Cultural Space of Tai Dam Vernacular Houses in Ban Na Pa Nad community, Loei province

Abstract

Tai Dam communities at Ban Na Pa Nad are part of an ethnic group whose ancestors originally resided in the areas of Mueang Puan in Laos and Sip Song Chau Tai in Vietnam. Due to political reasons and insecurity, some members of these communities were captured and relocated to Thailand during the Haw Wars (1865-1890). With physical settings changing from valley to the Isan plateau (northeast Thailand), Tai Dam communities at Ban Na Pa Nad had to adapt their way of living to Isan's cultural context. One important impact has been on the cultural spatial organization of the communities' houses. This research article aims to study the cultural space of Tai Dam vernacular houses in Ban Na Pa Nad in the context of a change of physical settings, residential patterns, and community physical layout patterns. This study based on qualitative research methodology gathered data collected from interviewees identified through purposive sampling and from thirteen case studies of vernacular houses. These houses were constructed at different periods and are all considered representative of Tai Dam vernacular houses. Field survey, photographs, and in-depth interviews further helped to analyze cultural space and places and their hidden meanings. The present study reveals that changes in the physical layout of the community settlement was caused by grid road patterns and land division. Another consequence was the orientation and features of Tai Dam houses at Ban Na Pa Nad later adopted in the Isan and contemporary house style and space use based on the needs and activities of house owners. The survey presented in this paper highlights that the cultural space of Tai Dam vernacular houses in Ban Na Pa Nad is centered on the position of Ga Lor Hong (sacred space/ancestor's area), which is considered as the sacred space and core area of the internal space in all houses surveyed. Most houses surveyed have a spirit post or ancestor post which determines the direction of home owners for their sleep and which is also associated with the mountain's direction in the context of the community settlement. This later spatial concept is in harmony with Tai Dam cultural space organization inherited from the past and may be better adapted to two-storey houses rather than one-storey houses. Ga Lor Hong still epitomizes the connection that Tai Dam people cultivates between their houses and the larger environment outside Ban Na Pa Nad despite having a history of migration to their current settlement area that dates back to more than a hundred years.