The houses in Burma are mostly built of bamboo. The giant bamboo
{wabo), a denizen of the evergreen hills, is cultivated in the plains for house-
posts and masts and side-buoys of boats. Its culms attain a height of eighty
feet and a girth at the butt of two feet. Every bamboo jungle supplies the
rest of the material for the house. No tools are needed for bamboo work,
but the universal dd — a sabre, trimmer, chopper, according to its proportions
(No. 231). With the dd the bamboos are hewn, split open and slit into withes
{/mi) for lashing. Thin-walled bamboos are
opened out into broad planks for the walls
of the houses {taydn). Stout thick-walled
bamboos are shaped into narrow planks for
flooring, or the floor is laid of round
bamboos laced down at intervals. Loose
planks of wood are becoming general for
floors, even in houses built of bamboo
(p. 119). Every Burman can handle the
dd, but not so expertly as the hill people.
The house-posts, floor-girders, and principal
frames are frequently of timber, and outlast
several relays of the bamboo-work, which
decays in a few seasons. The inducement
to keep a material clean and neat which
has soon to be replaced is not great, and
engenders negligent habits. In the better
houses, bamboo is only used for the walling ,21. winnowing grain in the wind.
HO USE-B UILDING



57




122. CUTTING GIANT BAMBOO (WABo).
