In 1832, artist George Catlin, inspired by the idea of "literary and graphic sketches of the manners, customs and characteristics" of the Indians, settled on Missouri. He spent several years in this search. He painted many tipis of the Sioux, Crow and other tribes. His drawings show schematically the smoke valves, smoke holes and other features found in various tipis. He states, “The Crows, of all these tribes, or even of the whole continent, make the most beautiful teepees.” After talking about how the Crows "delicately decorate" their tipis with "porcupine quills, paint and embellishments, in so many ways that they become picturesque and pleasing to the eye," Kathleen describes Crow's own tent, in her usual manner: "richly decorated and hung with scalps: with a great good spirit on one side and an evil spirit on the other side.”
However, his sketch number 20 does not match this description. The painted figure (Good or Evil Spirit?) holds a gun, and in other details does not differ from those that this artist attributed to other tribes. This sketch is inaccurate in one detail, namely: the crossed poles at the top are wrapped in rope, which is not true for all four-pole tipis. He also leaves out the characteristic Crow ribbons on the poles that Prince Maximilian spoke of.
The smoke valves presented by Catlin have nothing in common with Crowe's design. He clearly exaggerated that there were “about thirty” poles in his tipi. Also, his tipis are not shaped like an inclined cone. Kathleen gives us our first picture of Travois.
The Indians usually leave the pole the full length of the tree, but we had to cut our poles to make it easier to travel with them. The Crows were unhappy that we cut our poles, but when we sharpened the tips they liked it. The poles were placed as the frame of the tipi and thus dried in the sun and wind for three weeks, since a tipi with wet poles sag, wrinkles form, and water seeps through them. Therefore, it is better to look for dead trees, the so-called dead wood. Usually these are small pine trees. The Crows store their poles by sticking them together in the fork of a large tree.
Old Coyote said that he had heard from his grandfather that the Crows had been transporting poles for a long time in the following way: holes were drilled in the lower part of the poles through which they were threaded leather belts. They were tied in a girth, one above the other, and the ends dragged along the ground.
The canopy depicted records of exploits, so it was not only a decoration. The canopy was as important to the tipi as wallpaper is to our houses. By the way, in our time Crowe uses cretonne as a canopy; it is beautiful and protects well from dew. In addition, their teepees are not protected from the rain, they are created only for show and the Crows hope that it will not rain during the fair. One night there was a thunderstorm, and Robert Yellow Tail said in the morning, “I had a shower in the tipi all night.”
One day the Sioux returned from buffalo hunting and at the edge of the camp stood a tipi with a fire inside and cast the shadows of those inside on the walls. The Crow warrior, creeping up, shot one man, aiming at his shadow.
In the Crow and Blackfoot teepees we saw canopies that were painted with children's wax crayons. If you are using crayons, iron over the design through tracing paper, this will allow the paint to be better absorbed into the fabric, and the remaining paint will be on the paper.
Rectangular canopies were used in large teepees and hung perpendicularly down from the poles. But we have seen the Crows using such canopies, borrowed from the Cheyenne.
They first tie them at the bottom at the base of the poles, and then gather them in pleats or overlaps at the top, maintaining a narrower perimeter. Top with reverse side a knot is made with pebbles inside in order to secure the upper edge of the canopy to the canopy rope. In this way, the rectangular shape of the canopy is compensated.
Our friend said that several years ago he was in a Crow teepee where the fire in the hearth was burning hot, like a furnace. When the owner stepped out of the tipi for a moment, our friend became curious about what was causing the fire and discovered that the old Indian had laid a ventilation pipe under the floor of his tipi. He dug a small ditch from the hearth to the back of the tipi and laid his pipe along it. He removed the bottoms and lids of the metal cans, stacked them and re-covered them with earth. This was not noticeable under the layer of skin and tissue, but added strength to the fire. Later we heard about the same device from old Blackfoot Drives to the Door from Browning PC. Montana.
TIPI ETIQUETTE.
The Indians had their own rules of etiquette in the tipi; if the door was open, then friends could freely enter there. If it was closed, they would shake the door to make it make noise, or simply call it with their voice and wait for an invitation. Some tipis had a special device for knocking on the door. A modest person might just cough.
One day at dawn we woke up to someone scratching at our door, it was our friend Crowe, he said that he had an important message for us. We were still practically asleep, and he came in and sat at the foot of our bed. As if nothing had happened, he began to tell us the history of the peyote religion. We were shocked, but it turned out that among Indians it is quite normal to come early in the morning and tell stories about religion.
Our friend once visited an old Ute Indian, he knocked on the door of a wooden house several times until he was asked, “Are you a government agent?” He said he was not a government agent, just a friend. The owner asked three more times whether his guest was a government agent or not, and only after that the owner said, “Okay, come in and eat.” Old Yuta was surprised, “Why would a friend knock to enter?”
- Teepee - home of the Great Plains Indians
A LITTLE ABOUT HOUSING book by Yuri Kotenko "Indians of the Great Plains"
Everyone remembers that the Indians lived in wigwams.
But the homes of Native Americans were much more diverse. One of them is a teepee. It was in these that the aborigines of the Great Plains lived in the old days.
In essence, it is a hut on a frame of long strong poles, covered with deer skins. It was necessarily slightly inclined, and traditionally there was a hole in the roof for smoke.
During the transitions, poles from the dismantled house could be used as stretchers.
Today, such dwellings can be seen mainly in historical reconstructions, but some traditional Indian families still live in them.
Tipi - "ti-pi" ("for life" in the language of the Lakota Indians). This is a house in which smoke spirals out into a hole above your head. Indian tribe names - mimege.ru
A teepee is often confused with a wigwam. In fact, a wigwam is quite an ordinary hut. On a wooden frame, covered with hay, straw, branches, etc. Unlike a tipi, a wigwam is round in shape:
wigwams
Housing wigwam among the American Indians it is a ritual for purification and rebirth and represents the body of the Great Spirit. Its round shape personifies the world as a whole, the steam is the visible image of the Great Spirit, performing a cleansing and spiritual transformation. Coming out into the white light from this dark room means leaving behind everything unclean. The chimney provides access to Heaven and an entrance for spiritual power.
Tipi(in the Sioux language - thipi, means any dwelling) - a universally accepted name for the traditional portable dwelling of the nomadic Indians of the Great Plains with a fireplace located inside (in the center). This type of dwelling was also used by the mountain tribes of the Far West.
The teepee has the shape of a straight or slightly backward-sloping cone or pyramid on a frame of poles, with a cover made from cured bison or deer hides. Later, with the development of trade with Europeans, lighter canvas was more often used. There is a smoke hole at the top.
The entrance to the tipi is always located on the eastern side, which has its own poetic explanation. “This is so,” say the Blackfoot Indians, “so that when you leave the tipi in the morning, the first thing you do is thank the sun.”
RULES OF CONDUCT IN THE TYPE.
Men were supposed to be in the northern part of the tipi, women in the southern part. In the tipi, it is customary to move clockwise (with the sun). Guests, especially those who came to the home for the first time, had to be accommodated in the women's section.
It was considered indecent to pass between the central hearth and someone else, since it was believed that in this way a person violated the connection of those present with the hearth. To get to their place, people, if possible, had to walk behind the backs of those sitting (men to the right of the entrance, women to the left, respectively).
It was forbidden to go behind the back of the tipi, which meant going behind the altar; in many tribes it was believed that only the owner of the tipi had the right to go behind the altar. There were no special rituals for leaving the tipi; if a person wanted to leave, he could do it immediately without unnecessary ceremony, but for non-participation in important meetings he could later be punished.
How to set up a Crow tipi
WHAT IS WHERE IN THE TEEPI
The first tipis were made from buffalo skins. They were small, since dogs could not transport large, heavy tent tires during migrations. With the advent of the horse, the size of the tipi increased, and from the second half of the 19th century, the Indians began to use tarpaulins for tires.
The structure of the tipi is perfect and well thought out. Inside the dwelling, a lining was tied to the poles - a wide strip made of leather or fabric that reached to the ground, which protected against drafts on the floor and created draft in the upper part of the tent. In large tipis they had an ozan - a kind of ceiling made of leather or fabric that retained heat. It did not completely block the space above the fire - there was a path for the smoke to escape through the top. Ozan was also used as a mezzanine for storing things.
The entrance was closed from the outside with a “door” - a piece of leather, sometimes stretched over an oval frame made of rods. Inside, the doorway was covered with a kind of curtain. The space in a large tipi was sometimes partitioned with skins, creating the semblance of rooms, or even a small tipi was placed inside, for example, for a young family, since the spouse; according to custom, he should not talk or even see his wife’s parents. The outer cover of the tipi had two flaps at the top that closed or opened depending on the wind. From below, the tire was not pressed tightly to the ground, but was attached with pegs so that there were gaps for traction. IN hot weather the pegs were removed, and the tire was lifted up for better air circulation.
The frame of the tent consisted of 12 or more poles, depending on the size of the tipi, plus two poles for the flaps. The poles were placed on a supporting tripod. The rope that tied the tripod was connected to an anchor peg, which was stuck in the center of the floor. The fireplace was set up slightly away from the center - closer to the entrance, which always faced east. The most honorable place in the tipi was opposite the entrance. An altar was built between this place and the hearth. The floor was covered with skins or blankets, beds and chairs were made from small poles and twigs, covered with skins. Pillows were made from leather and stuffed with fur or aromatic grass.
Things and products were stored in rawhide boxes and in parfleches - large leather envelopes.
Layout of the large Assiniboine tipi:
a) hearth; b) altar; c) men; d) male guests; e) children; f) eldest wife; g) grandmother; h) female relatives and guests; i) the owner's wife; j) grandfather or uncle; k) things; m) products; m) dishes; o) meat dryer; n) firewood;
For the fire, the Indians used, in addition to wood, dry bison dung - it burned well and gave a lot of heat.
When camp was set up, the tipi was usually placed in a circle, leaving a passage on the east side. The tipis were assembled and disassembled by women who handled this task very quickly and deftly. The camp could be rolled up and ready for the road in less than an hour.
When migrating, the Indians built unique horse-drawn drags - travois - from tipi poles. Two poles were fastened crosswise on the sides of the horse or on the back. At the bottom, the poles were connected by crossbars made of poles or tied together with strips of leather, and things were placed on this frame or children and the sick were seated.
The entrance to the tipi is in the east, and at the far wall of the tipi, in the west, is the owner's place. The south side is the side of the housewife and children. North is the male half. Guests of honor are usually located there.
People who are unfamiliar or who come to the tipi for the first time do not go further than the owner’s place and therefore sit down immediately at the entrance (when entering the tipi it is customary to move in the direction of the sun (clockwise), that is, first through the female half).
This division is explained by the fact that in the north there live forces that help men, and in the south there are female forces. People close to the owner, when they come to visit, sit in the north. The owner can give up his place to the most honorable and respected.
This is due to the meaning of the altar, that is, it is undesirable for stranger passed between you and the altar. When you have a lot of guests, the newcomers walk behind the backs of those sitting so as not to disrupt their connection with the hearth.
HIRE and ALTAR
The first thing you do when you set up a tipi is create a fireplace for yourself. To do this, you find, if possible, a dozen or two stones and lay them out in a circle. If you want to make an altar for yourself, then you need to find one large flat stone, which is placed in a circle opposite sleeping place(place of the owner of the tipi).
The hearth should be as spacious as possible (as much as the size of the tipi allows), because then there will be fewer problems with spilling coals and the stones heated by the hearth will be closer to the sleeping places, which means it will be warmer.
It’s better not to throw cigarette butts, garbage and other trash at him, because he might get offended and very realistically, at a minimum, it will stink up the whole guy. And in general, it’s nice when the fire is clean for many reasons. It’s always a good idea to feed the fireplace, not only with firewood, but he also loves porridge.
In general, if you want to be friends with fire, then you need to share something good with it too. A good sacrifice to fire is a pinch of tobacco, if you smoke, sweet grass, sage or juniper. When you live in a tipi long enough, you begin to treat fire with respect, because it does a lot of good things, both warmth and food...
The stone closest to the entrance is moved aside if necessary so that someone, about whom we usually write in green, can enter (and this is also useful when you are drowning with long poles or logs). In some Indian tipis this stone was always pushed aside.
The hearth is the center of life in the tipi.
ALTAR
It has many meanings. One of them is the place where your gifts to the fire are placed. You can put objects that have meaning to you on it when you go to bed (this phrase caused everyone to laugh). Usually a pipe is kept under the altar. This is a clean place, try to keep the surroundings clean too.
A simple altar for temporary standing is a flat stone that is placed in front of the host's place.
If you expect to live in the tipi for a long time, and therefore communicate with everything that lives in the tipi with you, then you can make yourself a large altar. It is done like this: a pile of sand is poured in front of the large altar stone (sand is cleaner than earth, it can reflect the sun, so it is best suited). Two small wooden spears are stuck at the edges, and a thin stick is placed across it. It can be decorated with scraps of fabric, braid; the Indians preferred the color red and hung bird feathers and porcupine quills on it.
The altar is the gate.
A road runs through them that connects you with invisible forces. They say there are a lot of them around.
The pile of sand symbolizes the earth.
Rogatins are two world trees, and the crossbar above them is the vault of heaven.
The altar stores everything that connects you with invisible forces, so talismans and objects of power are hung on it. From time to time, sage, wormwood, and sweetgrass (sacred herbs of the Indians) are burned on it.
The figure below shows the arrangement of places and objects in the tipi.
This is how the seats in the tipi of the Indians were located. This suggests the location of the rest of your decoration. Firewood usually lies at the entrance with male side(before there was no feminism, women were stronger and were engaged in preparing fuel, and the firewood lay on the women's side), and the kitchen (supplies, pots and other utensils) is on the women's side.
Things you rarely use can be put behind the canopy. If you have a kind old lady available, and you are a real Indian, put the old lady in the wood-burning corner (the Indians called it "old lady's corner"). She will be fine there. It is believed that old people suffer from insomnia, and therefore in cold weather your old lady herself will throw wood on the fireplace all night long. It will be warm for both you and the old lady.
Cellophane in a tipukha is inconvenient. To store food, it is better to use fabric bags hung on wooden hooks and crossbars, tied between the poles on which your tipi stands, so that they hang higher above the ground and do not get damp.
If you are a rich Indian, it is more convenient to hang large bags on a wooden tripod (this is if you are a trusting Indian and are not afraid of the invasion of the Iroquois or other hungry tribes (see photo)). If you are the mohawk, use other people's large bags to hang them on your tripod.
To boil water you need to hang it over a fire. To do this, you can make (or borrow from a neighbor a wooden tripod with a hook.
An option for small teepees where a tripod is inconvenient is a cross pole tied above the fireplace, as shown in the picture below. Try to make the hook suspended from this pole longer so that the rope does not burn out. Choose a rope from natural materials, otherwise it will flow smoothly into your soup. In a large tipi, such crossbars can be conveniently used as drying racks for blankets, clothes, herbs, berries and mushrooms. By the way, it would also be good to dry the blankets in the morning. Regardless of the weather, inside the tipi you will sweat as you sleep, the blankets will become damp, and you will smell like a Mongol warrior.
Beds. Living in a tipi, sometimes you have to lie down. To protect yourself, your belongings and your children from dampness and rheumatism, you can build beds from dry thin poles. The poles are covered with grass. Some people use spruce branches for this, but they probably don’t feel sorry for the trees at all. It is better to use dry herbs from last year. You can take the grass that grew in the place of the tipi, but it will still be trampled down. In cold and rainy weather, it is very pleasant to place a stone wrapped in a rag and heated in the fireplace at your feet, and a thick, warm squaw at your side (therapeutic set “stone + squaw”). It is inconvenient to make beds in a small teepee - you can separate the sleeping area with a long pole, secured to the ground with pegs and placed along the sleeping area closer to the fireplace. Then you won't be trampling on blankets and sleeping bags.
The bedding that the Indians used is actually difficult to make, but some things can be explained. It was made from thin willow twigs, tying them together as shown in the figure below. Its thin end was hung on a tripod at a convenient height. If necessary, it was taken outside and used as a chair (to admire the sunset). There is an English name "backrest". This device folds up very conveniently and weighs little.
What's around the tipi
It is better if around your tipi there are: a forest, a river, a blue sky, green grass and good neighbors, and not cans, bottles and cigarette butts; and certainly not scraps or waste from the human body or sick minds. In short, it’s clean where they don’t litter.
In the forest not far from the parking lot and closer to animal trails, they chose a place where they took scraps and leftover food. Such places were called "veykan". They did not dig a hole under the weikan, but on the contrary, they made it on a hill so that animals and birds would not be afraid to approach it.
Economic buildings.
Use long poles (you can use the valve poles of your neighbor's teepee) to make your own blanket drying rack. It's just a big tripod with crossbars between the poles.
Fencing structures.
If you don't want to lose anything, do this:
From two thin poles (a neighbor’s tripod for a pot will do), tie a crosspiece and “close” the door with it from the outside. But don't forget to go inside, otherwise your condensed milk will be eaten by your squaw. This type of “lock” is also often used when you are leaving the tipi for a short time. A cross at the door means that the tipi's occupants should not be disturbed. This sign is widely used by those who live in teepees (not just the Indians who invented it).
According to tradition, trees growing near the tipi are decorated with colorful rags. The Indians often hung all sorts of gifts on them in order to appease the forces guarding the place. As long as you live next to trees, you share the earth with them. You will be pleased to return to them and see them beautiful.
HOW TO SEW A TIPI.
The basis is a rectangle of fabric measuring, for example, 4.5 x 9 meters. You can sew a larger tipi, the main thing is to maintain the proportions.
Tipi fabric
It is advisable to choose a fabric that is loose, waterproof, lightweight and fire-resistant. This can be all types of tarpaulin, double-thread, glued calico, or tent fabric. Best option- this is, of course, traditional canvas. You can use tent fabric
There is a suspicion that if all this does not burn, it would be nice. It is better if the fabric does not stretch and does not react to heat and moisture. 
It is better to sew with a harsh thread, with elements of synthetics.
If the fabric is narrow, then the rectangle is sewn from strips. In this case, it is advisable to overlap the seams on one side so that when it rains, water can flow down them. For thin fabrics, it is good to use a sail stitch. The seams can be waxed (coated with melted wax).
When the rectangle is already sewn, you can start cutting. It is most convenient to first draw a contour with chalk on a string 4.5 meters long. The end of the rope is fixed in the center of the larger side of the rectangle and a semicircle is drawn with chalk, like a compass (Figure A). If you don’t have enough fabric, you can immediately sew the strips not in a rectangle, but in a semicircle with steps (Figure B).
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Valve, fastener and inlet size ratio:
This ratio varies among different tribes, but on average it is 1:1:1 (Figure 2), if the tipi is not too large (4-4.5 meters)
There are various options. In Figure 3 pattern of a Sioux tipi, and in Figure 2 - a Blackfoot tipi
valves
To regulate the draft (cover the chimney on the leeward side), the tipi has valves.
In the forest and steppe, tipi valves are attached differently - in the forest, where there is no wind, the lower edges of the valves can hang freely or be attached with a rope to the tire, as shown in Figure 1, and in the steppe, so that the wind does not tear the valves, their lower the ends are usually tied with rope to a free-standing pole (see Figure 1)
The shape of the tipi as a whole depends on the shape of the valves.
Wu Siu valve one-piece (cut entirely, together with the cover) among the Blackfoot they are sewn to the tipi separately (sew-on valve). A tipi with full flaps has a shorter back wall and therefore it is slightly tilted back and extended upward. A teepee with sewn flaps looks like a smooth cone and has more space.
Here are examples of possible layouts for flaps and flap pockets:
One-piece valves were usually made 20 centimeters longer and narrower. In order to expand a one-piece valve, it is necessary to sew a wedge into it, cutting the valve from the top to approximately half (Figure 5)
A little about valve size ratios. You should try to avoid making the valves too long - when the tipi is standing, rain will drip into the hole between them and blow out the heat. You need to sew a loosely dangling piece of fabric onto the bottom of the valve and strengthen the joint between the lower end of the valve and the fabric with a square (Fig. 6). Again, the width of the top of the flap should be in relation to the size of the tipi itself. For a tipi 4.5 x 9, a width of about a cubit is suitable. The lower part of the valve (the hemmed piece) is two palms wide and suits many people. The distance between the valves (including the tongue) is approximately 70 centimeters.
The saddle between the valves should cover the entire pole harness, but not increase the width of the valve with its size. A tongue is sewn into the middle of it for tying the tire. The saddle can be of various shapes, but it is in this place that the strongest tension arises; the tongue is sewn as firmly as possible so that it can support the weight of the entire tire. A rope is attached to it and the tipi is tied to a pole (attachment options in Figure 7). Pockets are sewn no less firmly on the upper corners of the flaps, on their outer side. You will insert adjustment poles into them. TO bottom corners valves, attach long ropes to tighten the valves. Instead of pockets, you can make large holes (as the Blackfoot and Crow did). Then a crossbar is tied to the pole, some distance from its end, and so it is inserted into the hole. The Indians hung scalps on the free end of the pole, and we, after mature reflection, decided that we were law-abiding Indians and would not do that.
Entrance
The entry height should be approximately shoulder level, starting from the edge of the tire. And you need to cut it out by retreating 20 centimeters, which falls on the threshold. The depth of the cutout is about 2 palms. Both halves are turned off with a strip of strong fabric under which a rope is inserted (see Figure 8). When installing the tipi, the ends of the rope are tied to prevent the entrance from being stretched too much. If the tire is made of coarse fabric, such as canvas, one rim, without a rope, will be enough.
The door can be made simple, or it can be more complicated.
An example of a twisted door is Figure 10. It can be made either from a large skin or from a piece of fabric cut approximately to the shape of the skin. This is a trapezoidal door with a long tongue on the top, which is pinned to the cover of one of the wooden “clasp” sticks. It is better to make the tongue as long as possible in order to hang the door higher - this way it will be more convenient to recline. Another example of a convoluted door is the oval-shaped wicker-framed door you see on the right side of Figure 10.
On some tipis there were no doors at all and the edges of the tire were simply folded over one by one.
Clasps.
Usually, two holes for fasteners are made on each side of the tire, so that the holes match, otherwise the fabric will wrinkle. Sometimes they also make two holes on one side and one on the other. This makes it easier to tighten the tire, but the tension weakens. The edge of the fabric with two holes is placed on top (no brainer).
Canopy.
The canopy is a very important thing in a tipukha. This is what basically keeps you warm; the tire only serves to protect you from rain and wind. It's better to make it from thick fabric(if you are not too lazy to carry such a heavy load). Sometimes the canopy weighs as much as the entire tire. The space between the canopy and the tire is used for storing things.
Canopy straight . (Figure 12) Its height is about 150 cm. For reference, a tipi with a diameter of 4.5 meters requires approximately 12 meters of fabric per canopy. It's easy to make, but it eats up a lot of space inside the tipi. Along the upper edge, at an equal distance (about a meter), laces are tied (Figure 15) for hanging on a rope stretched along the perimeter between the poles.
The canopy is trapezoidal. (Figure 13) Sewn together from wide trapezoids. Therefore, unlike a straight canopy, it can be pulled strictly along the poles. Usually it is made of three sectors (as seen in Figure 14) and in such a way that the middle sector overlaps the two outer ones. For reference, a 5-meter tipi requires about 20 meters, and a 4.5-meter tipi requires about 18..
In any of these cases, the length of the canopy should be enough for you to wrap it at the entrance, and the more margin, the better. Try to find a light-colored fabric for the canopy so that the tipi does not feel dark.
Additional details
Azan - something like a visor that is suspended above the sleeping place so that warm air accumulates under it. Usually this is a piece of fabric in the shape of a semicircle, which, with its rounded part, is tied to a cord on which the canopy hangs. The azan fabric is tied with a margin so that you can tuck it behind the canopy and close the gap - it will be warmer! The radius of the azan should be equal to the radius standing tipi.
Rain triangle.
A small but very useful detail. During heavy rain draft deteriorates, so the valves need to be opened wider, but then rain will pour in. To ensure that the head is completely dry (sorry, boom-shankar confused), cut out an isosceles triangle from thick waterproof fabric, such a size that it can cover the hearth. The triangle is tied at the top, under the chimney, to three poles.
Staging the tipi.
The tipi is placed on poles. You need between 9 and 20 poles, depending on the size of the tipi. The most common number of poles for tipis with a diameter of 4.5-5 meters is twelve.
When choosing a place for a tipi, make sure that there are fewer trees nearby (after rain, water drips from them onto the tire for a long time), so that the place is level, so that the tipi does not stand in a hollow. You don’t have to pull out the grass, because it will quickly be trampled anyway.
So, you found all the poles and dragged them to the parking lot. Don’t forget to clear them of bark (so that it doesn’t fall on your head) and knots (so that the tire doesn’t tear, however).
First you need to tie the tripod - that's how the Indians did it
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To do this, spread a tire on a flat place and place three poles on it. The poles are stolen (this is a typo, but if you are too lazy to go into the forest, then this is not a typo)... So, the poles are placed with their thick ends flush with the edge of the tire, and the thin ends are tied together at the level of the tongue ( tongue- see department valves, Figure 7). Keep in mind that if the tipi is of a Siuk cut (that is, the back wall is shorter), then two poles are tied along the height of the back wall and one along the height of the front (Figure 17). Make notches on the poles so that the knot does not move out. By the way, if you are going to tie the entire frame, the free end of the rope should be very long. Now solemnly place the tied tripod (thin ends up)! |
Then, at equal intervals, three poles are placed one after another, starting from the eastern (door) pole, moving against the sun (counterclockwise). Then the next three poles are on the other side of it, moving towards the sun. And the next two are also in the direction of the sun in the remaining gap; they are placed side by side, leaving room for the last pole with a tire (it will stand behind them).
All this time, the poles are tied in parallel for strength. This is done like this: take the tail of the rope with which the tripod is tied, and one of your assistants, running in a circle, grabs the installed poles with the rope. In this case, a full turn is made on every three poles (and on the last two). It is more convenient to do this by slightly tugging the rope, when it covers the rosette of the poles, then it slides with each jerk towards the knot and fits more tightly to it.
Then the tire is tied tightly to the last pole, and so that the lower end of the pole protrudes beyond the edge of the tire by about a palm. All this equipment is raised and the pole is put in its place. If you have a heavy tire, it is better not to do it alone. To do this, it is better to assemble the tire to it with an accordion before lifting the pole and then, when the pole is raised, two people take the edges of the tire and begin to separate, wrapping it around the frame so that the entrance is between the eastern tripod and pole number 4 in Figure 18. The tire is fastened with fasteners. top down. After this, you can move the poles apart so that the fabric stretches and fits tightly around the frame.
Next, strings are tied around the perimeter of the tipi, in the middle between each pair of poles (see Figure 19). Take a small pebble, a cone or something else round, wrap it in tire cloth, stepping back from its edge to the width of your palm, and tie it tightly with a rope as shown in Fig. 19 . Additionally, two ties are tied on both sides of the entrance, near the poles. Now the tire is held to the ground by pegs.
Insert two short, light poles into the valve pockets to control them. Drive a pole for pulling the valves three steps opposite the entrance and tie the ropes from the valves to it.
Canopy.
To begin with, take a very long rope. It is tied to the poles inside the tipi (I wrote this just in case, you never know...) at a height slightly lower than the height of the canopy.
It is better to start from a pole with a tire. A pair of sticks are slipped under each turn of the rope; these are small, but very sacred sticks, and if you do not attach any importance to them, then when it rains, echoing streams of water will flow down the poles, falling with an eerie roar right onto your bed. For tying method, see Figure 20.
Then the canopy is hung, starting from the entrance and covering it with its first sector, so that the edges are drawn back like curtains. The bottom of the canopy is pressed down from the inside by heavy objects (stones, backpacks, tomahawks, guests, etc.)
Hearth
Don't dig a hole for the fireplace, otherwise you'll have a swimming pool. Cover it with large or small stones. It is best to place the fireplace slightly offset from the center of the tipi towards the entrance. Now light the fire, if it smokes, then go back to page 1 and see how to sew a tipi correctly.
Reginald and Gladys Laubin
Tipi coloring page
And now the tipi stands, you live in it and, apparently, you feel good in it. And one day, going out into the street and looking around, you are overcome by a vague languor - you want to do something.
WITH environment, probably nothing can be done, but the tipi tire may become completely different. This thing is quite difficult - keep in mind that most drawings sooner or later become boring if they are made thoughtlessly and without any special meaning.
It seems to us that the theme of the picture on the tire should mean something to you, first of all, it’s okay if others don’t understand it. But in general, of course, this is a personal matter for everyone and their artistic and other tastes. Therefore, we will not burden you with our thoughts on this topic (maybe a little), but will try to provide as many drawings as possible - examples of how others did it.
And yet, there is traditional symbolism, many of the details of the painting meant something else, and if you are interested in learning about this, then we can tell you something. IN otherwise all this can be easily missed.
Along the lower edge of the tire, the tipi inhabitant drew something symbolizing the earth, say a strip of mountains, prairie, stones, in general, what he sees around him. This was usually drawn in red, the color of the earth.
The top, accordingly, meant the sky, often black, bottomless in color. Sitting in such a tipi, you feel like you are in the center of a painted universe, and in most cases this was enough, and the painting of the tipi stopped (such a drawing can hardly get boring, right?). However, sometimes another drawing was applied to the tipi cover, which was an image of something unusual that happened in a person’s life or appeared to him in a dream (which from the Indian’s point of view is the same thing).
The Indians generally attached very important importance to dreams; sometimes a dream a person had could change the course of his life, and therefore it was natural for him to depict such an important event at your home. So if someone painted anything on their tipi, just like that, then somehow they would not understand him.
In a consciousness undistorted by various plastic bells and whistles, there is a very strong connection between the object and its image (the same was with pagan idols and, later, Russian icons), therefore depicting something on the tipi, you are it something attract. It is not for nothing that the frequent subject of drawings on tipi were symbolic images of guardians and helpers who appeared in dreams, usually in the form of animals with which a person previously had a close relationship.
Painted Cheyenne tipi tire
It is better to start painting the tipi before it is set up, this will make it easier to get to its top part. The bottom can be painted when the tipi is already standing. Natural colors look more natural, from which the eyes do not get tired (unless, of course, you are a fan of techno music, then your eyes have not seen such horror...).
The Indians painted tipis with colors that could be obtained from nature, so there are only a few traditional colors. But colors, like everything else, were full of meaning for them, so even when they had the opportunity to buy synthetic paints (oil or acrylic), they still chose a range that made sense to them.
These are: red, yellow, white, blue or light blue and black.
Red and yellow paints can be made from ocher, if it is crushed and mixed with fat, vegetable oil or just with water. If you are lucky, petrified ocher can be found near rivers, wood ocher can be taken from under aspen or pine bark (which is very difficult to do), sometimes earthen ocher is thrown away along with the soil by moles, as fortunately for us happened here in Toksovo.
Blue and white paints can be made from colored clay in the same way as red, black from crushed coal, and blueberries can be used instead of blue paint. All these paints, even diluted in water, are perfectly absorbed into the fabric, although the blue color easily fades in the sun.
Red is the color of Earth and Fire. This is the most sacred color, revered not only by the Indians, but also by many other peoples who connected their lives with the earth.
Yellow - this is the color of Stone, as well as Lightning, which, according to many beliefs, has a connection with stones, earth and fire.
White and blue - the color of Water or empty space - Air, transparent like water.
Black blue colors are the Sky, bottomlessness.
Sometimes, in order to show the connection between sky and water, the sky was depicted as white or blue(after all, water falls from the sky). For the same reasons, water was sometimes depicted as black or blue.
Sometimes Blue colour replaced with green (when they appeared oil paints, green paint is difficult to find in nature) due to the fact that ancient peoples did not have a difference between blue and green colors. Same with navy blue and black.
As for the drawings themselves, the most important thing is to understand one thing: it is best to see the beautiful in the simple. It seems to us that this applies not only to drawings, but also to everything else that we do and think about in our lives (hey, cart!). Don't try to fill the space too much with small details; emptiness will only emphasize the meaning of your drawing. We can advise not to fall for a common mistake; when you lay the tipi on the ground and make a drawing, it seems much larger than it actually is, don't be afraid to paint a large area with one color - when the tipi stands up, the perspective will change and everything will look different.
It’s very long and probably not necessary to describe all the details and squiggles that the Indians used, but we can describe several common simple symbols. Most often there are various triangles - they mean mountains and, accordingly, earth. The small circles combined with them are stones. A widespread symbol that confused Christian missionaries was the cross, meaning the four sacred directions, the four cardinal directions, or the celestial bodies. Of course, all these are generalized things, there were much more symbols and their different interpretations, so don’t be surprised if you come across other information in other sources (we are the source? Wow, cool!).
If you use some traditional Native American elements in the coloring of your teepee, you will also help this culture survive in its natural way.
We'll start by calculating the amount of fabric; then I will talk a little about the tops about the choice of fabric, its purchase and initial cutting; Next, there will probably be one or two parts about seams, further cutting and sewing of tires, about valves, doors, canopies. And finally, the last part will be about the installation + report on the experience of use.
Maybe a bonus will be written about painting, we’ll see as we go along.
Now I am posting my poor drawings and calculations for a large, 6-meter tipi. Initially, this text was created for the VK group, as part of a collective parallel sewing project, and was aimed at ensuring that, ideally, each participant would take and INDEPENDENTLY COUNT the fabric for the standard, popular size of 4.5m. You never know, maybe a mistake will creep in; and for a better understanding of what you are sewing, it is better to count everything yourself.
However, here I will nevertheless write the numbers that I obtained for a tipi with an edge of 4.5 meters. Because as things progressed, it became clear that all the same, damn it, everyone is lazy and keeps knocking on their PM))) These numbers will be italicized in square brackets [like this].
I want to say in advance that I absolutely did not count the allowance for seams anywhere. I felt that on such a huge scale, 2-3cm per seam here and there would not make a big difference. If you do not agree with this, add them to your calculations.
To begin with, very short excursion— suddenly someone knows nothing at all about the structure of the tipi.
It consists, by and large, of a tire (the large cone-shaped part) and a canopy (the inner part, a strongly trimmed cone or cylinder). The teepee retains heat (well, that's a big word - in winter it will only hold it as long as you burn a fire)) not due to the density of the fabric, but due to this air gap between the two layers of fabric. There is a clasp on the front (Fig. 1, C and D), a round entrance with a door curtaining it (Fig. 1, E and G), on top there are valves that regulate traction (Fig. 1, B) and a tongue with a rope for attaching the tire to poles (Figure 1, I)
In any case, it is recommended to make beds inside for sleeping (see winter shelter in our reports), although people also sleep on foam on the ground.
So, let's start the calculations.
We are based on a pattern from the Blackfoot tribe (Fig. 1), with sewn-on flaps.
Fig.1
The Blackfoot teepee cover is a proper cone.
Those who wish can make a tipi according to the Sioux pattern, with one-piece flaps; 
Fig.2
The calculation of the fabric of the tire will be approximately identical, but the tipi will turn out to be a little lower, and a little tipped back (Fig. 2). They say it has less space. And calculating the canopy will probably not be so convenient, since the base of the cone is not smooth circle, and the outline is like an egg.
It seems to me more rational to cut a tipi with sewn-on flaps, so I will count on this.
In Figure 3 you see a semicircle with a radius of 6m (I will speak in meters to make it clearer; on graph paper this is, of course, centimeters).
Fig.3
It is inscribed in horizontal stripes 1.5 m wide, symbolizing the fabric :) It is not difficult to guess that the typical tipi sizes - 4.5 and 6 m - come precisely from the width of the fabric of 150 cm. If your fabric is 90cm wide - tarpaulins, for example, usually are - the strips will be a different width, and a convenient rib length option will also be, for example, 5.4m.
The fabric is placed in the most economical way, using a ladder.
We calculate the total length of the strips: 12 + 12 + 10.5 + 8 = 42.5 m. This is our length of fabric per tire.
[for a tipi with a 4.5m edge this is 9 + 8.5 + 7 = 24.5m]
Additionally, we have to carve out valve, door, and fastener element(see Figure 1). We will discuss their patterns in more detail later.
The valves may fit into small triangles-trimmings at the bottom of the pattern (see Fig. 3) - or maybe not, on graph paper you cannot see this with an accuracy of 10cm, and the valves for such a tipi should be approximately 170cm long [for a tipi with an edge of 4.5m - up to 150cm], maybe a little smaller, and at least 40cm wide at the narrowest bottom part. So perhaps the bottom strip should be made specifically to accommodate the valves there, 20-30 centimeters longer on each side.
In any case, it’s worth adding two or three meters to the other details in order to cut out the overlap of the fastener, the cover for the entire tipi, the “door”, and the small but useful detail called a “rain triangle” (it is tied at the top, covering the hole).
Total, to cover a 6-meter tipi you need about 45-46 m of fabric. [for tipi with edge 4.5m - 27-28m]
Next, we move on to the canopy.
The canopy “for the lazy” is simply a strip of fabric, the length of which is the circumference of the tipi at 1.5m (the factory width of our fabric) from the ground. The circumference is full - the entrance is also curtained with the edge of the canopy, you can even add a little so that there is a slight overlap (add as much as you want).
Draw a “sectional tipi” on paper - an equilateral triangle with sides 6m
(on paper it is 6cm, as we remember). At the same time, you can now measure with a ruler that the height of the tipi will not be 6m
, as you might think, but less.
Our canopy is supported along the lower edge by logs and the like, so we draw a horizontal line not at 1.5, but at 1.3 m from the ground - 20 cm of our fabrics lie on the ground (see Fig. 4, red line). 
rice. 4 ( the red stripe is the top of the canopy “for the lazy”, the blue stripe is the trapezoid canopy)
We measure the length of the resulting line. I got about 4.5m. [for tipi with edge 4.5m - 3m]
Now we calculate the circumference using the good old formula C=2πR, or πD. That is, 3.14 x 4.5 = 14.13m [for a tipi with an edge of 4.5m - 3.14 x 3 = 9.42m].
There you are minimum the length of the fabric for a simple canopy, but it’s better to take it with a reserve, just in case, for example 15m
.
BUT a good canopy (not for the lazy), which does not steal a lot of space from below (almost a meter!), is not just a cylinder, but a truncated cone. Accordingly, it consists of trapezoids sewn together (Fig. 5). 
rice. 5
Of course, you also need to place trapezoids on the fabric sparingly, in a checkerboard pattern (Figure 5 below - don’t look at the centimeters there, if anything, it’s calculated a little differently).
The length of the fabric in this case is calculated as follows: on our triangle “teepee in section” we measure the width of the tipi not at the level of 1.3 m from the ground, but at the level of 1.3 m along the wall (Fig. 4, blue line) - the strip will come out a little lower, only by level just over a meter from the ground. Its length is now 4.7m [for tipi with edge 4.5m - 3.2m].
3.14 x 4.7 = 14.7m [for a tipi with an edge of 4.5m - 3.14 x 3.2 = 10.05m]. This is the length of the upper part of the canopy, let's call it C1. And the length of the lower part is the diameter at the ground, 3.14 x 6 = 18.7 m [for a tipi with an edge of 4.5m - 3.14 x 4.5 = 14.13m], let's call it C2.
Since our trapezoids are arranged in a checkerboard pattern, to understand the total length of the strip on which they will be placed we need to add C1 and C2 and divide by 2, we get 16.7 m [for tipi with edge 4.5m - 12.09m].
Almost everything. You just need to add the length of the small “tails” that will remain on each side (Fig. 5 below, triangles at the edges). If you want to calculate it accurately, then the formula is: (C2 - C1) / 10 (where 10 is the number of trapezoids; there may be a different number at your request). For us it is 40cm [also 40cm 0__o]. This is the length of both tails, that is, there will be 20 cm on each side.
In any case, it is better to add, for example, a meter to the length of the canopy fabric, for a cover in color, and for other joys.
So, on the canopy - 17.1m, let it be 18 for reserve [for tipi 4.5m - 12.5m, with a margin of 13.5m]. For the canopy, they usually choose a lighter fabric so that it is light in the tipi, and thicker so that it does not blow through. On the other hand, the bottom that lies on the ground will get desperately dirty, so if you are ready to get confused, you can make the opposite 30-40 centimeters from the bottom of the canopy from a dark fabric.
There is also such a thing as adhan(or ozan, as it is sometimes written) is a semicircle, like a roof over a sleeping place, reflecting heat from the fire in cold weather (Fig. 6). 
rice. 6
It’s easy to calculate - take your C1, that is, the diameter of the circle at the height where the canopy ends, draw a circle. The azan is low and should never hang over the fire. Therefore, draw a circle in the center with a diameter of about a meter, or better yet, with a margin.
Next, draw a part of the circle so that the “fire” does not overlap (see Fig. 7). For a tipi with a diameter of 6m, or even more so 4.5m, such an azan will fit safely into a fabric 150cm wide. 
Fig.7
My cutting length for the azan turned out to be about 4m [for a tipi with an edge of 4.5m - about 3m], and it will hang quite low - at the above-mentioned height of 110-120cm. For greater safety, I would advise making the azan narrower, and still not from flammable fabric, but from natural fabric with fire-resistant impregnation - the loss in weight will be small, since the part is not very large, but you will sleep more peacefully under it, and not see in nightmares how melting polyester starts to drip on you :)
TOTAL: we need fabric for the tire and accessories (waterproof, lightweight, windproof) 45-46m , canopy fabrics (light, thick, wind-resistant) from 15 to 18m [from 11 to 13.5m], and optional fabric for azan (non-flammable!) 4m [up to 3m]
Well, on this happy note - in principle, everything is according to the calculation of the fabric.
Enjoy it for your health %)
P.S: Thanks for some of the pictures
For every person, a home is not just a place of solitude and relaxation, but a real fortress that protects from bad weather and allows you to feel comfortable and confident. Any adversity and long trips It’s always easier to bear when you know that there is a place in the world where you can hide and where you are expected and loved. People have always strived to make their home as strong and comfortable as possible, even in those times when it was extremely difficult to achieve this. Now the ancient traditional dwellings of this or that people seem dilapidated and unreliable, but at one time they faithfully served their owners, protecting their peace and leisure.
Dwellings of the peoples of the north
The most famous dwellings of the peoples of the north are the tent, booth, yaranga and igloo. They still remain relevant today, as they meet all the requirements of the difficult conditions of the north.
This dwelling is perfectly adapted to nomadic conditions and is used by peoples who engage in reindeer herding. These include the Komi, Nenets, Khanty, and Enets. Contrary to popular belief, the Chukchi do not live in tents, but build yarangas.
The chum is a cone-shaped tent, which consists of high poles covered in summer time burlap, and in winter - skins. The entrance to the home is also covered with burlap. The cone-shaped shape of the chum allows snow to slide over its surface and not accumulate on the structure, and, in addition, makes it more resistant to wind. In the center of the home there is a fireplace, which is used for heating and cooking. Thanks to high temperature source, precipitation seeping through the top of the cone quickly evaporates. To prevent wind and snow from falling under the lower edge of the chum, snow is raked from the outside to its base. The temperature inside the tent ranges from +13 to +20°C.
The whole family, including children, is involved in installing the chum. Skins and mats are placed on the floor of the home, and pillows, feather beds and sheepskin sleeping bags are used for sleeping.
The Yakuts lived in it during the winter. The booth is a rectangular structure made of logs with a flat roof. It was quite easy and quick to build. To do this, they took several main logs and placed them vertically, and then connected them with many smaller diameter logs. What was unusual for Russian dwellings was that the logs were placed vertically, slightly inclined. After installation, the walls were covered with clay, and the roof was covered first with bark and then with earth. This was done in order to insulate the home as much as possible. The floor inside the booth was trampled sand; even in severe frosts, its temperature did not drop below -5°C.
The walls of the booth consisted of large quantity windows, which were covered with ice before extreme cold, and in the summer with calf afterbirth or mica.
To the right of the entrance to the dwelling there was a fireplace, which was a pipe coated with clay and going out through the roof. The owners of the house slept on bunks located to the right (for men) and to the left (for women) of the hearth.
This snow shelter was built by the Eskimos. They lived poorly and, unlike the Chukchi, they did not have the opportunity to build a full-fledged home.
The igloo was a structure made from ice blocks. It was dome-shaped and about 3 meters in diameter. In the case when the snow was shallow, the door and corridor were attached directly to the wall, and if the snow was deep, then the entrance was located in the floor and a small corridor led out from it.
When building an igloo, a prerequisite was that the entrance be below floor level. This was done in order to improve the flow of oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. In addition, this location of the entrance allowed maximum heat retention.
Light entered the home through ice blocks, and heat was provided by fat bowls. An interesting point was that the walls of the igloo did not melt from the heat, but simply melted, which helped maintain comfortable temperature inside the home. Even in the forty-degree frost, the temperature in the igloo was +20°C. The ice blocks also absorbed excess moisture, allowing the room to remain dry.
Nomad dwellings
The yurt has always been the dwelling of nomads. Now it continues to be a traditional home in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Altai. A yurt is a round-shaped dwelling covered with skins or felt. It is based on wooden poles arranged in the form of gratings. In the upper part of the dome there is a special hole for the exit of smoke from the fireplace.
Things inside the yurt are located along the edges, and in the center there is a fireplace, stones for which are always carried with you. The floor is usually covered with skins or boards.
This home is very mobile. It can be assembled in 2 hours and disassembled just as quickly. Thanks to the felt that covers its walls, heat is retained inside, and heat or extreme cold practically does not change the indoor climate. The round shape of this structure gives it stability, which is necessary in strong steppe winds.
Dwellings of the peoples of Russia
This building is one of the oldest insulated dwellings of the peoples of Russia.
The wall and floor of the dugout consisted of a square hole dug in the ground at a depth of 1.5 meters. The roof was made of planks and covered with a thick layer of straw and earth. The walls were also reinforced with logs and covered with earth on the outside, and the floor was covered with clay.
The disadvantage of such housing was that smoke from the fireplace could only escape through the door, and the proximity of groundwater made the room very damp. However, the dugout had significantly more advantages. These include:
Safety. The dugout is not afraid of hurricanes and fires.
Constant temperature. It is preserved both in severe frosts and in hot weather.
Does not allow loud sounds and noise to pass through.
Virtually no repair required.
A dugout can be built even on uneven terrain.
The traditional Russian hut was built from logs, and the main tool was an ax. With its help, a small depression was made at the end of each log, into which the next log was secured. Thus, the walls were gradually built. The roof was usually made with a gable roof, which saved material. To keep the hut warm, forest moss was placed between the logs. When the house settled, it became dense and covered all the cracks. In those days there was no foundation and the first logs were placed on compacted ground.
The roof was covered with straw on top, as it served good remedy protection from snow and rain. The outside walls were coated with clay mixed with straw and cow dung. This was done for the purpose of insulation. The main role in maintaining heat in the hut was played by the stove, the smoke from which came out through the window, and from the beginning of the 17th century - through the chimney.
Dwellings of the European part of our continent
The most famous and historically valuable dwellings in the European part of our continent are: hut, hut, trullo, rondavel, palasso. Many of them still exist.
It is an ancient traditional dwelling of Ukraine. The hut, unlike the hut, was intended for areas with a milder and warmer climate, and the peculiarities of its structure were explained by the small area of forests.
The mud hut was built on a wooden frame, and the walls consisted of thin tree branches, which were coated with white clay outside and inside. The roof was usually made of straw or reeds. The floor was earthen or plank. To insulate the home, its walls were coated from the inside with clay mixed with reeds and straw. Despite the fact that the huts had no foundation and were poorly protected from moisture, they could last up to 100 years.
This stone structure is the traditional home of the inhabitants of the Caucasus. The very first saklas were one-room ones with an earthen floor and had no windows. The roof was flat and there was a hole in it for the smoke to escape. In mountainous areas, sakli adjoin each other in the form of terraces. At the same time, the roof of one home is the floor of another. This construction was not only due to convenience, but also served as additional protection from enemies.
This type of dwelling is common in the southern and central regions of the Italian region of Puglia. Trullo is distinguished by the fact that it was created using dry masonry technology, that is, stones were laid on top of each other without the use of cement or clay. This was done so that by removing one stone, the entire house could be destroyed. The fact is that in this area of Italy it was prohibited to build houses, so if an official came to check, the trullo was quickly destroyed.
The walls of the house were made very thick so that they protected from extreme heat and saved from the cold. Trullos were most often one-room and had two windows. The roof had a cone shape. Sometimes, boards were placed on the beams located at the base of the roof, and thus a second floor was formed.
This is a common dwelling in Spanish Galicia (northwestern Iberian Peninsula). Pallasso was built in the mountainous part of Spain, so the main building material was stone. The dwellings had round shape with a cone-shaped roof. The roof frame was made of wood, and the top was covered with straw and reeds. There were no windows in the pallaso, and the exit was located on the east side.
Due to the peculiarities of its structure, the pallaso protected from cool winters and rainy summers.
Indian Dwellings
This is the home of the Indians of the north and northeast of North America. Currently, wigwams are used for various rituals. This dwelling is dome-shaped and consists of flexible, curved trunks held together by elm bark and covered with mats, corn leaves, bark or hides. At the top of the wigwam there is a hole for the smoke to escape. The entrance to the home is usually covered with a curtain. Inside there was a fireplace and places for sleeping and resting; food was prepared outside the wigwam.
Among the Indians, this dwelling was associated with the Great Spirit and personified the world, and the person who came out of it into the light left behind everything unclean. The chimney was believed to help establish a connection with the heavens and provide an entry point for spiritual power.
The Great Plains Indians lived in teepees. The dwelling has the shape of a cone and reaches a height of 8 meters. Its frame was made of poles made of pine or juniper. They were covered with bison or deer skin on top and reinforced with pegs at the bottom. Inside the dwelling, a special belt went down from the junction of the poles, which was attached to the ground with a peg and protected the tipi from destruction in strong winds. In the center of the dwelling there was a fireplace, and along the edges there were places for rest and utensils.
The tipi combined all the qualities that were necessary for the Indians of the Great Plains. This dwelling was quickly disassembled and assembled, easily transported, and protected from rain and wind.
Ancient dwellings of other nations
This is the traditional home of the peoples of southern Africa. It has a round base and a cone-shaped roof; the walls consist of stones held together with sand and manure. The inside is coated with clay. Such walls perfectly protect their owners from extreme heat and bad weather. The base of the roof is made up of round beams or poles made of branches. It is covered with reeds on top.
Minka
The traditional dwelling in Japan is the minka. The main material and frame of the house is made of wood and filled with woven branches, reeds, bamboo, grass, and coated with clay. Inside, the main part of a Japanese house is one large room, divided into zones by movable partitions or screens. There is almost no furniture in a Japanese house.
Traditional home different nations is the legacy of their ancestors, sharing experiences, preserving history and reminding people of their roots. There is much in them worthy of admiration and reverence. Knowing their characteristics and fate, one can understand how difficult it was for a person to build a durable home and protect it from bad weather, and how invariably age-old wisdom and natural intuition helped him in this.
