ABSTRACT
The houses or “compounds” line the market place, streets and lanes, without footpaths. The usual arrangement is a square or rectangular compound completely surrounded by a wall. The “windows” (wooden shutters) of the roans are usually on the outside walls, opening on the road, while the doors are on the inside opening on the courtyard. At night both are shut, and very little ventilation is possible. There is usually a single door to the courtyard, which can be locked at night, securing both the inhabitants and the animals, which are allowed to roam around the village in the daytime and are driven into the compounds at night for safety. Roof trusses are mostly of rough sawn local wood, and the roof is covered by thatch, wooden rough–split shingles also of local wood, or by imported corrugated iron sheets, or by a combination of these materials. Timber for roof–trusses or shingles would be obtained from sawyers.
