Zawlbuk

Zawlbûk (/ˌzɔːlˈbuːk/ or /ˌzɒlˈbuːk/) (Mizo zâwl literally means ʻflatʼ, and bûk means ʻhutʼ) was a traditional bachelorsʼ quarters of the Mizo people, predominantly of the Luseis living in Mizoram, India. It was prominently the largest house in the tribal village, and it was customary for every village to have it constructed in the middle of the habitation. Even though its basic use was as a dormitory for all unmarried men of the village, it was much more a social institution where education, entertainment, skill and personal developments, and security of the tribal community were (almost) entirely centred.

Zawlbûk was always located at the centre of the village, in close proximity to the chief’s residence. Since its basic purpose was to house all the bachelors of the village, it was dominantly the largest house. The size did vary from village to village depending on the size of the community. It was constructed though social work using timbers and thatch from the nearby forest. The timber forming the central pole is specially large to support most of the structure, and is called tlung. From this were extended a sloping roof and floor with support structures. The floor and walls were made of cracked bamboo, and the roof entirely of thatch. It had no special entrance as the entire front was open. However, the front had a small platform or verandah with a bamboo wall hanging from the roof up to about 5 ft, making the entrance quite low. Usually to the right of this area was reserved for the stockpile of firewood. The space around this verandah was called awkpaka, which was delimited by one (or two) massive log of wood, at about 2 ft high, spanning the whole breadth of the entrance. This was known as bawhbel (or pawmpual to the sountherners) and was an off-limit to the rest of the population, women, children, married men, and even the royalty and the council. The interior was simply a spacious empty room practically without any furniture, other than a fireplace at the very centre. The back wall was made into a small platform known as dawvan about 6 ft wide and 1 ft high from the floor. The entire floor served as a wrestling (which was pretty much the nightly activity) arena and the sleeping area. Just above was the bahzar which could be opened towards the outside as a big window.

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Wikipedia