Barabara

A barabara or barabora^[1] (Russian); ulax̂, ulaagamax, ulaq, or ulas (plural) (Aleut); and ciqlluaq (Alutiiq ~ Sugpiaq)^[2]^[3]^[4] were the traditional, main or communal dwelling used by the Alutiiq people and Aleuts, the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands. They lay partially underground like an earth lodge or pit-house, and most of the house was excavated from the dirt so as to withstand the high forces of wind in the Aleutian chain of islands. Barabaras are no longer used,^[5] as present-day Aleuts live in modern houses and apartment buildings.

Overview

Ulax̂

The Unangax̂ traditional home had various forms which carried three core traits. The first being that ulax̂ were universally semi-subterranean; consisting of foundation pits framed by rock, driftwood or whale bone, with sod roofs upon which grass freely grew. The homes were accessed through a hatch in the roof (Aleut: galgix̂) utilizing driftwood or whalebone ladders. These homes were often a single room with the hearth set to the side and the entrance ladder placed in the middle of the room.^[6] Ulax̂ ranged in size depending on their location and time period from an average 4 by 6 meters during the neoglacial period, to the later longhouse style homes recorded by Veniaminov; reaching between 10 and 60 meters and potentially housing over 30 families.^[6]

Ciqlluaq

The traditional homes of Alutiiq were semi-subterranean homes created by framing a foundation pit with wooden planks and supporting the roof with a post and beam framework. This structure was then insulated by a layering the outside of the structure with sod and thatch. The homes were centered around a main room with a central hearth and benches providing a functional work space. The central chamber was then joined by various side chambers to provide space for sleeping, storage, and other uses. The bottom of the room had one or more holes for an "inhouse". The entrance typically had a small wind envelope, or "Arctic entry", to prevent cold wind, rain or snow from blowing into the main room and cooling it off. There was usually a small hole in the ceiling from which the smoke from the fire escaped.^[2]

Gallery

Barabaras in Karluk, Alaska with steeple in background
Barabaras in Karluk
Group of men in front of structures including a barabara at center, Karluk Village, 1906
Food cache and barabara sod hut in Nushagak, 1917

References

↑ "Facts on File: Barabara". Retrieved 9 September 2023.
1 2 "Sod Houses. Ciqlluaq" (PDF). alutiiqmuseum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
↑ Qik'rtarmiut Alutiitstun/Sugt'stun (Kodiak Alutiiq Language). Prepared by Native Village of Afognak. 2009. [sod house / barabara ciqlluaq]
↑ Jeff Leer (introduction) 2007 (eighth printing). Nanwalegmiut Paluwigmiut-llu Nupugnerit / Conversational Alutiiq Dictionary (Kenai Peninsula Alutiiq) [barabara (now usually used to mean "shed"): ciqluaq]
↑ Nabokov, Peter & Robert Easton (1989). Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press, pg. 205. ISBN 0-19-503781-2
1 2 Corbett, Debra; Hanson, Diane (2023). Culture and Archaeology of the Ancestral Unangax̂ / Aleut of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. pp. 311–313. ISBN 978-3-031-44292-6.

External links

[1] "Facts on File: Barabara". Retrieved 9 September 2023.

[:1-2] 1 2 "Sod Houses. Ciqlluaq" (PDF). alutiiqmuseum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2023.

[3] Qik'rtarmiut Alutiitstun/Sugt'stun (Kodiak Alutiiq Language). Prepared by Native Village of Afognak. 2009. [sod house / barabara ciqlluaq]

[4] Jeff Leer (introduction) 2007 (eighth printing). Nanwalegmiut Paluwigmiut-llu Nupugnerit / Conversational Alutiiq Dictionary (Kenai Peninsula Alutiiq) [barabara (now usually used to mean "shed"): ciqluaq]

[NAA205-5] Nabokov, Peter & Robert Easton (1989). Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford University Press, pg. 205. ISBN 0-19-503781-2

[:0-6] 1 2 Corbett, Debra; Hanson, Diane (2023). Culture and Archaeology of the Ancestral Unangax̂ / Aleut of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. pp. 311–313. ISBN 978-3-031-44292-6.

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v t e Hut dwelling designs and semi-permanent human shelters
Traditional immobile	Bahay kubo (Nipa hut) Barabara Beehive house Bothy Bunong Burdei Bure Cleit Clochán (beehive hut) Crotto Dugout Earth lodge Funco Girna Goahti Hogan Humpy Icelandic turf house Igloo Jacal Kapar Log cabin Maloca Menstruation Mitato Musgum mud huts Oca Orri Palloza Pit-house Qargi Qarmaq Quiggly hole Quinzhee Rondavel Roundhouse Ruka Sassi di Matera Shieling Sod house Sukkah Tongkonan Trullo Tukul Wigwam, wickiup and wetu Zemlyanka	Housing portal
Traditional mobile	Chum Lavvu Shepherd's hut Tipi Yaranga Yurt and ger Ger district
Open-air	Beach fale Cabana Chickee Gazebo Lean-to Palapa Pergola Ramada Toguna
Modern	Beach hut Hopper hut Iris hut Logging camp Nissen hut Quonset hut Jamesway hut Romney hut Rondavel Slab hut Twynham hut Wilderness hut Alpine club hut Mountain hut Winter room
Related topics	Cabanes du Breuil Circular linhay Earth sheltering Shack Shed Skellig Michael Stilt house Tent Thatching Transhumance Tree house Vernacular architecture Village des Bories
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