Lak - Settlements

Lak settlements are small and dispersed. A large village consists of ten to fifteen houses, containing at most seventy to eighty people. Villages are usually affiliated with nearby satellite hamlets, each consisting of one to three houses. Only in densely populated Lambom Island, where land and water are scarce, is this pattern altered. Men gather to build houses collectively, but each house is occupied by a single nuclear family. At the margin of each community is a triun, or place forbidden to women and children. This area is used for men's society activities. Near the triun, or sometimes within the village proper, is a men's house ( pal). Bachelors, but also all men whose daughters have reached puberty, sleep in the pal. Lak villages are located along the coast in areas cleared of coconut palms. Copra stands and betel palms ring the villages, while gardens lie farther off.