Editing Longhouse

{{Short description|Communal, narrow, single-room building}}
{{See also|Housebarn|Byre-dwelling}}
{{About|the communal dwelling|longhouses as a toilet|Outhouse|the religious movement|Longhouse Religion}}
[[File:Moa-4.jpg|thumb|A North American [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Pacific Northwest Coast]]-style longhouse at the [[Museum of Anthropology at UBC|Museum of Anthropology]] at the [[University of British Columbia]]]]
A '''longhouse''' or '''long house''' is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including [[Asia]], [[Europe]], and [[North America]].

Many were built from [[lumber|timber]] and often represent the earliest form of permanent structure in many cultures. Types include the [[Neolithic long house]] of Europe, the Norman Medieval Longhouses that evolved in Western Britain (''Tŷ Hir'') and Northern France (''[[Longère]]''), and the [[Longhouses of the indigenous peoples of North America|various types of longhouse]] built by different cultures among the [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]].

== Europe ==
[[File:Borg Vestvågøy LC0165.jpg|thumb|A reconstructed Viking chieftain's longhouse at the [[Lofotr Viking Museum]] in [[Lofoten]], Norway]]The [[Neolithic long house]] type was introduced with the first farmers of [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Western Europe]] around 5000 BCE, 7,000 years ago. These were farming settlements built in groups of six to twelve longhouses; they were home to large extended families and kin.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Worlds Together, Worlds Apart concise edition vol.1|last = Pollard|first = Elizabeth|publisher = W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.|year = 2015|isbn = 9780393250930|location = New York|pages = 34}}</ref>

The Germanic cattle-farmer longhouses emerged along the southwestern [[North Sea]] coast in the third or fourth century BCE and may be the ancestors of several medieval house types such as the Scandinavian ''langhus''; the English,<ref>Description of a [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.19883 Medieval Peasant Long-house] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714115319/https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.19883 |date=2023-07-14 }} at the English Heritage website.</ref> Welsh, and Scottish longhouse variants; and the German and Dutch [[Low German house]]. The longhouse is a traditional form of shelter.

[[File:Viking house Ale Sweden.jpg|thumb|Reconstructed Viking longhouse in [[Ale Municipality|Ale]], north of [[Gothenburg]], [[Sweden]]]]

Some of the [[Medieval architecture|medieval longhouse types of Europe]] that have survived are the following:
[[File:Sanders, Lettaford - geograph.org.uk - 134003.jpg|thumb|Dartmoor granite longhouse]]

=== Dartmoor longhouse ===
The Western [[Celtic Britons|Brittonic]] "[[Dartmoor longhouse]]" variants in [[Devon]], [[Cornwall]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/flyingpast/medieval.html#top|title=Flying Past – The Historic Environment of Cornwall: The Medieval Countryside|website=www.historic-cornwall.org.uk|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515002946/http://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/flyingpast/medieval.html#top|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Wales]], where it is known as the ''Tŷ Hir'',<ref>[http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/41585/lab-longpost.pdf The Dartmoor Longhouse Poster (pdf)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529223612/http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/41585/lab-longpost.pdf |date=2012-05-29 }} See also ''The Welsh House, A Study In Folk Culture'', Y Cymmrodor XLVII, London 1940, Iorwerth C Peate</ref> are often typified by the use of [[cruck]] construction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cruck Database |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/vag_cruck/index.cfm |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=Archaeology Data Service |archive-date=2022-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109170127/https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/vag_cruck/index.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref> It is built along a slope, and a single passage gives access to both human and animal shelter under a single roof.

There are dozens of pre-1600 longhouses remaining on [[Exmoor]] and the surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Listed Buildings Map |url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/listed-buildings-map#.Y20-i8vP2Cg |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk |archive-date=2022-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110182146/https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/listed-buildings-map#.Y20-i8vP2Cg |url-status=live }}</ref> Some can be dated using dendrochronology to before 1400, but sites can be much older and have names with a Saxon origin. Longhouses on Exmoor are typically a single-story building, one room deep, laid out as two crucked bays a cross passage and two crucked bays. As glass was not available until the middle of the 16th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harrison |first=Rev. William |title=A Description of England |year=1577}}</ref> they were oriented loosely East West with openings (for a door and latticed unglazed windows) only in the south wall to provide the maximum shelter from the worst weather and catch the sun. 

They are often dug into the hillside, the lower parts of the walls are formed from rough stone in mud pointing with cob above, as before the 17th century lime cement was virtually unknown.The floors were not made a true level. Livestock used the lower end. A hole is often provided in the base of the end wall for mucking out. The cross passage (often misnamed as a breezeway did not pass right through the building) establishes distinct areas for people in one half of the house and livestock in the other, but would only be needed for a couple of months at most in the winter. There was a fire pit, sometimes with a stone [[reredos]] (as in Hendre’r-ywydd Uchaf Farmhouse, Denbighshire), behind which the smoke rose to the eaves and passed through the thatch.

As skills and wealth increased, after 1500 many had built in settles,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chinnery |first=Victor |title=Oak Furniture – The British Tradition |publisher=Antique Collectors' Club |year=1979}}</ref> most by 1700 would have been adapted and have: separate buildings for livestock, a second storey, stairways, a chimney with bread oven, an outshut (pantry/larder/dairy which was only accessible from inside the house), glazed windows, lime screed floors and at least some decorative plasterwork.

=== Other European longhouses ===
Other European longhouse types include the northwest England type in [[Cumbria]],<ref>[http://www.vag.org.uk/VAarticles/clay-dabbins.htm Longhouse in Cumbria] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002234550/http://www.vag.org.uk/VAarticles/clay-dabbins.htm |date=2011-10-02 }}</ref> the Scottish longhouse, "[[blackhouse]]" or ''taighean-dubha,''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dualchas.com/index.php/Heritage/History.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231144510/http://www.dualchas.com/index.php/Heritage/History.html|url-status=dead|title=Blackhouse in Scotland|archive-date=December 31, 2009}}</ref> and the Scandinavian or [[Vikings|Viking]] ''Langhus/Långhus'' and [[mead hall]].

The Western French longhouse<ref>[http://www.pierreseche.com/VAFrance.html L'Architecture Vernaculaire de la France] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311024901/http://www.pierreseche.com/VAFrance.html |date=2009-03-11 }} by Christian Lassure, with a translation in English [http://www.pierreseche.com/VAFranceEnglish.html here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081116202211/http://www.pierreseche.com/VAFranceEnglish.html |date=2008-11-16 }}.</ref> or ''maison longue'' from [[Lower Brittany]], [[Normandy]], [[Mayenne]], [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]] (also in the [[Cantal]], [[Lozère]] and the [[Ariège (department)|Pyrenees Ariège]]), is very similar to the western British type with shared livestock quarters and central drain.

The [[Old Frisian longhouse]] or ''Langhuis'' developed into the [[Frisian farmhouse]] by integrating a large barn, typical of the [[Gulf house]] (German: ''Gulfhaus''), which spread since the 16th century from the Southern Netherlands along the North Sea coast to the east and north.

=== Medieval development of the Germanic longhouse ===
Further developments of the Germanic longhouse during the [[Middle Ages]] were the Low German house in northern and especially northwestern Germany and its northern neighbour, the [[Geestharden house]] in [[Jutland]] including [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]], with its variant, the Frisian house. With these house types the wooden posts originally rammed into the ground were replaced by posts supported on a base. The large and well-supported attic enabled large quantities of [[hay]] or grain to be stored in dry conditions. This development may have been driven because the weather became wetter over time. Good examples of these houses have been preserved, some dating back to the 16th century. The longhouse was 50 to 60 feet long.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

== Americas ==
{{Main|Longhouses of the indigenous peoples of North America}}
In North America two groups of longhouses emerged: the [[Longhouses of the indigenous peoples of North America|Native American/First Nations longhouse]] of the tribes usually connected with the [[Iroquois]] (Haudenosaunee) in the northeast, and a similarly shaped structure which arose independently among the [[indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]].

[[File:Interior of a Salish Longhouse, British Columbia, 1864.jpg|thumb|Interior of a Salish longhouse, British Columbia, 1864. Watercolour by Edward M. Richardson (1810–1874)]]

The longhouses inhabited by the Iroquois were wood boards/bark-covered structures of standardized design "in the shape of an arbor" about {{convert|6|to|7|m|ft}} wide providing shelter for several related families. The longhouse had a {{convert|3|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} central aisle and {{convert|2|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}} compartments, about {{convert|6|to|7|m|ft}} long, down each side. The end compartments were usually used for storage. Hearths were spaced about {{convert|6|to|7|m|ft}} apart down the aisle, with [[smoke hole]]s in the roof. Two families shared each hearth. Each longhouse would house several generations of an extended family; a house was built proportionately to the number of families it was expected to contain and might be lengthened over time to accommodate growth.<ref name=Snow>{{cite book|last1=Snow|first1=Dean|title=Mohawk Valley Archaeology: The Sites|date=1995|publisher=Matson Museum of Archaeology, Penn State University|isbn=0-9647913-0-7|url=http://anth.la.psu.edu/documents/23MohawkValleyArchaeologyTheSites23.pdf|access-date=May 2, 2016|archive-date=January 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114070926/http://anth.la.psu.edu/documents/23MohawkValleyArchaeologyTheSites23.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is possible to infer the population of an Iroquois town from the sizes and number of longhouses it contained.
<gallery>
File:Exterior view of traditional Iroquois longhouse.jpg|Exterior and cutaway view of an Iroquois longhouse
File:Iroquios Longhouse.tif|Interior of an Iroquois longhouse
</gallery>

In South America, the [[Tucano people]] of [[Colombia]] and northwest [[Brazil]] traditionally combine a household in a single long house. The [[Xingu peoples]] of central Brazil build a series of longhouses in circular formations forming round villages. The ancient [[Tupi people]] of the Brazilian coast used to do this as well. The [[Yanomami people]] of Brazil and [[Venezuela]] build a round hut with a thatched roof that has a hole in the middle, called [[shabono]], which could be considered a sort of longhouse.

== Asia ==

=== Korea ===
In [[Daepyeong]], an [[archaeological site]] of the [[Mumun pottery period]] in [[Korea]], longhouses have been found that date to circa 1100–850 BC. Their layout seems to be similar to those of the Iroquois. In these, several fireplaces were arranged along the longitudinal axis of the building. Later, the ancient [[Koreans]] started raising their buildings on stilts, so that the inner partitions and arrangements are somewhat obscure. The size of the buildings and their placement within the settlements may point to buildings for the nobles of their society or some sort of community or religious buildings. In [[Igeum-dong]], an excavation site in [[South Korea]], the large longhouses, 29 and 26 metres long, are situated between the [[megalithic]] cemetery and the rest of the settlement.

=== Taiwan ===
The longhouse may be an old building tradition among the people of [[Austronesian people|Austronesian]] origin or intensive contact.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} The [[Austronesian language]] group seems to have spread to southeast Asia and the Pacific islands as well as [[Madagascar]] from the island of [[Taiwan]]. Groups like the [[Siraya people|Siraya]] of ancient Taiwan built longhouses and practiced head hunting, as did, for example the later Dayaks of Borneo.

=== Borneo ===
[[File:Uma_Daro_in_Sungai_Asap,_Sarawak.jpg|thumb|A modern timber longhouse at Sungai Asap, [[Belaga, Sarawak]].]]
Many of the inhabitants of the Southeast Asian island of [[Borneo]] (now [[Kalimantan|Indonesian Kalimantan]], [[East Malaysia]] and [[Brunei Darussalam]]), the [[Dayak people|Dayak]], live traditionally in buildings known as [[Lamin House]] or longhouses: ''rumah betang'' in Indonesia (specifically the western parts of Borneo) and ''rumah panjang'' in Malay. Common to most of these is that they are built raised off the ground on stilts and are divided into a more or less public area along one side and a row of private living quarters lined along the other side. This seems to have been the way of building best accustomed to life in the [[jungle]] in the past, as otherwise hardly related people have come to build their dwellings in similar ways. One may observe similarities to South American jungle villages also living in large single structures. They are raised and built over a hill, flooding presents little inconvenience and the height acts as defence against enemy attacks. Some longhouses are quite large; up to 1152m.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://meimeichu.com/asia/malaysia/celebrating-sarawak-harvest-festival-at-uma-belor-kayan-longhouse/|title=Discovering Sarawak's Kayan tribe through a 'secret' harvest festival|date=June 3, 2019|access-date=October 6, 2019|archive-date=October 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006114446/https://meimeichu.com/asia/malaysia/celebrating-sarawak-harvest-festival-at-uma-belor-kayan-longhouse/|url-status=live}}</ref> The entire architecture is designed and built as a standing tree with branches to the right and left with the front part facing the sunrise while the back faces the sunset. The longhouse building acts as the normal accommodation and a house of worship for religious activities. The entry could double as a canoe dock. Cooling air could circulate underneath the raised floor of the dwelling, and the elevated living areas were more likely to catch above-ground breezes. Livestock could shelter underneath the longhouses for greater protection from predators and the elements. In fact, chickens coops were hung from the main room structure for easy feeding.

Old longhouses in Asia were made of tree trunks as structure members, long leaves as the roof cover, split bamboo or small tree trunks as the flooring and tree bark as the wall coverings. In the past, longhouses were primarily made out of timber sourced from trees such as ''[[Eusideroxylon zwageri]]'' (Bornean [[ironwood]]) so the longhouses were able to stand firm and durable. In modern times many of the older longhouses have been replaced with buildings using more modern materials, like brick or cement, but of similar design.

Many place names in [[Borneo]] have "Long" in their name (which means river) and most of these are or once were longhouses.

=== Siberut ===
{{Main|Uma longhouse}}
[[File:Mentawai Uma.jpg|thumb|An uma, the traditional communal house of the Sakuddei on the island of Siberut, part of the Mentawai Islands]]
A traditional house type of the [[Sakuddei]] people,<ref>As described by [[Reimar Schefold]], ''Speelgoed voor de zielen: Kunst en cultuur van de Mentawai-eilanden.'' Delft/Zürich: Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara/Museum Rietberg.(1979/80) and others.</ref> on the island of [[Siberut]], part of the [[Mentawai Islands]] some 130 kilometres (81&nbsp;mi) to the west off the coast of [[Sumatra]] (''Sumatera''), [[Indonesia]] is also described as a longhouse on stilts. Some five to ten families may live in each, but they are organized differently inside from those on Borneo. From front to back, such a house, called an "uma", regularly consists of an open platform serving as the main entrance place, followed by a covered gallery. The inside is divided into two rooms, one behind the other. On the back there is another platform. The whole building is raised on short stilts about half a metre off the ground. The front platform is used for general activities while the covered gallery is the favorite place for the men to host guests, and where the men usually sleep. The following first room is entered by a door and contains a central communal hearth and a place for dancing. There are also places for religious and ritual objects and activities. In the adjoining room the women and their small children as well as unmarried daughters sleep, usually in compartments divided into families. The platform on the back is used by the women for their everyday activities. Visiting women usually enter the house here.

=== Vietnam ===
[[File:MnongLonghouse.jpg|thumb|A Mnong longhouse in the [[Central Highlands (Vietnam)|Central Highlands]] of Vietnam]]
The [[Mnong people|Mnong]] and [[Rade people|Rade]] of [[Vietnam]] also have a tradition of building longhouses ({{langx|vi|nhà dài}}) that may be {{convert|30 to 40|m}} long.<ref>[http://dictionary.bachkhoatoanthu.gov.vn/default.aspx?param=1CD5aWQ9MjUxMDImZ3JvdXBpZD0ma2luZD1leGFjdCZrZXl3b3JkPU5IJWMzJTgwK0QlYzMlODBJ&page=1 Vietnamese description of the Nhà dài of the Ê Đê] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505000808/http://dictionary.bachkhoatoanthu.gov.vn/default.aspx?param=1CD5aWQ9MjUxMDImZ3JvdXBpZD0ma2luZD1leGFjdCZrZXl3b3JkPU5IJWMzJTgwK0QlYzMlODBJ&page=1 |date=May 5, 2009 }}</ref> In contrast to the jungle versions of Borneo these sport shorter stilts and seem to use a veranda in front of a short (gable) side as main entrance.

=== Nepal ===
The [[Tharu people|Rana Tharu]] is an [[ethnic group]] [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] to the western [[Terai]] of [[Nepal]]. Most of them prefer living in longhouses called ''Badaghar'' with big families of many generations, sometimes 40–50 people. All household members pool their labor force, contribute their income, share the expenditure and use one kitchen.<ref>Lam, L.M. (2009) ''Park, hill migration and changes in household livelihood systems of Rana Tharus in Far-western Nepal.'' University of Adelaide [http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/58136/1/02whole.pdf full text as pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928051025/http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/58136/1/02whole.pdf |date=2011-09-28 }}</ref> Traditionally, their houses are built entirely using natural materials such as [[Imperata cylindrica|reed]] poles for walls and [[Thatching|thatch]] for roofing.<ref>Auty, R.M., Brown, K. (eds.) (1997) ''Approaches to sustainable development.'' Pinter, London and Washington. {{ISBN|1-85567-439-4}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Housebarn]] or [[Byre-dwelling]], a related structure
* [[Indigenous architecture]]
* [[Igloo]]
* [[Tipi]]
* [[Wigwam]]
* [[Nakamal]], a similar building built by communities in Vanuatu
* [[Wharenui]], a similar structure built by the Māori people of New Zealand
* [[Dorset culture]], a Paleo-Eskimo culture that also built longhouses
* [[Kampong (village)]]
* [[Vernacular architecture]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
For the longhouses in Sarawak on Borneo, these books were used as sources, among others:
* Morrison, Hedda. [1962] (Fifth impression 1974). ''Life in a Longhouse'' – Borneo Literature Bureau Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Printed in Hong Kong by Dai Nippon Printing Co. (Int.) Ltd. – with translations to Malay, Iban and Chinese (''Pendiau Dirumah Panjai – Kehidupan Di-Rumah Panjang''). 
**Short introduction text followed by the photo section (ca. 170) with quite detailed descriptions to each photo in the four languages.
* Dickson, M.G. [1962] (Third edition (revised) 1968). ''Sarawak and its People'' – Borneo Literature Bureau. Printed in Hong Kong by Dai Nippon Printing Co. (Int.) Ltd.
**Basic school book keeping the language simple and explaining things so children unaware of the world outside of their village can easily understand. Yet, as school books often are, very rich in information. On page 100 is a drawing of a longhouse (cut open) with a detailed description. Some of the photos are from Hedda Morrison; see her book ''Life in a Longhouse''.

== Further reading ==
* [http://epress.anu.edu.au/austronesians/inside/html/frames.php Inside Austronesian Houses: Perspectives on domestic designs for living] with long sections on Borneo longhouses.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150502121723/http://www.sarawak.gov.my/content/view/96/116/ Population] listing of some of the ethnic groups of Sarawak, Malaysia.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100222033103/http://www.tribalarts.com/feature/borneo/ Borneo (Kalimantan)] Kenyah-Kayan traditional art.
* Robert J. Barrett (file dated 6 May 2004), [http://www.degruyter.com/journals/commed/pdf/1_25.pdf "Space, repetition and collective interlocution: Psychiatric interviews in a Borneo longhouse"] (pdf format). ''Communication & Medicine'' 1(1) (2004), pp.&nbsp;25&ndash;34.<br>Dense study of schizophrenia, but includes two pages of "2. Longhouse architecture: Ruai, bilik and sadau", with a plan view and elevation view; and detailed references.
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3307 The Pagan Tribes of Borneo by Charles Hose and William McDougall] from 1912. Somewhat pov as can be expected for the time and quite wrong on some ethnic points, still a good source for the architecture of the time and other things like clothing. Seems to center on the Kayan within Sarawak with regards to the difference to other groups. (Gutenberg project complete text)
* [[Royal Ontario Museum]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080430103259/http://www.rom.on.ca/schools/longhouse/village1.php longhouse village] View a North American longhouse village, Ontario, Canada.
** Exhibitions & Galleries: World Culture Galleries: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071017234741/http://rom.on.ca/exhibitions/wculture/wccanada.php Gallery of Canada: First Peoples]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20120418191455/http://www.rom.on.ca/collections/index.php Collections & Research] Online image collection.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090311024934/http://wickedsunshine.com/Projects/PotlatchLonghouse/PotlatchLonghouse-HistoricalReference.html ''The Potlatch Longhouse''] (Haida potlatches and longhouses)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Longhouse}}
[[Category:House types]]
[[Category:Architecture in Malaysia]]
[[Category:Rumah adat]]
[[Category:Vernacular architecture]]
[[Category:Indigenous architecture of the Americas]]