Sora - Settlements

The population of Sora villages varies from around 100 to 800. Villages generally contain several quarters ( longlong ), each inhabited by one patrilineage ( birinda ). Among close relatives, several houses are usually joined together in one terrace with a common veranda. Since the wall dividing these houses is not closed off at the top, the effect is somewhat like a longhouse and conversations can be held between houses over the dividing wall. In autumn, as the crops are ripening on the hillsides, the villages are largely deserted as people move to widely scattered "baby houses" ( o'onsing ) in order to guard their crops against wild animals. Some people prefer to remain permanently on these sites. Even at the edge of the Villages new, freestanding houses are appearing. Houses are solidly built of stone plastered with red mud. Roofs are thatched. Inside there is generally a single room, though the layouts are highly variable.