Md. Ekram Hossein

Architecture of Arakan

Architecture (ARC)

Shelter

Illustrative

In Rohingya, uinja means high and ghor means house. This type of house is called an uinja ghor because the ground floor is built on a platform which is raised off the ground to prevent wild animals from entering the house.

A wooden staircase is used to enter the house. The floor and the frame of the house are made of wood while the walls and the roof are made of cane, bamboo and om fata (nipa palm leaf) thatching. It costs around 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 Kyat to make a uinja ghor the length of which is around 21 feet, and the breadth around 14 feet. It typically has a height of around 13 feet from the platform. Houses like these have good air circulation.

A carpenter makes the wooden part of the house, and works together with a bamboo craftsman who does the thatching and the walls. A wooden balcony in front of the house is used as a common outdoor space, and two levels with three to five chambers in the main building. There is a ladder to climb up to the upper level with the bedrooms, and the ground floor has a kitchen as well as a storeroom.