Traditional forms of rural habitat in Pakistan

Kamil Khan Mumtaz

H u m a n settlements

and socio-cultural environments

UNESCO

VILLAGE BINGIANWALA, SARGODHA, PUNJAB

TYPICAL HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE BINGIANWALA, SARGODHA, PUNJAB

CONTENTS

. Preface

. Introduction

. Environment and rural habitat

. Social patterns and rural habitat

. Traditional concepts in modem architecture

-3-

LIST OF DRAWINGS

1. Map of Pakistan showing geographic regions.

2. Mohammad Afsar's Cave Dwelling, Jallo, Campbellpur, Punjab.

3. Cave Dwelling of Margethkhel Tribe -

Khurmatan, Darra, Adam khel, Khyber Agency, N.W.F.P.

4. Dr. Khudadad's House, Katan Near Khuzdar, Baluchistan.

5. Sultan Zarin's House, Kalam, Swat, N.W.F.P.

6. Wali Melmani's Kodal House, Kohan, Baluchistan.

7. Wali Melmani's Kodal House, Kohan, Baluchistan.

8. Typical House in Kotkaramat, Lahore, Punjab.

9. Typical House in Kotkaramat, Lahore, Punjab.

10. House with Thatched Roof in Kotkaramat, Lahore, Punjab.

11. Typical House in Kotkaramat, Lahore, Punjab.

12. Typical House in Kotkaramat, Lahore, Punjab.

13. Mohammad Farid Khan's House, Shaidu, Peshawer, N.W.F.P.

14. Rehman Gul's House, Nihalpura, Near Kund, Peshawer, N.W.F.P.

15. Village Bingianwala, Sargodha, Punjab.

16. Typical House in Village Bingianwala, Sargodha, Punjab.

-4-

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS

1. Wind Catchers, Thatta, Sind

2. Wind Catchers, Thatta, Sind

3. Mud walls, Jallo, Punjab

4. Cave dwelling, Dara Adam Khel, North West Frontier Province

5. Cave dwellings Jallo, Punjab

6. Clan compund, Bara, North West Frontier Province

7. Village, Dara Adam Khel, North West Frontier Province

8. Houses, Katan, Baluchistan

9. Village, Swat, North West Frontier Province

10. House, Kalam, North West Frontier Province

11. Mosque, Swat, North West Frontier Province

12. Carved door, Subedar's house, Madyan, N.W.F.P.

13. Painted Mural, Sultan Zarin's old house, Madyan, Swat, N.W.F.P.

14. Mud plaster relief design, Sultan Zarin's house, Madyan, Swat, North West Frontier Province

15. Central Court, Sultan Zarin's House, Madyan, N.W.F.P.

16. Wali Melani's "Kodal", Kohan, Baluchistan

17. Nomad Tents, Punjab

18. Mat Tents, Baluchistan

19. Village, Sarkan, Baluchistan

20. Stables court, Tiwana's house, KaLra, Punjab

21. Entrance to Family precinct, Tiwana's house, Kalra, Punjab

22. Courtyard, Tiwana's house, Kalra, Punjab

23. Courtyard in Pasani Khan Khel compound, Shaidu, N.W.F.P.

24. Street, Pasani Khan Khel compound, Shaidu, N.W.F.P.

25. Peasant's house, Isuri Payan, North West Frontier Province

26. Angoori Bagh Housing, Lahore, Punjab

27. Angoori Bagh Housing, Lahore, Punjab

28. Nasserabad - Mariabad, Quetta, Baluchistan

29. Naseerabad - Mariabad, Quetta, Baluchistan.

-S-

PREFACE

This report on traditional forms of

rural architecture in Pakistan, financed

and initiated by UNESCO, is primarily

based on a survey conducted by the author

in the summer of 1976. The scope and

extent of the study was necessarily

restricted by the time available but

was further curtailed by the unpreced­

ented floods and rains which swept the

region in July, affecting Punjab and

Sind. For these regions use has been

made of previous studies by the author

and his students. In particular, I am

indebted to Shakeel Ahmad for providing

the plans of a typical "chak" village

and houses from his work on soil as a

building material, and to the Department

of Architecture, National College of

Arts, for measured drawings of typical

houses from a study of "Kot Karamat".

For preparing the drawings from my

field notes, I am thankful to Tasneem

Rizvi. All photographs are by the author

but I am indebted to Hashim Khan for

providing valuable technical advice,

guidance and facilities.

Among the regions which could not

be included in this study, the most

notable are the extreme north, the

Cholistan and Thar desert and the Mekran

coast and mountains. Thus while the

present study is far from being complete

or exhaustive, it is hoped that it will

nevertheless serve as a useful intro­

duction and an incentive for further

work in this field.

-7-

INTRODUCTION

Pakistan is the western-most country

of the South Asian subcontinent. It

straddles the north-west frontier where

the Indo-Gangetic plain meets the

eastern edge Qf the Iran-Afghanistan

plateau. This frontier is defined by

a series of mountains from the high

Karakoram and Himalayas in the north,

through the Hindu Kush and Suleiman

ranges, to the Baluchistan plateau and

Mekran ranges along the Arabian Sea.

These mountains which cover most of

the land surface of Pakistan, are arid

except for the northern slopes which

catch the monsoons at the end of their

lourney across the subcontinent.

A large part of the remaining area

is desert, the Thar-Cholistan desert

along the border with India and the

smaller Thai desert between the Indus

and Chenab rivers. Between the desert

and mountains runs a narrow ribbon of

green which is the fertile plain of

the Indus and Punjab system of rivers.

This plain, irrigated by the world's

most extensive network of canals,

supports the most populous of the

peoples of Pakistan, the Punjabis

in the north and Sindhis in the south.

The vast but sparsely populated

mountains, on the other hand, are the

home of the Baluch in the southern

half and Pathans in the northern.

These, together with a number of

smaller indigenous and immigrant

nationalities, make up the ethnic

complex of Pakistan.

The people of Pakistan share a

common history of half a million years

of cultural development. Each stage

of development in this long history

is marked by interactions and mutual

exchanges between the people of its

several regions. With each stage of

development the cultural centre has

shifted from region to region. From

the Potwar plateau in the Punjab and

the Baluchistan hills, to the Sindh

(Indus) valley, from Gandhara in the

North West Frontier to the Gangetic

plain of India. Yet at no stage has

this evolution been uniform or thorough

in the sense of extending equally to

and including all the regions of the

country at the same time.

Even today, modern industrialisation

has made little or no impact beyond the

few pockets of urban concentration, and

most of the population of Pakistan

continues to live in rural communities,

the patterns of their daily lives

governed by herding and grazing economies

of tribal people or backward agricultural

practices of feudal societies. Out of

the persistance of these patterns over

a long period of time have evolved

forms of rural habitat corresponding

to the livelihood of the people, the

forms of society, material resources

and climates of each of the regions

of Pakistan.

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-9-

ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL HABITAT

A closer analysis reveals a number

of climatic variations within each of

the major topographic regions. For

instance, the central plain can be

divided into three distinct climatic

zones : the humid coastal and delta ;

the dry Sindh and Southern Punjab ;

and the monsoon plain of the central

Punjab. Similarly, the mountains have

a narrow humid coastal strip along the

Arabian Sea ; the Arid Baluchistan

plateau ; the milder North West Frontier

and Potwar plateau ; the moist and

wooded northern valleys ; and the drier

extreme north. The traditional forms

of rural habitat in each of these

regions reflect the variations in

climatic conditions as much as the

variations in available materials within

each environment.

The delta region of the lower Indus

has a low rainfall but a high humidity,

with a steady prevailing sea breeze.

The scrub vegetation in this region

consists of low stunted trees and bushes.

These form the basic materials of the

two principal forms of construction.

In the more common form for rural

domestic structures, the slender stems

of a local juniper shrub are struck

upright into a narrow trench in the

ground to form a closely packed hedge.

-10-

Successive layers of these stems are

added to make up the wall and are held

together by bundles of reeds tied

across the stems at the joints. The

result is a wickerwork of a dark vertical

texture criss-crossed by a pattern of

horizontal and diagonal lines of the

lighter coloured reed bundles.

The roofs are thatched with a double

slope and central ridge, and the typical

house consists of a pair of such roofs

over a room and an adjoining shed facing

into a courtyard which is screened by

the same hedge-like construction of

closely packed juniper stems.

This form of construction provideo

a light-weight structure with a low

thermal capacity, essential in a warm

humid climate, and permits the constant

sea breeze to filter in through the walls.

A second form of construction in the

same region employs local timber to make

a frame onto which are mailed shorter

laths (to form a basket-like

construction), which are usually

plastered over with an earth and straw

mixture. This again produces a light­

weight, low thermal capacity construction,

in which the timber frame permits a

multistorey development. Indeed in

the larger settlements, dwellings

constructed in this fashion can rise

three, four, even five stories. Such

congested vertical construction

naturally restricts air movement at the

lower levels. This problem is conse­

quently overcome by ingenious wind-catcher

devices which punctuate the Skyline of

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many a rural and most urban settlements

in the lower Sindh. (Ph. 1, 2).

The typical wind-catcher or "mungh"

is a 3 to 4 feet square funnel which

protrudes 4 to 6 feet above the roof.

It is orientated diagonally to the wind,

its two adjacent leeward sides are

walled and the two windward sides are

open. The roof of the funnel slopes back

along the diagonal in line with the

wind. A trap door at roof level, is

operated by a cord and pully to act

as a damper controlling the flow of

air. A system of ducts can carry the air

from the roof down to the lowest floor,

producing a gentle current of cool air.

-12-

Beyond the reach of the humid sea

breeze, these lightweight, airy structures

give way to massive earth walls with

small openings. In the riverine plains

earth is the most abundantly available

building material. Timber, from a

variety of Acacia and the more valuable

"Sheesham" (Indian Rosewood), is available

but is a precious commodity, reserved

for the roof structure. More than any

other factor, it is the earth, the very

substance of the alluvial plain which

determines the forms of its rural

architecture. Whether in the form of

sun-dried bricks, blocks or pisé, it is

the plastic quality of this material

that gives the villages of the plain

their characteristic features : as

successive generations excavate the

soil to build their sun-dried earth

villages upon the debris of previous

generations, a mound gradually rises

above the plain, and upon it surface

drains, sometimes lined with burnt bricks,

follow the twisting pattern of narrow

streets, carrying the waste from each

house to the pits which fill up into

large ponds. Thus from the broadest

silhouette of the village to every

detail of its individual buildings -

undulating moulded surfaces ; softly

rounded edges and mud plastered

textures, exagerated by accute shadows

under a harsh sun - the forms, colours

and textures of the earth predominate.

(Ph. 3).

PLAN MOHAMMAD AFSAR CAVE DWELLING, JALLO ,CAI

fig: 2

- 1 3 -

Even in the foothills and valleys

of the mountainous regions, wherever

clay soil is available, it continues

to be the dominant building material.

Here the windowless high walls, often

protected by copings and eaves, and

frequently in juxtaposition with stone,

appear to have a crisper and cleaner

appearance. A new dimension is added

to the visual drama of these modelled

clay surfaces when the village clusters

break up into steps and terraces

following the contours of the land.

Occasionally in these foothills

and valleys the dwellings are literally

carved into the earth. Two of the areas

where such cave-dwellings are found

are the Campbellpur district on the

Potwar plateau and the Tribal Agency

areas around Peshawar,

In the Campbellpur district the

caves are carved into the vertical faces

of loess cliffs, formed by centuries

of water erosion cutting steep canyons

into the thick clay deposits. (Ph. 5).

A typical dwelling (fig. 2) consists

of one or two rectangular chambers about

12 feet wide and some 24 feet long.

A wide earth platform at one end of the

chambers usually serves for stacking

away bedding, while other ledges,

shelves and niches, are carved out of

the walls to hold smaller items. The

entrance to the chamber is often closed

by a timber door. The door or mouth of

the cave opens onto a level terrace

which serves as the family courtyard.

Quite often, when a family becomes

affluent, additional rooms are built

in the open, and as the family moves

nain chamber I J- *—-

PLAN

CAVE DWELLING OF MARGETHKHEL TRIBE-KHURMATAN(onginally from Tira)

DARRA ADAM KHEL,KHYBER AGENCY, N.W.FP. _J

-14-

out, the caves are converted into

storage or animal sheds, or fall

into disrepair.

In the Khyber and Darra Adam Khel

passes near Peshawar similar caves

(fig. 3) are dug into rolling, soft

clay hills. Here a narrow slit trench

is cut into the sloping side of a hill,

to make a horizontal passage to the

cave mouth. The cave itself is begun

fairly deep into the hill and consists

of a single large chamber, roughly

rectangular, about twelve feet across

and often more than twenty feet deep.

The ceilings are barely six feet high

and a hearth is invariably located in

the middle or to the rear of the chamber.

Above the hearth is a vent shaft

which leads to well-protected outlet

at the crest of the hill. The earth

and stone cover over the vent shaft

outlet serves both to conceal it from

view and protect it from rain. A low

stone and earth parapet on the hill

side directly above the cave mouth,

diverts rain water flowing down the

slope, away from the cave entrance.

The trench passage from the cave leads

out onto a small level terrace screened

off by a low rough stone wall. (Ph.4 ).

Communities of these cave dwellings

are usually found arranged in a row

towards the top of a hill. But many

of the tribes who have traditionally

lived in such dwellings are now

abandoning them in favour of the more

common form of construction used in

the region.

In the barren treeless mountains,

typical of the North West Frontier

and Baluchistan, stone and earth are

the only readily available building

materials. The climate is generally

harsh, reaching extreme temperatures

in both winter and summer. As should

be expected under such conditions

the architecture of these regions is

heavy and massive, with high walls

enclosing courtyards around which are

arranged the habitable rooms. The only

openings in the exteriors are a single

entrance gate and some tiny portholes

whose only function is to permit a rifle

to fire at hostile visitors approaching

the walls.

The walls are constructed of rammed

earth or pisé where clay soil is available,

and otherwise of rough stone masonry,

with or without a mud plastered finish.

Roofs are invariably flat and in some

regions have projecting caves.

-15-

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In Baluchistan this basic type is

varied in certain details. The roofs

of the otherwise similar mud walled

houses have a modest slope. This is

more pronounced in the northern region

of Baluchistan where rain and snow falls

are relatively heavy. Here the earth

roofs often have a double pitch, the

central ridge being formed by a rough

beam running through the long axis of

the row of two or three rooms, supported

by the cross walls and one or two posts

in each room. The rooms themselves

are without any furniture except for

a long low earth platform on which are

stacked an ample supply of colourful

woollen rugs and blankets. These rugs

and "Namdahs" (woollen felt mats with

-16-

open courtyard

D R . K H U D A D A D S HOUSE, KATAN, NEAR KHUZDAR, EtALUCHISTAN

oolionqi cnonnel

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of Baluchistan this traditional form

of construction has a marked local

character due mainly to the use of

the palm tree as a major building

material in addition to earth (Fig. 4)

The only source of timber in this

region, the trunk of the palm tree

forms provides the basic structural

elements such as beams and columns ;

the palm fronds become the secondary

elements as battens in the roof

structure ; and the leaves are woven

into mats which cover the roof and

receive the final layers of earth.

(Ph. 8).

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DR. KHUDADAD'S HOUSE, KATAN NEAR KHUZDAR, BALUCHISTAN

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colourful designs) cover the earth floor

in the centre of which is placed an iron

stove in the winter. An exposed metal

flue runs from the stove to the roof.

The sun-dried earth brick chimneys thus

form a second characteristic feature

of the domestic architecture of the

cooler parts of Baluchistan. Moving

southwards, the single pitched roof,

of otherwise similar construction,

becomes a more frequently employed form.

Further south in the warmer regions

In the North West Frontier a walled

compound may include one or more,

sometimes as many as 18 or 20 households.

Each household has its own courtyard

with a single row of rooms and lean-

to verandahs around it. Each set of

rooms around the courtyard includes a

bathroom and kitchen. In one corner of

the compound, usually flanking the

entrance, a tower rises one or two

stories above the roof. This watch tower

or shooting turret is entered at

the ground level by a ladder which

leads to the upper levels. (Ph. 9) .

Some of the most imposing examples

of such mud walled compounds are

those at Jamrud and Bara in the Khyber

tribal agency. In these the mud walls

have no copings, but each floor and

roof is usually marked by a projecting

cornice or moulding. The parapets are

sometimes castellated, adding to the

fortified appearance. The walls, and

•17-

towers have a slightly inwards slope,

tapering towards the top. The whole

ensemble creates a rugged martial effect

which is echoed by the backdrop of

equally inhospitable mountains.

(Ph. 6) .

The Darra Adam Khel, also in the

Khyber agency, is a unique example of

an entire valley which has preserved

a local style of architecture with an

amazing purity. Every village is a

model of architectural harmony. Not

a single detail deviates from the

traditional standard, and each element

is part of the compact unity of the

whole village, which in turn is flawlessly

integrated into the landscape. Less

forbidding in appearance and more

intimate in scale, the warmer texture

of unhewn stone in these villages is

further softened by the bushy but neat

copings which top each wall and parapet

and mark each floor and roof with a

remarkable consistency. (Ph. 7) .

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PLAN

SULTAN ZARINS H O U S E , KAL A M , SWAT, N.W.F.R

usually reserved for the construction

of the exquisite mosques of this region.

The domestic architecture is much simpler

and functional. An occasional door or

column capital may be elaborately

carved, but the usual house has a

powerful rustic simplicity. (PhJO ,11,12) .

To the north-east of Peshawar, in

the Catchment Areas of the Swat, Indus

and Jhelum rivers, the slopes are

covered with dense pine forests. Timber

naturally forms an essential part of

the building traditions of these valleys.

One of the richest of these timber

building traditions is found in the

Swat valley.

Decorative timber carving, artistry

in the handling of structural elements

and attention to sophisticated compo­

sitions and careful proportioning of

every detail, such refinements are

The external walls are usually thick,

rough masonry, often reinforced by

crudely hewn timber sections, or given

a coat of mud plaster. The stones are

often packed in courses into a rough

timber frame. Slenderer sections of

timber make up the post and beam frames

which support the lean-to verandah

roofs and internal timber panelled

partitions. Doors and windows are

similarly framed and panelled. The

roofs are invariably flat and made up

of a heavy layer of compacted earth

on timber boards and joists, and they

-18-

overhang the walls to provide generous

eaves. The cantelevered joists under

the eaves are closed by a fascia board,

often with a decorative lower edge.

A second board above the joists acts

as a retaining edge for the compacted

earth with which the roof is finished.

On sloping valley sides these simple

houses are often half built into the

hill, which is cut to form a convenient

rear wall. In such stepped clusters

each roof becomes a terrace for the

house above. These open terraces serve

as sun decks in cool weather and are

used very much like the courtyards in

the plains.

It is not unusual at harvest time to

see a pair of diminutive hill oxen

threshing corn in endless circles on

these sturdy roofs. (Ph. 9).

In the larger villages on level

ground the houses are so closely packed

that the only source of light, sun and

ventilation which remains is through

an opening in the roof. Sultan Zarin's

house in Madyan (fig. 5) is a typical

example of such a house. It is wedged

on three sides by other houses, and

the fourth opens onto a narrow street

not more than 5 feet wide. The house

is approached from the street through

either of two rooms, one of which

serves as a formal reception room for

male visitors, the other, with a richly

-19-

l^iií§|p§>g;

carved front door, is reported to have

been originally the main reception,

but is now a ramshackle store with a

loft. These rooms let onto a large

family space. This has a square central

area of about sixteen feet sides which

is open to the sky. Around it on three

sides runs a wide loggia, with a kitchen

at one end and the main family living

area in the central portion. Three

rooms at the rear open into the central

living space, where a hearth in the

floor of the loggia marks the centre of

family life. (Ph. 15).

-20-

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In the mountains with their long

cold winters, the hearth occupies an

important place in the lives of the

people. More than a necessity, it plays

an almost ritual function in every

peasant home, and an unusual amount of

care and ingenuity is lavished on its

elaborate design. In its most essential

form the hearth consists of a shallow

depression for the fire in the earth

floor within an area about 2 feet

square, surrounded by a raised edge,

moulded in the clay floor. A common

addition is a tripod stove of moulded

clay columns protruding out of the

floor to support a cauldron or other

utensil over the fire.

-21-

11

The modelling and decorative relief

designs in clay create a work of art

in even the humblest of one-roomed

peasant huts of the North West Frontier

or in the thatched "Kodal" or "Gidan"

of Baluchistan, (ph. 13 , 14 ) .

On the dry plateau of Baluchistan

timber is scarce. The rocky mountains

have only a sparse vegetation of

scattered shrubs. In this region one

of the traditional forms of rural

dwelling is a thatched elongated dome

construction known as a "Gidan" to

the Baluch and "Kodal" to the Pathan

tribesmen (fig. 6 & 7). These consist

of a roughly rectangular room measuring

about 10 to 11 feet wide by about 24

feet long, with rounded corners and

an entrance in the middle of one long

sides. A low rough masonry wall, more

than 4 feet thick at the base and

some 2 1/2 feet at the top encircles

the room to a height of about 4 feet

above the ground. From the top of this

wall springs a wagon-vaulted dome whose

structural frame is a gigantic wicker

work of slender limbs woven into the

shape of an upturned basket. As the

uprights are bent inwards to form

the curve of the dome their lower ends

press against the inner face of the

stone wall which keeps them from

springing outwards. With horizontal

members weaving in and out of the

verticals, the alternate lower ends of

the latter are pinned back to the stone

wall by "Y" shaped pegs. A central

ridge of heftier poles is held up by

a pair of timber posts, under each of

which are placed large stone pads.

The stone wall is plastered internally

with a mud plaster, and the roof frame

is covered by a thick layer of thatch.

The thatch in turn is tied down by a

loose net of grass ropes thrown across

the roof. A thatch door closes the low

entrance opening. (Ph. 16) .

~ •MÍ*- ~*4

-23-

The "Gidan" is almost certainly

the prototype for the Baluch nomad tents,

These have the same wagon-vaulted form

and a structural frame of flexible

poles struck into the ground, but

covered with a woollen blanket. Similar

portable structures are used by various

nomadic tribes thoughout Pakistan.

The Oadh and other Punjabi nomads use

a very similar form of structure

except that the covering is of a

(Ph. 17) , cotton fabric instead

of wool. The Pathan tents have a

distinct form, easily recognisable

by their low angular profile, for the

blankets covering these are held up

by vertical posts and pulled taught

by ropes tied to pegs in the ground.

-24-

Yet another distinct form is that

of the mat tents of the Kachi tribes of

Baluchistan. These are covered with

large mats woven from the flat blades

of a local grass or palm. (Ph. 18) .

The traditional movements of

Pakistans'nomads follow the annual

cycle of the seasons. In the Punjab

this movement follows the harvest

moving northwards with each spring.

In the mountains the migrations follow

a twin pattern of movement along a

north-west to south-east axis, following

the pasture on the higher slopes north­

westward with the onset of warmer

climate ; and a counter movement

south-east down to the Sindh plains

in time for the winter harvest.

On their annual journeys which

take them hundreds of miles, from the

deserts of Cholistan, across the

Sindh and Punjab plains, and over

formidable mountains to the borders

of Iran and Afghanistan, the nomad

tribes carry their mobile houses

with them packed on the backs of

their Camels and donkeys wherever

they go.

-25-

-26-

SOCIAL PATTERNS AND RURAL HABITAT

As much as by the physical environment,

the forms of rural habitat in Pakistan

are determined by the structure and

form of society, social relationships

and cultural traditions based upon

these relationships.

A sense of primitive communism still

pervades the tribal societies in

Baluchistan and parts of the North West

Frontier. Within a well defined tribal

territory entire ranges and valleys

are the common property of the tribe.

And this territory and tribal autonomy

is jealously guarded. In the tribal

fraternity every member is treated

with equal respect and dignity due to

a clansman and brother. This tribal

egalitarianism, manifest in every aspect

of tribal custom, is no less patent in

the forms of their rural habitat.

(Ph. 19) .

One of the most marked characteristics

of tribal villages is the singular unity

of architectural form. No individual

houses are distinguised by any discernable

cudos, marks or symbols of social

differentiation. Most Pathan dwellings

are, in fact, not so much individual

nuclear family houses, but rather clan

compounds, shared by as many as 20

households, with a common protective

wall enclosing the entire compound.

This high wall is about the only element

visible to an outsider. The larger

compounds with numerous courtyards and

streets become, in effect small fortified

villages, and a large village may

-27

consist of a collection of such compounds.

In parts of Baluchistan however,

larger villages are the exception.

More frequently, a settlement is little

more than a clan cluster of single

roomed dwellings. In such solitary

clan clusters there are no protective

walls enclosing the group of dwellings.

On the mountain slopes a man with

a hand hoe can raise a crop on his

terraced lot, sufficient to feed

himself and his family, but he can

not profit by owning more than the

small tract which he and his family

can cultivate. The household flock

of goats and sheep meets most of his

other needs : milk, butter, cheese

and fat : wool for his clothing,

blankets, rugs and tents ; meat for

the occasional feast, and leather for

a hundred daily uses.

But a man behind an ox-drawn plough

is capable of cultivating a far larger

area, yielding a surplus beyond the

subsistance requirement of the tiller

himself. With such a mode of production

the owner of sufficient land could put

another man, with a pair of bullocks

and a plough, to work upon his fields,

and of the harvest give a share to the

tiller, sufficient for his basic needs,

appropriating the surplus for himself.

Thus in the alluvial plains of the

Punjab and Sindh, and even in the wider

valleys of the mountain regions, a man

can gain in wealth proportionate to

the land he owns. And this is the base

upon which stands the structure of

feudal society in Pakistan.

The usurpation of land by conquering

tribes and the dispossession of native

populations has led to a feudal

differentiation of society in which

the division into classes of land owners

and landless labour and artisans is

reinforced by ethnic barriers.

The division of society into classes

based on the relationship to the means

of production is as old in Pakistan

as the evolution of agricultural

societies employing draft animals.

The predecessors of the Harrappa culture

of the Indus Valley descended from the

hills of the Potwar and Baluchistan

plateaus about 3,500 B.C. (Serai Khola,

Pakistan Archaeology N° 3, 1966, p,30).

The segregation of the quarters of

the labouring and artisan classes from

the main walled citadel is evident even

in the earliest of settlements founded

by them such as at Kot Diji (Khan,

stone wall

wooden column , - * atove stone ~ " ^ > £ \ {&) base i^J m u d s

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WAU MELMANl's KOOAL HOUSE, KOHAN, BALUCHISTAN fig: S

SECTION AA

WALI MELMANIS KOOAL HOUSE , KOHAN, BALUCHISTAN

f,g 7

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PLAN

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Hi

TYPICAL HOUSE IN KOTKARAMAT, LAHORE, PUNJAB n z 4 6 ifeet

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ a ^ inch

fig- 6

-28-

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NORTH ELEVATION

EAST ELEVATION

I

SECTION AA TYPICAL HOUSE IN KOTKARAMAT, LAHORE, PUNJAB.

SECTION AA

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r\ h=TM

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outdoor kitchen

J PLAN 1

SECTION BB

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HOUSE WITH THATCHED ROOF IN KOTKARAMAT, LAHORE, PUNJAB.

-29-

PLAN

TYPICAL HOUSE IN KOTKARAMAT, LAHORE, PUNJAB D i 2 4 6 8 feet

o i inch

fig:11

•

SECTION BB

O

SECTION AA

TYPICAL HOUSE IN KOTKARAMAT, LAHORE, PUNJAB

i

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fig:12

SECTION

M O H A M M A D FARIO KHANS HOUSE, SHA1 DU, PESHAWER, N.W.F.P

-30-

Dr. F.A., Excavations at Kot Diji,

Pakistan Archaeology, N° 2. 1965, p. 15,

Karachi, Department of Archaeology

Pakistan),

Similar segregations of workmen's

quarters in the cities of th.e later

Indus Valley Civilization is well known

and continues to this day in the

villages of the Indus and Punjab plain.

Traditionally no member of the "Kammi"

labouring and artisan classes was

permitted to own land. Thus the very

roof over his head was subject to the

pleasure of the landlords of the village,

and almost every village has a distinct

sector set apart for these classes.

In addition, it is not uncommon to find

the sector of the villages occupied by

the land-owning classes, further

subdivided into neighbourhoods or

"Mohallas", each associated with the

ethnic group, tribe or clan of its

occupants. These clan or "Braderi"

neighbourhoods are no doubt a survival

of the traditions of tribal clan

communities. Thus each village is a

microcosm of Pakistan's rural society,

bearing the imprints, like a fossil,

of six millenia of history.

In many a village of the plain, the

dark angular form of a burnt brick

structure towers above the humbler sun

-31-

dried earth huts of the peasants,

symbolising the domination of the

landlord over the country around. The

contrast between the average peasant

hut and these palatial "manor" houses

of the bigger landlords is phenomenal.

The Kalra house of the Tiwana family

in the Sargodha District is a vivid

example of these medieval establishments.

The well guarded service entrance leads

into an open space with a barrack of

guest rooms to the right, adjoining a

large court around which are housed

the animals : milk cattle and sheep.

Directly facing the entrance is another

large court for the horses and stables.

-32-

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19

-33-

Immediately to the left are the estate

offices. Between the offices and stables,

a passage leads into another court, which

is apparently reserved for domestic

servants, a carved timber door in an

arched gateway separates this court from

the main family quarters, (Ph.20,21,22) .

These are a maze of courtyards

s t a i r c a s e s and covered

passages, but beyond them is a third

precinct with a luxurious colonial

bungalow overlooking a charming English

garden, through which a gracious drive

leads up from the fancy iron gates,

This is the face which greets every

high official and other distinguished

visitors to Kalra estate. Behind it

life goes on as bizzare and contrary

as the chaos of its architecture,

A vet and his assistants are busy with

hypodermic syringes and other contriv­

ances, tending the sheep ; on a raised

platform in one office a team of clerks

squat at their low desks making

entries into ledgers ; the office walls

are lined with shelves which hold the

estate records stacked high up to

the ceiling ; from an inner office

the estate manager rules this little

fiefdom with quiet confidence, derived

in no small measure from the instrument

he casually strokes with his hand, the

telephone, his link with government

officialdom. From her comfortable

apartments in the heart of the family

precinct, the Landlord's mother, with

-34-

a bevy of maidservants in attendance,

holds sway over the household. Every

now and then a sickly little man with

a jerking gait of an idiot shuffles

in and out, the "Malik", the "Khan" the

Landlord himself, son of titled knights

and statesmen, the imbeciled progeny

of generations of inbreeding.

By contrast, the average peasant

house in the same region (figs. 8, 9,

10, 11 & 12) consists of a mud wall

which encloses a courtyard, at one end

of which are a couple of rooms

measuring about 10 feet by 16 to 20 feet.

The single door, with sometimes a

small ventilator above, is the only

source of light and air into each room.

But since the mud walls are thick, often

2 to 3 feet, and the flat roof consists

of a heavy layer of earth laid on a

thick pile of reeds over a structure

of timber joists and beams, these

rooms maintain a comfortable temperature

throughout all but the warm humid

monsoon spell of the year.

At least one room contains one

or two large earthen grain storage bins,

and most rooms have a long decorated

timber shelf which proudly displays

the family crockery. There is inva­

riably an outside kitchen against one

of the courtyard walls or a low earth

parapet which protects the stove from

the wind, occasionally an additional

kitchen is provided with a roof or

thatched shelter. The kitchen area

usually forms part of a slightly

raised terrace which is kept clean and

-35-

tidy with frequent re-plastering of

its earth floor. The remainder of

the courtyard is shared with a variety

of animals : draught and milk cattle,

goats and sheep, chickens, dogs, etc.

To one side, usually against the

street wall, an earth partition, about

4 feet high, screens off a small bath

area.

In the wide Kabul valley around

Peshawar and Nowshera, the survival of

many tribal forms within a feudal

society is more obvious. The house of

the Pasani Khan Khel family, descendants

of the famed Pathan warior poet and

statesman Khushal Khan Khatak, at Shaidu

in the Peshawar district is an example

of one of the larger landed family houses.

It follows the tribal clan compound

tradition of fortified walled villages.

There are 20 households within the walls

of the Pasani Khan Khel compound, each

with its own courtyard, kitchen, and

ill III; mmmmmm*m*r

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I'M

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22

set of living rooms. The oldest

structures are a pair of rooms in

Mohammad Farid Khan's section (fig. 13)

These are constructed in the typical

Pathan tradition of rural domestic

architecture with artful relief mural

designs around the numerous storage

niches. The usual flat earth roof is

laid on timber joists supported on the

walls and a central beam carried by a

row of timber columns. These have the

traditional timber capitals, tapering

outwards from the column shaft, the

lower edge carved in a series of swirls.

The shafts themselves are delicately

carved with the usual articulated band

in the middle like a bracelet. Most of

the other sections have been rebuilt

-36-

at various times and display the many

influences of contemporary urban fashions

in every detail of their designs. Often

double storied, these structures are

of burnt brick or timber framed with

either timber or brick in full panels,

and their balconies have cast iron or

precast concrete grills and corrugated

iron sheet roofs. (Ph. 23, 24).

These 20 odd houses are closely

packed within the walls of the Pasani

Khan Khel sector of Shaidu village.

A network of narrow lanes runs between

two gates at opposite ends of the sector.

Each gate, with heavy wooden doors,

controls the entrances to the sector

from two parallel streets. Within the

walls the women move about freely,

-37-

but any male, not a member of the

family, is strictly forbidden entry.

Even clansmen may not enter a street

within the walled sector unannounced.

They are often preceeded by a small boy

calling out "take shelter !", and

only when the women have moved out of

sight will an adult male proceed

through the street. Such rigid

observance of privacy and restrictions

on entry necessitate the provision of

special accommodation for visitors and

guests. This takes the form of the

"Hujra", an essential part of every

walled clan compound. A "Hujra", which

is an exclusively male domain, is no

different from the other courtyard

houses within the compound, consisting

typically of a couple of guest rooms

in a row along one side of the courtyard,

a wide verandah and a bathroom. It is

normally the first courtyard to be

entered from the main gate. The "Hujra"

of the Pasani Khan Khel however, is

outside the gate but connected to the

main compound by an upper storey

bridging over the street. It is

entered through a door which faces the

main compound gate directly across

the street. The main court is approached

through a smaller covered space, to

the right of which is a hall with an

earth floor and "Charpoy" cots for rustic

guests, and to the left a bathroom and

store. Across the yard are two mote

guest rooms with cemented floors and

western style furniture which are

reserved for visiting officials and

other urbanised guests. An attached

small room serves as a store.

By contrast the house of a tenant

farmer in the same area is a simple

nuclear family affair. A typical

example is Rehman Gul's house at

Nihalpura in the Peshwar district,

(fig. 14) .

Its plan and construction reflect

a functional economy in the use of

space and materials, and the house is

designed to provide the basic accom­

modation for the peasant, his small

family, and for their animals on which

their livelihoods depend. As usual,

the house is contained within a walled

compound but with a single courtyard

and a single living room, Both these

areas,enclosed room and open courtyard

-38-

are equally shared by man and beast.

The long rectangular living room is

entered from the courtyard by a single

door. To the left is the animal area

with two mangers, one larger than the

other, on opposite walls. To the right

of the entrance is the family living

area, with a small earth grain store.

The division between the two areas is

marked by a 2" raised edge, moulded in

the clay floor forming a barrier between

the two areas. This prevents foul water

from the animal area flowing into the

family living area.

In other similar peasant houses in

the region the mangers may be replaced

by a storage trough for fodder which

-39-

is piled up at one end of the room and

the opposite wall in the family living

area may have another large trough

containing the family stock of grain.

Most houses have an elaborate

traditional hearth on the floor of the

family area. This traditional hearth

is conspicuously absent in Rehman

Gul's family living room. But this is

only because the indoor kitchen is

located in an additional small room

attached to the main room. This kitchen

contains a simple functional cooking

stove in addition to the traditional

hearth, both moulded in clay on the

floor. A third stove against the

external wall of the kitchen serves in

fine warm weather. Next to it, within

arm's reach, is a low earth platform

which serves as a general purpose

counter. In the north-east corner of

the courtyard under a light thatched

roof is an animal shed and a small

bath space screened off by a low earth

SECTION AA

PLAN 0 1 2 « 6 8 feet

, fig U

REHMAN GULS HOUSE, N 1HALPURA,NEAR KUND, PESHAWER, N.W.F.P

~i inch

-40-

wall. Close to the outer entrance,

against the east wall of the courtyard

is a "tandoor" oven for baking bread.

A wall in front of the entrance screens

the courtyard from view when the door

is opened. The angle between the

entrance door and the screen wall is

covered with a light thatch which

provides a rough shelter for a pair

of young calves. In another corner of

the courtyard is a chicken coop which

also serves as a stand for four water

jars. Outside the courtyard wall and

leaning against it, by the entrance, is

yet another animal shed with a rough

thatched roof.

The walls in such peasant houses

generally are of stone rubble masonry

and mud mortar, plastered internally

and in parts externally with a clay

and straw mixture. The roofs are flat,

covered with earth on a structure of

timber joists, spanning between the

walls and a central beam, which is

usually supported by two or three

columns with the traditional carved

capitals. (Ph,25 ).

-41-

TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS IN MODERN

ARCHITECTURE

In one sense modern architecture in

Pakistan can be described as being,

in the main, an extension and product

of traditional concepts. But this only

because most buildings in Pakistan

today continue to be constructed by

people who are ignorant of any concepts

of building other than the traditional.

Indeed architecture in Pakistan

continues to be an architecture without

architects. However, modern architecture,

in the sense of buildings which are a

product of a conscious process of design

relevant to the technology, aesthetics

and analytical methods of an industrialized

society, modern architecture in this

sense in Pakistan is produced by

professionals who are often ignorant

of traditional concepts, particularly

rural concepts of building. The employment

traditional forms in modern Pakistani

run Qhata

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PLAN

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VILLAGE BINGIANWALA, SARGODHA, PUNJAB o so ft 90 izpfeet 0 1 inch fig 15

- 4 2 -

architecture is entirely superficial

and normally restricted to eclectical

borrowings from a style of architecture

associated with the royal court of a

particular family of Central Asian

Turkmen.

The Angoori Bagh housing scheme in

Lahore by Yasmin Lari is a rare exception,

where the concepts of an urban multistorey

brick building tradition, and traditional

patterns of privacy, courtyards, roof

terraces and pedestrian streets have

been successfully applied to the problem

of public housing for low-income families,

(Ph. 26, 27) .

Similar examples of modern applic­

ations of rural traditional concepts

are even rarer, for the planned

development of rural settlements has

not received the attention of profes­

sional designers until very recently.

Even now, the concrete results of the

present programme of planned agrovilles

have yet to be seen. But an older

instance of planned rural development

as a result of official policy is worth

mentioning as it introduced a village

plan form which is consistant and

extensive enough to have become

representative of a whole region.

The canal colony area of the Central

Punjab was largely uninhabited shrub

and woodland until it was opened up for

cultivation less than a hundred years

ago. The British, seeking to enlarge

the supply of cotton, brought to this

region a network of irrigation canals

-43-

and colonised the new lands with

farmers from East Punjab, Thus an

entire region of thousands of square

miles and as many villages was laid out

with a grid iron patchwork of fields,

and "Chaks" (villages) every mile or so,

with a "Chak number" for each village

instead of a name. This cold impersonal

quality is characteristic of the plans

of these villages which have a standard

rectangular pattern of streets and

sectors. These relatively modern villages

have consciously adopted at least one

of the concepts of the traditional

village plan, that is the segregation

of the workers and artisans' quarters

from those of the landowning classes,

Bingian Wala in the Sargodha

district, is typical of these modern

villages (fig. 15). It has a grid

iron plan with a central street inter­

sected at right angles by secondary

streets forming six blocks, each block

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containing twelve plots. These plots

are reserved exclusively for those who

own land in the village. Landless

labourers and artisans may only build

their houses in the compound, called

"Ruri Ahatas" in this case, reserved

for them on the periphery of the main

village.

Fortunately the designing of these

villages does not go beyond the layout

of streets and plots. With no building

or planning regulations, the houses

within this framework are constructed

on the usual traditional pattern of

two or three rooms in a row at one

end of a walled courtyard with an

animal shed (fig. 16), The forms and

-44-

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28

materials of construction being

traditional, that is, earth walls and

flat roofs, the severity of the grid­

iron plan is softened to some extent

by the more organic forms and textures

of the structures,

More often, new construction in the

countryside has been an occasion for

the application of modern, or rather

contemporary, urban notions of archi­

tecture to rural buildings. The most

frequent objects of such modernising

influences are the houses of the

wealthier land-lords, for the clichés

and catchphrases of modern architecture

are quickly adopted as symbols of

status and affluence.

-45-

Another category of construction

which invariably results in the applic­

ation of urban practices and forms of

building to rural architecture without

any regard for traditional concepts, is

the less frequent endeavours of public

agencies in the direction of rural

housing.

The dogmatic adherence of public

agencies generally, and urban authorities

in particular, to senseless planning

regulations and building codes has been

an important factor inhibiting the

application of traditional concepts

to modern architecture. Among other

constraints, these regulations eliminate

the possibility of applying most of

the traditional materials and techniques

to modern buildings, but more importantly

they do not permit the adoption of

traditional plan concepts. Thus, it is

only in unauthorised developments - the

numerous "shanty" towns that are a part

of every big city - that the traditional

concepts of rural architecture find a

spontaneous expression in the

contemporary urban scene.

The Mari-Abad and Naseerabad suburb

of Quetta is a rare example of archi­

tectural cohesion and integrity

resulting from an implantation of rural

traditional concepts of an immigrant

population upon an urban environment.

One of the reasons for this may be

the fact that practically the entire

population of this suburb belongs to

a single ethnic and cultural group s

the Persian speaking Mongol Hazara.

This township lies at the base of

the Kohe Murdar mountain beyond the

eastern edge of the city proper, and

is partially built up the slope of the

-46-

entrance

PLAN

TYPICAL HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE BINGIANWALA, SARGODHA, PUNJAB

mountain. The entire township consists

of houses with almost identical plans

and identical materials. Typically,

each house is contained within a high

wall around a generous compound,

within which along one side are a row

of two or three rectangular rooms, and

close to the entrance a couple of

smaller rooms. These are a kitchen

and a bath.

The compounds abut each other, leaving

only a fairly systematic network of

streets between the otherwise continuous

walls which enclose every lot, even

those which are quite vacant or contain

only the barest minimum of shelters.

These walls are all the more striking

because of their uniform texture and

colour due to the use of local stone

and clay. (Ph, 28, 29).

The Naseerabad and Mariabad suburbs

of Quetta is of course exceptional.

The more usual result of similar circum­

stance is a chaotic jumble of makeshift

shelters, the shanty towns, "Jhuggis"

and "Katchi Abadis" which are a familiar

accompaniment to every large urban

concentration in Pakistan.

-47-