Mountain Arapesh - Settlements



The Mountain Arapesh lived in small hamlets of about six houses located on the leveled crests of densely forested, razor-backed ridges. Each hamlet was owned by a patrilineage, though under the fluid nature of Mountain Arapesh social organization, residents often included households belonging to other patrilineages. In each locality, there was also a central wabul, or "feasting village," where the locality's ceremonial feasts and tambaran cult houses were sited. There were two basic house structures: the pile house, raised 3 feet off the ground on stilts and occasionally gabled; and the ground house, built directly on the earth. They were thatched with sago palm fronds or tiles of sago leaflets and walled with sago bark shingles, sago fronds, or coconut fronds.

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