The lowest castes are required to live in separate quarters; but the Bráhmans, unlike those of the south, do not mind dwelling side by side with Súdras and do not always have their own distinct streets.
The houses seldom have terraced roofs, and are generally thatched with palmyra leaves. Tiles are common in towns, but much less so outside them. Under the roof a terrace or ceiling of mud is often made with the double object of serving as a loft or store-house, and of protecting the house itself if the roof gets on fire. The walls of houses are generally of mud. Brick and stone are comparatively rare. In the Agency the walls are generally of split bamboo, sometimes smeared with mud. Outside the big towns, houses of two storeys are rare.
Among all but the lowest classes, houses are very usually built on one of two type plans, called respectively the chávadi illu or 'hall house,' and the manduva illu or 'courtyard house,' also called the 'fourroom plan.' The two figures below will give an idea of how each is arranged:—
| Manduva house. | Chávadi house. |
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Both have narrow pials in front. The essential difference is that in the chávadi illu the door leads into a long broad hall (chávadi) which stretches from the front of the house to the back, with rooms at the sides; whereas in the other the hall is a narrow passage running from one side of the house to the other, from which a door leads into a courtyard, open in the centre but surrounded by verandahs out of which the rooms open. The latter kind is most commonly used by the higher
