The Roof And Rafters Are
Black And Shiny From Wood Smoke.
Immediately under them, at one
end and one side, are small, square windows, which are closed at
night by wooden shutters, which during the day-time hang by ropes.
Nothing is a greater insult to an Aino than to look in at his
window.
On the left of the doorway is invariably a fixed wooden platform,
eighteen inches high, and covered with a single mat, which is the
sleeping-place. The pillows are small stiff bolsters, covered with
ornamental matting. If the family be large there are several of
these sleeping platforms. A pole runs horizontally at a fitting
distance above the outside edge of each, over which mats are thrown
to conceal the sleepers from the rest of the room. The inside half
of these mats is plain, but the outside, which is seen from the
room, has a diamond pattern woven into it in dull reds and browns.
The whole floor is covered with a very coarse reed-mat, with
interstices half an inch wide. The fireplace, which is six feet
long, is oblong. Above it, on a very black and elaborate
framework, hangs a very black and shiny mat, whose superfluous soot
forms the basis of the stain used in tattooing, and whose apparent
purpose is to prevent the smoke ascending, and to diffuse it
equally throughout the room. From this framework depends the great
cooking-pot, which plays a most important part in Aino economy.
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