THE YAKHA: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ...

omphu, but were expected to sit along the raised ledge (peDi) outside.
The householder sometimes provided a wooden stool for this purpose.
Higher caste people also sometimes felt uncomfortable stepping inside a
bhi trai omphu. The bGhira omphu was a combination of the two designs,
an inner porch which was 'out of bounds' to lower castes, and an outer
which was open to all. The two did not have to be separated by even a
partial wall. In one Yakha house we visited, anopen, fence-like wooden
divide separated the inner end outer sections, which were basically a
khulB. omphu and an outer extension to a khul6 omphu, Only those
breaking caste rules went into the inner section.
These porch designs and rules were understood and shared with other
groups. The Kami family we interviewed (who were relatively well off)
had a bahira omphu, Other Kami and Damai families almost invariably had
khula omphu outside their small houses: they did not wish to discourage
visitors.
In our family's porch, there were benches on either side to sit on,
with storage underneath. These benches could be used as beds at night
if visitors came to stay. There was also a wooden chair and a table in
the middle of the porch. The porch was quite elaborately decorated with
woodwork painted green and red, recessed shelves, and framed photos of
family and friends hanging around the walls above head level# Above
these were some high wooden shelves on which were kept some of the
paraphernalia of outdoor 1 ife such as paint and our father's bow, At
night these things were protected by closing the porch up with wooden
shutters and planks.
During the spring it was quite common for swallows to make their
nests in the eaves of people's porches. They were positively encouraged