Weaver’s Houses from Ikal, Karnataka

This cluster from Ilkal, Bagalkote district represents an urban settlement pattern and is typical of weavers’ houses in the northern region of Karnataka. The wooden elements have been taken from similar houses near Bagalkote from a village which was due to be flooded by the new dam. The wooden gateway, stone and wooden window which mark the entrance to the Karnataka section are the remnants of a house which was built in the 18th century and belonged to one of the oldest known families in the town.

Almost all houses in northern Karnataka are built of stone. Each area has its distinctive stone. In Bagalkote, it is pink sandstone, in some areas it is yellow sandstone and in others shabha stone or pure calcium carbonate shale. The colours vary from area to area as does the way the stone is quarried and the preferred shapes and sizes used for construction. In Ilkal, the stone is granite.

Roof structures are traditionally flat with stone slabs packed on top with mud. Terracotta pots, like the ones used for soaking indigo, in the Ilkal compound, but without a bottom, are inserted in the roof to provide for ventilation and sunlight. Terracotta plates are placed on them as lids during rains; otherwise they are kept open. At DakshinaChitra, the mud and pots had to be omitted due to the climate and monsoons on Chennai’s coast.

Wood is very scarce in northern Karnataka. Most household wood is neem. Rituals for trees are common even at the household level, as is evident in this compound. The original compound had a large neem tree under worship. The shrine at the end of the compound was for ancestor and snake worship.