Vernacular Architecture of Karnataka
Significance of the Term-Vernacular Architecture : Probably the term ‘vernacular architecture’ was initially used only on a negative sense by that it is not designed by architects. Later people came to understand that vernacular architecture is predominantly the architecture of houses designed and built by people for their own use. It is the form that a society has arrived at, through a process of growth and expansion, in a particular tradition, climatic and industrial milieu. The forms are not stagnant, they grow continuously, albeit slowly, in response to literary and technological changes. In view of the progressive nature of this method, it is often possible to claim that the vernacular achieves total rapport between lifestyle and built-form.
The Gutthu Houses of the land owning community of south Karnataka are large, inward looking Hindu Mansions. The typical Guttu house has a steeply pitched roof, combining single & double storeyed blocks around a courtyard. It is the isolated home of a well-to-do family designed to deter attacks. The façade is usually symmetrical around a central projection, the tallest and most impressive feature of the house. The principal building material is wood.
The Khamb-Wooden pillars in atraditional Bunt house called Guthu Mane. Guthu mane are traditional homes of bunt community of coastal Karnataka. Such traditional Bunt houses can still be seen across the Tulu Nadu region. A rather square complex with ample space for storage all around. The pillars are made of wood. There are usually 4 doors, one on each side of the square complex. The roof is of Mangalore tiles. The inner square is an open area — a place often utilized to dry stuff.
One of the well preserved houses, Kodial Guthu, stands at the centre of Mangalore city.Royal houses of the Bunts are called Aramane.
The KODAGU (COORG) district in Karnataka is the only region of the south known for its martial people. Every Kodava belongs to a clan or Vokka. There are more than 300 clans within the community. Every clan lived in a Ain-Mane an Ancestral house. The Patriarch and Matriarch of the clan lived in the Ain house with their sons and their families. However as families grew bigger there was a need to build more living space. Usually the younger sons moved away and built their own houses.
About 200 years ago these grand homesteads bustled with activity.The granaries were filled with stocks of rice to last a year.Firewood was chopped and stocked to see them through the long monsoon.The Ain house resonated with the shouts of grand-children, the clatter of horse carriages, bullocks, pigs, chickens and the barking of hunting dogs.
Aynmane house has 2 massive columns at the entrance and has a central open courtyard.
Joint family system was the hallmark in the “Ain Mane culture. M en and women cultivated paddy on their land under the leadership of the master of the family and shared the bounty after the harvest. The ancestral house is marked by the deeply cut passage called “oni, leading to the front. The “oni is paved with rough stones and has sloped walls on either side. An ideally built “Ain Mane resembles a fort. The Ainemane has always been a mirror reflecting the Kodava culture. This ancestral abode is a remarkable structure and a place of unique bonding. The structure of this building is thought to be symbolic of the unity in the family. On festivals and important occasions, Vokka (clan) members gather at the Ainmane and partake in the ceremonies held there.
Also called the Gurukarana Mane or Gurumane, the Ainemane gives Kodavas their family name. Several family units put together comprise a Vokka. Each Vokka owns an Ainemane. The Kings who ruled Kodagu built their Palaces following the architectural style of the Taravad houses of the Nairs of Kerala- proof of the cordial relations between Kodagu and Kerala. Typically the Ain Mane stands on a hillock surrounded by paddy fields, swaying areca nut trees and coffee plantations.
The Ain Mane, depending on the wealth of the clan stands surrounded by the huts of the farm workers and animal sheds. A well provides fresh water. It has a sloping tiled roof to face the onslaught of the torrential monsoon. • There is a central courtyard which is open to the sky.A narrow corridor runs all around the courtyard connecting to the rooms.Usually the kitchen is at the rear of the house or even a little away to keep the smoke away.The toilet and bathing area is always away from the main building.
Two massive wooden poles adorn the entrance. The central Nadubaade would consist of three wooden poles. The first pole is called as Kannikamba — it supports the whole roof of Ainmane.
The kannikamba is as significant as the thook bolcha (hanging lamp) lit everyday at the Nellakki Baade(prayer room). At Ainmane, the prime position is given to karona, the head of that particular family. During ceremonies, family members would seek blessings by touching the base of kannikamba and then the feet of elders.
Images of sun, moon, flowers etc. adorn Kannikamba and main doors, signifying that Kodavas were nature worshippers.An integral part of Ainmane is Kaimada — an important structure built in memory of the founder of that family or Vokka.It is a prayer place which is used during happy or sad ceremonies.Unique feature about Kodava culture is that men and women share same kind of respect, status and position.
Padasale — The rectangular hall around which the rooms are arranged. Mundu — The inevitable open courtyard in the centre. Kanni Kombara — Prayer place, where a deity is installed; Here, the karona(family ancestor) symbolized by a lamp is worshipped and offered food at festivals. Kitchen — sacred; the mud oven/stove should face east.
