The inside of a home reflects the lifestyle and customs of the people who live there. These two examples of a family home in the present day, one from a modern developed country, the other from an African farming people; show how traditions shape people’s daily lives.
A JAPANESE HOME
Japan is one of the richest and most technologically advanced countries in the world today. The influence of the West is very strong, but the Japanese are nevertheless proud of their traditional cultures and religion.
Japanese homes are a mixture of the old and the new. They are equipped with modern technology such as microwave ovens, televisions and computers, but many people also like to keep up some ways of life that have been around for centuries.
When you enter a Japanese home, it is customary to take off your shoes and put on slippers. Shoes are stored in a cupboard or rack in the entrance hall or genkan. Some rooms have woven rush mats, called tatami, on the floor. Tatami mats are made from fresh grasses: they are green when new. On entering a tatami mat room, you take off your slippers, to help keep the mats clean.
Summers in Japan can be hot, so some rooms have sliding doors made of wood and paper, called shoji, which allow fresh air to move around the house. The dining room usually has a low table with no chairs. Everyone sits on a cushion called a zabuton. In winter people use a table called a kotatsu which has a heater underneath and a quilt to keep the warmth in.
In a Japanese bathroom, known as the o-furo, the whole room is used as a bathing place: there is a drain in the floor. You sit on the stool and soap and rinse yourself, before stepping into the deep, square bath.
Even modern Japanese homes will have a Buddhist altar. On it are placed photographs of family ancestors.
A MAASAI HOME
In East Africa, many Maasai prefer to live in small, traditional settlements on the grassland plains close to their cattle or their fields. Maasai women build their own homes. First, they draw the shape of the house, a rectangle, on the ground. They make a frame by weaving together branches and twigs. Then they pack grass and dung over the outside to keep the building dry.
There is just one room inside a Maasai house. Up to six people sleep together in one large bed made of large branches and covered with hide. The woman of the house and her young children sleep in another bed in a more private area. A fire burns in the hearth in the centre of the house. It is used for cooking, warmth and light. There are no windows – just an opening to let light in and smoke out.
Cattle come second only to children in importance to the Maasai. They drink the animal’s milk but only eat its meat on special occasions. The women store the milk in a calabash, a long container made from a hollowed-out gourd, a kind of fruit.
Picture Credit : Google