Chapter 25 Section 4 Diaojiaolou and Drum Tower

The ethnic minority areas in Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan are mostly mountainous areas with humid, rainy and hot climate. In order to ventilate and avoid the tide and prevent the invasion of wild animals, a kind of house with the lower part of the house is used, which is called the stilt house.Taking the Miao and Dong areas in southeast Guizhou as an example, the houses are built according to the height of the mountain, and the front and rear columns are also erected on the steep slope according to the length of the terrain. The houses are divided into upper and lower floors. and other livestock sheds and storage of agricultural tools and sundries.Upstairs are the living room and bedrooms, surrounded by corridors where the owner can work and rest.Some of the pillars of these corridors do not touch the ground so that people and animals can pass underneath. The weight of the corridors is completely borne by the overhanging wooden beams. The residences are called Diaojiaolou.

In the villages of the Dong nationality with dense houses on stilted houses, there is another special building, the Drum Tower.Its image is very similar to a pagoda with dense eaves (Figure 23). There is a drum hanging in the building. When there is something in the village, the drum is used as a signal, and the villagers come here to gather.Usually, the villagers also rest, chat and socialize in the Drum Tower. In winter, there is a charcoal fire in the building for heating, and in summer, there are herbal teas for the villagers to quench their thirst. During festivals, villagers gather and play here.The drum towers are all made of wood, with square, hexagonal, and octagonal planes. The outside is decorated with colored paintings, and the eaves of each floor are covered with colorful patterns of various animals and plants.Standing high in the village, the Drum Tower has become the political and cultural center of the whole village and an indispensable public building in the Dong mountain village.