The “Clay Palm” Houses of the Yi Ethnic Minority
The traditional dwelling of the Yi people is mainly built of adobes, which makes it warm in winter and cool in summer, and is strong and durable.
The tuzhang houses or, literally, the clay palm houses, of the Yi ethnic minority are located in the central and southeastern parts of Yunnan Province. The traditional dwelling of the Yi people is mainly built of adobes, which makes it warm in winter and cool in summer, and is strong and durable. The roofs of neighboring households are linked together, a reflection of local people’s harmonious coexistence. It is of great value in the history of folk houses.
IN central and southeastern Yunnan, there is a very distinctive kind of folk house – the clay palm house of the Yi ethnic minority. Clay palm houses use abode as the main building material. Their recorded history can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), when the Yi people created simple and plain folk houses according to the local climate, topography, and other natural factors.
Over the course of its long history, this kind of folk house has undergone continuous improvements. In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), two-story houses be
gan to appear. In the Ming and Qing dynasties (13681911), the clay palm houses of officials adopted the courtyard layout and decorative art of the Han culture, forming a unique architectural style.
The houses are usually located along mountains in rows after rows, which look magnificent. Seen from a distance, the house groups are quite orderly. These yellow houses stand end to end, radiating a golden light under the sunset against the blue sky, white clouds, and green mountains and waters. A poetic image thus comes into being, which has become the subject matter of countless artists’ creative works.
The main building material of those houses is clay, supplemented by wood and stone, which is sourced from local natural resources. While building a house, craftsmen first use large blocks of stone to build a wall foundation, usually a foot or two high on the chosen site to keep the house stable. The stones used are a specialty of the local mountains, both easily available and cheap. In the middle and on the roof of the house, pine poles are erected as pillars to support the beams. Then people fix the plywood on the base of the wall, fill fine-textured clay into the plywood and tamp it, and in this way, the walls come into being layer by layer.
As the clay used to build the wall has high density and strong viscosity, it normally becomes very strong after it dries. At this time, logs are put up on the walls to serve as the main beams of the house. When
building the roofs, a board is first put on the main beam. On top of that straw, pine needles, and wellpounded clay are carefully laid. In this way, the roof becomes both waterproof and fireproof, making living under it warm in winter and cool in summer. As compacted clay is very strong, the clay palm houses are normally habitable for a few decades to even a century or more.
The house normally has three or five rooms. Some are bungalows, and others have two floors. The number of rooms is often determined by the financial condition of the house owner. In the middle of the bungalow there is a room for daily activities of family members, which is also the place where the owner receives guests. The rest are bedrooms and storage rooms. In the main room there is a fireplace for cooking, heating, and lighting. The fireplace is the center of family life. After working all day, the old and young of a family often gather around it to talk about their daily lives, tell stories, and share the happiness together. Yi people believe that fire is closely related to the fortune of the family.
The house owners also pay great attention to adornments, especially those at the door entrance and eaves. The door lintel is carved with flowers, birds and other animals. Some will hang gourds over the gate or on the beam for good luck.
The roof of the clay palm house is flat, and serves as a crop-drying field. As the Yi people live in mountainous areas where there is less flat land, the roof of each house is used as a piece of artificial flat land, which not only saves the land, but also increases the space for storage and drying. In autumn, the harvest season, on the flat and broad roofs, people dry their loofah, pumpkin, corn, pepper, sorghum, and other crops. These colorful crops make the world vibrant, highlighting the charming rural life during harvest season.
It is worth mentioning that the roofs of adjacent houses are reachable by a ladder, making it convenient for villagers to get in touch with each other. Some houses are of the same height, to make it even more convenient. The roofs are normally shared for drying crops during the harvest season. People help each other in this and more ways; they have lived in harmony with affection for each other for generations. This architectural form reflects simple and cordial local customs.
In addition to being used for drying, the roof is also the main activity area for local residents. During the evening when people are not busy, young men and women chat with each other, dance, and sing folk songs together on the roof. On every important festival, on a wedding day, or during other events, the roof becomes a spacious place for feasting. People set tables on their roofs, cover them with pine needles, and treat their guests for three days. Villagers gather together to drink and play games in a jubilant atmosphere. The children also enjoy playing on the flat roofs. C