| caption: |
Chapter One. The Material Background |
| caption: |
best house sites near the centre; morung |
| text: |
The sites nearest the morung were considered the best, for there had stood the houses of the "oldest" families, whose ancestors had taken part in the founding of the village. When the households of a ward increased, newly established families had often to build their houses on lower levels at some distance from the morung. In one of the larger wards of Wakching, for instance, whole streets of small houses were strung out down the hillside, but living on the outskirts of the village reflected adversely on a man's prestige. |
