Kapauku - Settlements



The Kapauku village settlement is a loose cluster of about fifteen dwellings, typically housing about 120 people. Houses are not oriented to one another in any formal plan, as Individuals are free to build wherever they please, as long as proper title or lease is held to the piece of land upon which the house is to be built. Dwellings consist, minimally, of a large house ( owa), an elevated structure with a space beneath in which to shelter domesticated pigs. This building is divided into halves separated by a plank partition. The front half is the emaage, or men's dormitory. The back section is subdivided into kugu, or individual "apartments," one for each woman and her Children. If the owa is insufficient to provide space for wives and children, outbuildings (called tone ) are added.

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