Houses of the Hokkaido Ainu
In building their dwellings the Ainu commence at the roof. This consists of bare rafters tied to horizontal poles at the lower end, and a long ridge pole at the…
From: Unknown To: 1901 C.E.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From The Ainu and Their Folk-Lore by John Batchelor, 1901.
Houses
In building their dwellings the Ainu commence at the roof. This consists of bare rafters tied to horizontal poles at the lower end, and a long ridge pole at the upper, and across these again are laid smaller poles, to which the thatch is fixed. The inner layers of bark, especially of elm trees, and pieces of vine and creeping plants, are used as rope or strings for tying the separate poles together, soon as the roof is finished, poles about five or six feet long—and, on account of its durability, magnolia by preference—are driven into the earth at a distance of four or five feet apart, and across these smaller pieces of wood are lashed, to which the thatch is tied, and thus the walls of a hut are formed. These poles have each a fork or branch in the top.
Hut-building. Images by John Batchelor.
When they are all set up in their proper places the roof is lifted bodily up, and the bottom horizontal poles allowed to rest in the forks at the top of the uprights.
The thatching is then proceeded with. This takes several days to finish, for the huts are almost entirely thatched with reeds, from the ridge-pole of the root to the bottom of the uprights, which are stuck into the earth. Both men and women work at house-building, and the spring and autumn are the proper seasons for this occupation.
When the framework has been set up the ‘house pulse’ mentioned above are made, and prayer is offered to the house itself and the household god as follows:—
‘O god of the house, O caretaker of the room, we worship thee, pray hear our prayer. In olden times when the fire goddess was sent down from heaven a house came down with her. The frame was made of wood and the walls of reeds. The “house pulses” were there also. Now when god sent the building down he said, “This house, together with the goddess of fire, is to watch over the people. When it becomes old another must be made in its stead, and children born and brought up in it.” So now, O god, this room is finished, and the heart has been given to it. Do thou and the goddess of fire keep the people in good health. We offer thee inao; pray see that those who inhabit this place do not become ill.’
After this prayer has been said to the house itself, the goddess of fire, and her consort the ‘household inao’ are worshipped, sake drunk, and many fetiches made.
A very short legend told me on the origin of the first house that ever appeared in Ainu-land runs as follows:—
‘When the first hut came down from heaven with the goddess of fire, it was called Iresu Kamui aeanu tumbu, i.e. “the room in which the divine nourisher is placed,” and Chirange tumbu, i.e. “the room which descended,’ and also Kamui kat tumbu, “the room which god made.” ’
Almost every hut is furnished with two holes, made just beneath the eaves, which serve as windows, one in the east end and the other in the south side. Screens made of rushes or reeds are placed on the outside of these, and in some cases wooden shutters also. They are all so fixed as to admit of being drawn up or let down from the inside at will, according as circumstances may require or the occupants desire ; for the strings or cords to which the screens and shutters are attached pass upwards under the eaves and over the horizontal roof pole into the hut.
There are no chimneys, but a hole is purposely left in one or both angles of the roof for the escape of the smoke. These, together with the two windows, are considered fully sufficient for all practical purposes; but the smoke is sometimes very trying to the eyes and throat.
At the west end is a door which leads directly into a porch or antechamber, which the Ainu call a shem. In the south wall of this is another door, which leads into the open air. This porch is used for various purposes, such as storing firewood, pounding millet, and shelling peas and beans. The dogs also are allowed to inhabit this part of a house.
A few of the larger huts are furnished with a doorway in the south wall of the main or dwelling part of the building. The entrance is situated near the east end corner of the hut, and is fitted with a sliding door somewhat resembling the Japanese amado. The outer door of the porch is generally fitted with a hanging mat only, but the inner porch doorway has both a mat and sliding door. The wooden doors are, as a rule, closed only when the household is away from home or gone to bed.
That part of the hut extending from the head of the fireplace to the east window is especially held sacred, and is set apart for special strangers and visitors, particularly for honoured guests. The right-hand corner is the place where all the Ainu treasures are kept, also a great number of family charms and fetiches; and upon the beams over these, heirlooms, old swords, bows and arrows, spears and fishing implements, properly decorated with fetich shavings, are stowed away. In long boxes next to these are preserved the special ornamental clothes and important things belonging to the master of the hut.
Plan of an Ainu Hut.
The east-end window is held peculiarly sacred, and there are certain taboos regarding it which must be respected. One piece of lore given me with reference to it runs thus:—
‘The east window is a very blessed thing and of great importance. When the highest deities are worshipped, or when prayers are said to the ancestors, they should often be addressed through this window. Also, when inao are to be placed among the nusa outside, they should be made and consecrated by the hearth and then passed through the window. So, too, when a bear or deer or bird has been killed, it ought always to be taken into the house through the east window. Hence it comes to pass that the east window is called by some inao kush puyara, i.e. “the window through which inao pass”; and_ Kamui kush puyara, i.e._ “the window through which divine beings pass.” For these reasons the east-end window is to be held in high esteem, and nothing should be heedlessly thrown out of it. Nor, again, should any person look into a hut through it.’
Outside, a short distance from the west end of the building, is placed the family godown or storehouse. This erection consists of a little lodge placed upon piles. The reason why they are built in the air is to keep the rats and mice from making raids upon the stores. Upon the top of each pile, and between it and the door of the godown, the Ainu generally place a square piece of wood, which makes it next to impossible for a rat to enter by climbing up the pile. Peas, beans, millet, pumpkins, and other garden products are stored in these places.
Each hut generally has a small plot of land to itself. This is done as a protection against fire, of which the Ainu are very much afraid. In fact, the Japanese affirm that the Ainu fear a conflagration and the fire goddess so much that if a house once takes fire they will not even attempt either to extinguish it or save any of their property. They will not be so foolish as to rob the fire goddess of that which she desires to have. This, however, the Ainu deny. The Japanese have made a mistake; and the fact is that when an Ainu hut once catches fire there is no time to save anything, for the thatch naturally burns very rapidly indeed.
John Batchelor, The Ainu and Their Folk-Lore (London: Religious Tract Society, 1901), 119-124.
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