2l8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I33 



together with voqui, or, in some instances, are nailed to horizontal 

 boards. Hinges are of rawhide. Rarely are there latches or knobs. 

 A door is kept closed by being bolted. Children, during their first days 

 at school, are baffled by knobs on doors. 



Ruka have no chimneys. "Who would want to sit in a ruka with 

 an opening at the top to let the rain in ?" asked a Conaripe man, and 

 then went on to say : "The ruka is built to have smoke exits (ullolliin) 

 at one or both gable ends of the roof, or to have escapes in one or 

 two walls. If the ruka is situated in the path of a prevailing wind, 

 such as we have in some of the valleys in the Cordillera, there is only 

 one opening for the smoke; if located where winds shift frequently, 

 there are two. Ullolliin are usually built to protrude beyond the walls 

 or to be slightly higher than the roof. If built in this manner, there is 

 always a good draft." (See pis. 52, i, and 53.) 



An Alepue man, when asked why the ruka had no chimney, replied : 

 "For the very simple reason that in this area it rains on the average 

 two days out of every three; no holes can be tolerated in the roof. 

 We take care of ventilation and smoke by arranging for one smoke 

 hole at a gable end of the roof, that is an ullolliin, and for another by 

 leaving an open space at the eaves of one of the walls and a thinness 

 in the same wall just below the open space. The smoke will then find 

 its way out either through the smoke hole or the wall, depending upon 

 the draft, the draft depending largely on the direction of the wind. 

 When building the ruka, notice must be taken of prevailing winds, 

 for the thinness in the wall must be on the side opposite prevailing 

 winds, and the eave on this side must project sufficiently to keep 

 swishing rains from coming in through the thin part of the wall." 

 During an interview, one day, his wife closed the ruka door in order 

 to change the direction of the smoke. She waited a moment, and when 

 she saw the smoke going out through the thin wall she remarked: 

 "There now, that will make it more comfortable to visit." 



The framework of the traditional thatch ruka requires saplings 

 with a crotch at an equal height on each. Saplings of hardwood are 

 best, such as petra, roble chileno, canelo, olivillo, laurel comun, and 

 ulmo. Temu must not be used, "for worms live in it." The rafters 

 are of ulmo, and so are tie beams. "Ulmo, you know, grows very 

 straight." The entire framework is kept taut and in position by 

 colihiie poles tied to it at intervals in a horizontal position. 



A man wishing to erect a thatch ruka usually collects the building 

 materials before the men he has invited to assist him arrive. These are 

 men he helped in the erection of their ruka, usually neighbors and 

 relatives. If these men are close friends of his, their families are 



