Zhu Liangwen44 explained the morphology of houses spaces in everyday life are given significance in differ-
from the Tai mythical concept of human evolution, ent ways, including, for example, the spaces assigned
known since ancient times (see Fig. 5). According to according to the role in the family and the existence of
the myth, the supreme spirit created the first human on several sacred nodes in a house, such as a Buddhist
earth, who later gave birth to several men and women shrine, the spiritual post, the fire spirit at the hearth
to be a cradle of mankind. At first, people relied on the and the guarding spirit at doorways and accesses.
hunter-gatherer way of life and lived together in small Panin likewise observes that these spatial marks find
numbers in natural cave dwellings. As time went by, widespread parallels in other South-east Asian cultures
people learned to grow crops and live in a larger social where similar patterns of dwelling can be found.
group. The cave dwellings became too small to accom-
modate an increasing number of people, and, as a
result, the people wandered into the wider world to ANALYSIS OF SHAN CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
find more and better places to live. The supreme spirit AND ARCHITECTURE
noticed the form of a tree shade and used it to create This section provides a detailed description of the Shan
the first form of a house, being a four-post shed with a landscape and architecture based on a one-year field
flat roof. However, the temporary structure could not study, including physical surveys in 25 Shan villages and
stand the heavy rain. He later adapted the shape of a measurements of 111 houses. The data collection
sitting dog to form a stilt house with a lean-to roof. included social enquiries about the sociocultural system
However, a lean-to roof was inferior because it permit- and physical enquiries about the patterns of settlements,
ted rain from some directions into the house, so the villages and houses. The key informants were mainly vil-
supreme spirit had to seek a new form. He then lagers, village leaders and craftsmen. The analysis is
adapted the form of a phoenix’s wings and extended focused on three areas: the settlement system based on
the roof overhangs in four directions, which became the concept of baan-muang relationship, the spatial con-
the persistent form of Tai houses until the present day. figuration of villages and the detailed analysis of houses.
Milne46 noted that a typical Shan house was custom-
arily built in a compound, which usually consisted of a SETTLEMENT SYSTEM
main house and some outbuildings, including grana- The fieldwork began with in-depth interviews with vil-
ries, storage spaces and animal pens. Customarily, a lage leaders and villagers about the concepts of Shan
main house is covered by a roof with rounded ends, settlements in relation to the geographies of lowland
thereby called hern long toob mon, meaning a large river valleys. The data from interviews not only
104 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 6. Traditional Shan house with a round-ended roof (after Milne49)

confirms the ideal pattern, as described in the litera- settlement, namely Muang Yaung (or Yawng in
tures, but also visualises the spatial pattern according Burmese spelling) in eastern Shan State is used as an
to the ideal concepts. As explained, a river basin in example (see Figs 7 and 8).
Shan State is usually made up of narrow river valleys, Muang Yaung is a township in the eastern Shan
each forming a network of the main river and its tribu- State with an area of 162 square kilometres. It is situ-
taries, similar to a tree trunk and branches. A river ated in the Yuang River Basin, which is a tributary of
basin has four directions: neu, tai, wanok and wantok, the Mekong River, the largest river basin of South-east
meaning upper river, lower river, east and west Asia. From surveys, it was found that settlements in
respectively. A muang covers the whole settlement in the Yaung River Basin include a town centre, namely
a river basin. The largest and most levelled flat land Vieng Yaung (Yaung fortified centre), with 94 vil-
with a large river running nearby is ideal for a pro- lages, or baans. There is one main roadway connecting
tected town centre, called vieng or keng or chiang, the northern and southern parts of the river basin,
meaning the protected and fortified inner core. Inside which continues as an inter-township linkage between
the vieng are some important nodes, including a sacred the Muang Yaung and other townships nearby. Other
pillar and/or a shrine of the muang spirit, a grand small roadways are used as a local transportation net-
house for the leader and royal families, a grand temple, work to connect the town centre and villages located
a central market and public open spaces. On the other in the river tributaries, while the five-day marketplaces
hand, baans or villages are situated around the periph- are located at the intersections of the road network.
eries of the vieng, or the town centre, and expand fur- According to interviews and complementary geo-
ther in a linear pattern along the smaller river graphic survey data, the Yuang river basin has three
tributaries. For transportation, small local roadways are important natural nodes: 1) Doi, or mountain ranges
built to connect the town centre and villages, mean- acting as boundaries between the lowland and highland
while large roadways are built for inter-township trans- settlements, as well as being the forest and the head of
portation between one muang and another muang in water; 2) Nam, or rivers; and 3) Thung, or fields used
adjacent river basins. As settlements can be quite for wet-rice cultivation, mixed crop plantations and a
extensive, some shared economic facilities, especially collective civic ground in times of war. Inside Vieng
marketplaces, are established along the intersections of Yaung are important central nodes, including a muang
roadways to serve the demand for economic exchange. spirit, a grand temple, a central market and public
These marketplaces, called kad ha wan, meaning a open space.
five-day market,52 are in five locations around the Figure 9 shows a panoramic view of the village sys-
township. They operate every day on a rotational basis tem of a settlement in the same tributary called baan
from one location to another. nam dew kan, literally meaning villages in the same
The analysis of Shan settlements has identified river. An interview with village leaders clarified the
evidence that conforms to the ideologies of Shan’s idea that villages located in the same river basin usu-
baan-muang system. To provide a clearer picture, one ally form a collective settlement of villages bound by
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 105

Figure 7. A map showing an example of Muang Yaung, the Shan township in eastern Shan State (credit: the author)

connections to the same river, socially by kinship rela- of worshipping the land and ancestral spirits, followed
tions and economically by shared labour for rice plan- by the establishment of a village spirit house to signify
tations and associative communal activities. These the place of the village’s origin.
villages usually pool their resources to fulfil social Spatially, the average size of a Shan village, accord-
tasks such as the maintenance of a common irrigation ing to the survey data, was 60 houses with a popula-
system, the construction of public facilities, the har- tion of 300. The social elements of villages include a
vesting tasks and the ritual practices in village life. village temple, a village spirit house, a public open
space and a graveyard. Some villages may lack some
SPATIAL CONFIGURATION OF VILLAGES of these elements as they are relatively small; in such
This part of the analysis explains the conceptual ideas cases, they share social facilities with a bigger village
and spatial composition of Shan villages. As is nearby. An example of a village, namely Baan Yang
expressed in the interviews, Shan regard the village as How, comprised of 72 houses with 400 people, illus-
an animated being, which begins life through the ritual trates the spatial composition of a village (see Fig. 10).
106 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 8. Photographs of Muang Yaung (credit: the author)

From Figure 10, the spatial composition of the vil- provides access to the cemetery and forest. As the
lage constitutes three main parts relative to the river, river in this village runs from south to north, the head
including the hua (head), kaang (middle) and haang of the village and the location of the temple is on the
(end/tail). The hua is the upper part of the village in south side, while the end or tail of the village is
relation to the head of the river, usually providing located in the north. A collective number of house
access to the social areas of the village; the kaang is compounds in the figure exhibits an average size of a
the village centre where the spirit house and common Shan village in Shan State. House compounds are
areas are located; and the haang is the end point and located along both sides of the river. All houses
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 107

Figure 9. Panoramic view of villages in the same tributary (credit: the author)

orientate the roof ridges in a parallel direction to the explore further the underlying meaning of spatial com-
river flow. A house compound is loosely enclosed by position, an isometric projection and a photograph of
bamboo fencing, with a few openings for access to a the house compound is provided in Figure 11. This
network of green pathways that runs throughout the shows a house compound comprised of the basic ele-
village. The boundaries of villages are comprised of a ments, including the main house, a rice barn and sev-
continuous row of bamboo and palm trees, which mark eral storage areas. These domestic functions are
the village territory, meanwhile providing a wind buf- grouped together in cleared ground surrounded by
fer and sun screen. Bamboo and palm trees also pro- green landscape. In terms of spatial relation and direc-
vide food as well as building and craft materials for tional references, the main house, facing southward, is
the villagers. Beyond the village compound are agri- at the centre of the land plot. A well-cleared ground
cultural farmlands comprised mainly of rice fields and can be found in front of the main house, providing the
orchards. The extent of agricultural farmland per neat foreground while also functioning as the welcome
household is two to four acres on average, which is space between visitors and the owner before entering
suitable for the labour provided by, and daily con- the compound. The rice barn is near the main house
sumption of, a household with five to ten people. on the east side, while other storages, such as firewood
and animal pens, as well as toilets and garden, are in
DETAILED ANALYSIS OF HOUSES the west back side.
The analysis of houses can be divided into four main
parts: 1) house compounds, 2) developments of house (2) Developments of house forms
forms, 3) characteristics of the main house and 4) The following derives from interviews with craftsmen
building structures, rituals and construction. and local experts about the chronological developments
of the Shan house from the past to present times.
(1) House compounds Based on interviews, the ideal Shan house is a house
The study of house compounds aims to explore the with a round-ended roof, referred to as hern long toob
composition of the structures within it to reveal the mon (Fig. 12, first row), which is similar to those iden-
spatial organisation of domestic functions. As the lit- tified in the literature; however, this form of house is
erature outlines, an ideal Shan house compound is rarely seen today. A reference to this type of house
comprised of the main house, or hern long, and some could be found from some old photographs taken dur-
subordinate structures. To confirm this ideal, and to ing the nineteenth century by Western scholars. An
108 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 10. An aerial map and photographs of a village, namely Baan Yang How, exemplify the village settings (credit:
the author)

early phase of development shown in the second row type evolved due to the demand for the separation of
of the same figure is identified as a two-roof compos- the kitchen and need for additional sleeping places for
ition, or hern song song, having a main house with a sub-families of the sons who, by Shan custom, reside
round-ended roof and a smaller house next to it. This in the same house after marriage. The two-roof
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 109

Figure 11. An isometric projection and a photograph showing the characteristics of a house compound (credit: the author)

composition was widespread during the period of Shan diverse forms of additions of smaller physical struc-
commercial trading and colonialisation during the nine- tures into the main house were made, which resulted
teenth century onward, which brought in the ideas in a main house with several small roofs connecting to
about the segregation of space between cooking and it, called hern ngok hern nga. From an interview, it
living areas for a healthy living environment and the was noted that the words ngok and nga are generally
demand for privacy. Later, in the third row, more used to mean the blooming of small branches from a
110 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 12. Development of house forms and plans (credit: the author)

tree, so hern ngok hern nga is also a metaphor for the made of timber structures using communal labour,
growth of a house like the growth of a tree branch, while some newer houses are made of brick and mor-
which signifies animated analogies of the house. This tar by outside contractors.
form emerged when newer roofing materials, espe-
cially clay tiles and zinc roofs, were introduced into (3) Characteristics of the main house
Shan villages from the twentieth century onward. The This section explores the deeper layer of the main
development of the house forms in recent decades house, or hern long, which is considered as the most
(Fig. 12, fourth row) includes the covering of verandas sacred domestic structure within a Shan house com-
for shaded living spaces and additional decorative pound. An architectural survey of Shan houses based
details such as the construction of a small house for on measurements and sketches of floor plans, sections,
the Buddha shrine at the front to express the strong isometric projections and photographs of the exterior
Buddhist belief. These varied forms of spatial and and interior of houses has found that, although today’s
elemental additions exhibit the diverse self-expression Shan houses appear varied in their forms, as explained
of values. in the previous section, there is a uniform pattern to
The survey data of Shan houses from the fieldwork the main house in the case studies.
have found mostly houses with two-roof composition, As explained by the villagers, the main house, or
because they are a good size for the average contem- hern long, is built to accommodate spaces for daily
porary Shan family. Although the single-roof house life activities and consists of spaces for eating (kin),
was found in some remote villages, they were not cov- residing (yoo), resting and sleeping (lub/norn). The
ered with round-ended thatched roof. The interviewers rule concerning the spatial division of a hern long is
said that the rounded-end roof is not common now- called hern sam hong, which literally translates as a
adays due to the demand for more sunlight and natural three-room house (Fig. 13). This rule determines the
ventilation in a warmer climate. Meanwhile, the spatial arrangement of a house lengthwise in three
thatched materials are harder to find than new materi- parts, including na hern, which means the front part;
als, such as clay tiles and zinc materials, which are kaang hern, which means the middle part; and nai
available in the local market. Most houses are still hern, which means the inner part. The na hern is an
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 111

Figure 13. The rule of hern sam hong (credit: the author)

open or semi-open veranda for receiving guests; kaang kwan,54 or spirit post, also known as sao phi,55 which
hern is the main hall for family gatherings; and nai literally means the ancestral post, holds beliefs about
hern is the private space where the family sleeps. The the togetherness of living between ancestors and their
sequence of na–kaang–nai embraces the ideas of descendants. Keng phra, or Buddha shrine, signifies
three-part division and the transition of spaces from the belief in the Buddhist faith. The eastern direction
outside to inside, from public to private and from pro- of keng phra is associated with the direction of
fane to sacred. Buddha’s enlightenment, while the western side is
Based on interviews, a hern long is considered a reserved for human activities signified by a phi phai or
sacred place; therefore, it is signified with several spir- hearth. The position of mai jai hern lengthwise in the
itual elements (Fig. 14). These include 1) sao kwan, middle position above the head signifies the livelihood
which means a spirit post, and is commonly located on of the house.
the east side or in the north-east corner, 2) keng phra, There are specific rules for the house orientation,
or Buddha shrine, located in the middle hall facing an which exhibit careful consideration of the relationship
easterly direction, 3) phi phai, which means a hearth, between the dwelling and geographies (Fig. 15).
and is located in the middle hall in a westerly direc- Interviews with ritual leaders revealed that the Shan
tion, and 4) mai jai hern, which means the heart of the determine the house orientation in relation to the geo-
house, comprised of some three to nine wooden sticks graphic elements such as the flow of the river, and
located above head-height along the length of the sunrise and sunset. The four directional references are
house.53 These sticks are made of small hardwood comprised of hong, meaning the room, which refers to
sticks that are placed on top of the cross-beam of the north; chan, meaning the veranda, which refers to
roof structure. the south; wan ok meaning sunrise, which refers to the
The spatial relations of the sacred elements have east; and wan tok, meaning sunset, which refers to the
specific meanings in the Shan belief system. Sao kwan west. According to the rules regarding orientation, the
is the first post placed into the ground and is consid- front of a house with a veranda, or chan, usually faces
ered as a reference for the origin of the house. Sao south, and the head of a house where the room, or
112 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 14. Analysis of the sacred elements (credit: the author)

hong, is located usually faces north. The Buddha sleeping, as north is associated with the direction in
shrine and sacred post are usually located on the east- which Buddha pointed his head as he died, and west is
ern side, while the kitchen and other associated func- the direction of sunset and the direction in which a dead
tions are on the western side. Following these rules, body is laid during a funeral. Some other minor rules
the house axis has associative binary opposition. prohibit the pointing of feet in the direction of the stairs,
North–south is associated with lower–upper, outer–in- as this is the direction in which a dead body is carried
ner, veranda–room and public–private, while east–west away from home to the cemetery. If the house is situated
is associated with sunrise–sunset, sacred–profane, spi- near a river, the sleeping position should never be paral-
rit–man and male–female. lel to the water flow, as this resembles a dead body that
The orientation of the house not only ties the dwelling always floats downstream. There is also a rule about
to geographies but also governs the rules of internal how to treat the root and the tip of timber while laying
space arrangement. The sleeping position is usually floor panels. This is called kin ngao non plai, which
aligned in east and west directions to respond to the posi- means ‘eat at the root and sleep at the tip’.
tions of the Buddha shrine and the spirit post. The eldest The size and scale of the house owner are used as
member usually sleeps in the innermost corner of the the standards for measurements and construction of the
room and nearest to the spirit post with the head always house. Figure 16 shows the systems of human-scaled
pointing to the east and the feet to the west. The Shan measurement, which include kuep, sok and wah, which
believe that north and west are not good directions for relate to the hand width, hand-to-elbow length and
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 113

Figure 15. Analysis of directional reference (credit: the author)

two-arm length respectively (Fig. 16a). The form of a well as the preparation of the wooden floors and wall
house is designed following a careful consideration of panels usually occurs during the summer months.
household spatial requirements and social beliefs Analysis of the village annual calendar in a year
(Figure 16b). First, the members of the house deter- reveals that the best months for housing construction
mine the spatial requirements and the composition of are between December and March. During this period,
form as either a simple hern long or a combination of the weather is cool and dry, the rice has been har-
a hern long and some extended structures. The size of vested and religious activities are minimal. The con-
the hern long is defined by the number of hongs or struction of the house is carried out using a communal
spans in length by the number of hongs or spans in labour support system called ao mue ao wan, which
width. The length of a hong or a span relates to the literally means a system of shared labour. As house
activities and the number of users in the space. construction is a communal activity, this usually takes
Generally, a hong is approximately 4–5 sok or hand- place when most villagers are free from daily routines
to-elbows lengthwise, while in terms of width it is and annual activities.
slightly longer at approximately 5–6 sok. Vertically, The construction of a house is called pok hern,
size is divided into three sections, namely tai hern, ner which means planting the house into the ground, as an
hern and jom hern or the lower, upper and top parts of analogy of a house as an animate object that can be
born, grown and then lived in by the family. The start-
a house. These have heights of 4–5 sok, 4–5 sok and
ing date for construction is decided by a ritual leader
3–5 sok respectively. Altogether, the typical size of a
based on the date and time of birth of the head of the
hern long is approximately 12–15 sok in length by
household. Interviews with house owners and builders
10–12 sok in width by 11–15 sok in height. The exten-
determined that house construction involves some rit-
sion parts of a hern long normally include a kitchen
ual practices (Fig. 18).
and sleeping units for sub-families. These must always
The construction ceremony begins early in the
be of a smaller size, with smaller access points than
morning with a commencement ritual that asks for per-
that of the main house. mission from the spirit of the land to construct a
house. The ritual of planting the sacred post, or sao
(4) Building structures, rituals and construction kwan, then commences by digging a hole around 1–2
The structure of a Shan house is based on the post- elbows deep, putting auspicious objects including
and-beam timber system (Fig. 17). coins, gold and small pieces of jewellery inside, laying
As the house is built using trees from natural for- the bedrock and pounding the post into the ground.
ests, there is a process of material collection over time, Once the sacred post is upright, it is wrapped in ancestral
especially with regard to the acquisition of mai kao clothes and worshipped by offering food for the ances-
kong, which means the nine piles of wood used as the tors. The sacred post is then sprinkled with clean water,
major structural components. These include sao symbolising crystallised rain that gives life to the post
(posts), hun or khan (beams), tong (joists), kue (cross and, likewise, to the house. Installation of the remaining
beams), pae (purlins), klon (rafters), mai pan (wooden posts is followed by placing one against another in an
floors) and pha (wooden walls). To prevent decay to east-to-west direction or as pairs from one side to the
wooden materials, the collection of mai kao kong as other. Once all the posts are in place they are fixed by
114 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 16. Size and scale of the house (credit: the author)

joining the major structural components consisting of permanent stairs for the rice granary; only movable,
beams, joists, purlins and rafters before placing the lightweight stairs are used for access when needed.
floors, wall panels and roof shingles. The construction of A Shan house usually survives several generations,
a house usually takes a few days to complete. and the life of the house continues with the life of the
Construction of associated functions, including the rice family. Maintenance, repairs and additions are carried
granary and storages, is made after completion of out according to family needs. According to the rules
the house. about Shan family and patrilocal residence, the sons
A rice granary, on the other hand, is a smaller stay inside their house after marriage, thus a Shan
wooden structure made of six to ten wooden posts. house tends to have some sub-families, including the
The construction of a rice granary is made by placing families of the parents and the married sons, as well
the stone foundation on the ground, erecting posts on as the grandparents. Through the lifetime of a house
top, placing the floor beams and roof structure, laying and inhabitants, a Shan house tends to be enlarged
wooden flooring and putting up wall panels behind the according to the increasing number of inhabitants,
posts to bear the load of rice inside. There are no except in the case when a new family build a new
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 115

Figure 17. Building structure system (credit: the author)

house of their own, which is becoming a norm in ANALYSIS

these days due to the change in privacy needs. This investigation has revealed several main character-
Reduction in space, however, is not common, except istics of Shan cultural landscape and architecture,
when the house has become rundown through neglect. which are summarised in Figure 19. An analysis of the
In such cases, some parts may be removed for safety settlement reveals the strong relation between the spa-
reasons. A house may be demolished entirely only tiality of the settlement, geographies and social sys-
when its owner wishes to build a new one or when its tems. The metaphorical concept of the human body
owner dies, and the house is left abandoned, which is determines the spatial arrangement of a settlement
rarely the case. within a defined geographic boundary. An analysis of
116 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

Figure 18. Building rituals and the construction process (credit: the author)

Shan villages emphasised the settlement system bound for orientation. The village is comprised of three parts,
by kinship. Similar to settlements, most villages are resembling the metaphoric concept of the human body.
aligned along a river and use the river as the reference Several village elements signify spatial relationships
 VERNACULAR HOUSES OF THE SHAN IN MYANMAR 117

Figure 19. Summary of the main characteristics of the Shan case (credit: the author)

and, at the same time, perform social functions that several domestic units comprise a compound in
convey sacred meanings about Shan belief systems. A accordance with peasant life. The basic house form
detailed study of the house revealed identical charac- consists of a large wooden structure built on stilts,
teristics of Shan domestic architecture. A house and while the variations in forms emerged due to the
118 RAWIWAN ORANRATMANEE

spatial needs and as a reflection of the owner’s social this paper can be extended further when looking at the
and economic status. Again, the space is divided into wider historical relationships between Shan and other
three parts, following the embedded concept of the South-east Asian and Asian ethnic groups. This paper
human body. The space is laid out based on daily life confirms the ideologies rooted in various South-east
activities, demarcated in relation to sacred elements Asian ethnic groups, such as Mon, Khmer, Lawa and
and associated with uses according to genders, social the Burmese in the mainland, as well as the Malay and
roles and ages. The size of a house is determined by other ethnic groups in the archipelagos. Nevertheless,
the social organisation of the family and the proportion as has occurred in other regions in the world, South-
and measurement systems are based on the human east Asia has experienced rapid changes as part of the
scale of its owner, while the construction process local and global dynamic of change, thus the search
embraces ritual practices for the well-being and pros- for alternative means to tackle the changing conditions.
perity of the house and its occupants. The lessons learned from case studies of Shan in the
South-east Asian context can become valuable sources
of knowledge, which may provide hints and thoughts
CONCLUSION not only for vernacular architecture studies but also for
This paper explores the interrelationships between set- other related fields which seek the tacit knowledge
tlements, villages and houses. Based on detailed spa- generated from vernacular architecture studies both
tial analyses, it identifies the ways in which social within and beyond South-east Asia.
concepts and ideologies can be interpreted in each of As a point of departure, this paper suggests the need
these settings. Drawn from the paper are several key for further study about the wider comparative links
concepts noted in preceding social and spatial studies, based on the strong parallels of social and spatial char-
including the complex social concepts of animistic and acteristics that can be seen across the cultural borders.
Buddhism beliefs, cosmological relation, social system
of rice cultivators, life and meaning of home and
dwellings; and the underlying spatial concepts of low- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
land and water-based geographies, duality and tripar-
tite relations and timber culture that are rooted in the The author expresses the sincere gratitude to the editor and
anonymous reviewers of this journal, whose valuable contributions
architecture in the tropical climate. By integrating the
in providing comments and suggestions have helped to improve the
social and spatial dimensions of landscape and archi- paper considerably. Thanks to the National Research Council of
tecture, the findings reveal how intangible worldviews, Thailand for the research funding, to my students who assisted in
ideologies and meanings exist in the tangible built data collection and some illustrations and, specifically, to the
forms of domestic dwellings. As this paper exhibits, villagers and local experts in Shan State and Thailand for their kind
assistance on site access and interviews during the field studies.
the house, its compound, the surrounding village and
surrounding natural landscapes develop into a home
not only for an extended family household along their
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
life cycle but also for the existence of ethnic identity.
The architecture and cultural landscape thus grows No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
organically out of needs, requirements, lifeways and
norms of individuals and groups. Vernacular architec- NOTES
tures and landscapes of this sort are impressive due to
their organic quality, appropriateness, sustainability 1. Oliver, Encyclopedia Vernacular Architecture, ii.
2. Taylor, “Cultural Landscape and Asia,” 537.
and functions as sites of rituals, and of integration of 3. Oliver, Built to Meet Needs.
ideas about the sacred and the wider cosmos, which 4. Thompson, “In Defence of Southeast Asia.”
make them very rich in meaning. 5. This idea is recorded in the local myths of several ethnic groups in
southern China. Archaeological evidences regarding ancient house
The knowledge from this Shan case study can be forms found in southern China are similar to the tree-house type
used as a comparative case study for settlements in referred in the mythical stories.
South-east Asia and the bordering regions. The know- 6. Gao, “Dai Vernacular House South China.”
7. Lewis, “Building on Piles.”
ledge of settlement may explain the morphology of 8. Fox, “Comparative Perspectives on Austronesian Houses.”
South-east Asian cultural landscapes, which often ori- 9. Waterson, The Living House; Waterson, “Visual Anthropology.”
ginate from rural agricultural-based townships and later 10. Schefold, “The Southeast Asian House.”
11. Oranratmanee, Houses of Ethnic Groups in Southeast Asia.
grow into urban cities, while in the knowledge of vil- 12. Seo, Southeast Asian Houses.
lages and houses lie some design implications, particu- 13. Further reading can be found in Domenig, “Timber Orientation in
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14. Schefold, “The Southeast Asian House,” 23.
vernacular-based design and construction of houses. 15. Oranratmanee, Houses of Ethnic Groups in Southeast Asia, 24.
Beyond architecture of the Shan, the knowledge from 16. Izikowitz and Sorensen, The House in East and Southeast Asia.
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17. Funo, Houses in South-East Asia. Funo, Shuji. Houses in South-East Asia: Its Origin, Diffusion,
18. Ara and Rashid, “Ethnic House Form.” Typology and Transformation. Kyoto: Kyoto Daigaku Gakujutsu
19. Kubota, Rijal and Takaguchi, Sustainable Houses and Living. Shuppankai, 2017.
20. Oranratmanee, “Addressing Southeast Asian Vernacular,” 756. Gao, Yun. “The Dai Vernacular House in South China.” PhD diss.,
21. Asquith and Vellinga, Vernacular Architecture Twenty-First
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Century, 1–20.
22. Oranratmanee, Settlements, Villages and Houses in Shan State. Hallet, Samuel H. A Thousand Miles on an Elephant in the Shan
23. Leach, Political Systems of Highland Burma. States. Bangkok: White Lotus, 2000.
24. Hallet, A Thousand Miles on Elephant in Shan State. Izikowitz, Karl G. and Per Sorensen. The House in East and
25. Milne, Home of an Eastern Clan; Milne, Shans at Home. Southeast Asia: Anthropological and Architectural Aspects. London:
26. Poolsuwan, Shan State. Curzon Press, 1982.
27. Sai Aung Tun, History of Shan State. Kubota, Tetsu, Hom Bahadur Rijal and Hiroto Takaguchi, eds.
28. Lubeigt, “Shan (Burma, E.),” 1059. Sustainable Houses and Living in the Hot-Humid Climates of Asia.
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30. Panin, Tai Architecture.
31. Oranratmanee, Patterns of Tai Houses in India. Leach, Edmund. Political Systems of Highland Burma: A Study of
32. Oranratmanee, Settlements, Villages and Houses in Shan State. Kachin Social Structure. London: Athlone, 1954.
33. Oranratmanee, Dynamic of Vernacular Architecture in Dehong. Lewis, Miles. “Building on Piles.” In Vernacular Heritage and
34. Witthayasakphan, History of the Great Tai. Earthen Architecture: Contributions for Sustainable Development,
35. Dodd, The Tai Race. edited by Mariana Correia, Gilberto Carlos and Sandra Rocha,
36. Santasombat, Lak Chang. 47–52. London: Taylor & Francis, 2014.
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39. Sai Aung Tun, History of Shan State, 26.
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41. Tambiah, “Classification of Animals in Thailand,” 127–8. Milne, Leslie. The Home of an Eastern Clan: A Study of the
42. Sai Aung Tun, History of Shan State. Palaungs of the Shan States. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.
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51. Panin, Tai Architecture, 121, 128. Architecture in the Changing Environment.” In Vernacular Heritage
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53. According to interviews with inhabitants, when an owner of a Development, edited Mariana Correia, Gilberto Carlos and Sandra
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loss. When all sticks are taken out then a house loses its soul and Oranratmanee, Rawiwan. Dynamic of Vernacular Architecture of
must be demolished. This belief, as it seems, is used as a
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the occupants must pay respect to and inform the ancestral spirits Oranratmanee, Rawiwan. Patterns of Tai Houses in India. Chiang
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Rawiwan Oranratmanee, Faculty of Architecture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
[email protected]

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