Bunong House

Bunong houses are circular houses built from straw by the Bunong people of Cambodia and Vietnam, using a thatched grass roof and walls of flattened bamboo, raised only slightly above the ground. Each house holds a single common room where the family gathers around a central fire, and the dwelling has no windows, relying on its one doorway for daylight, so the interior is lit mainly by the fire itself and by oil lamps. These houses also serve as a place to keep culturally valuable objects, particularly ancient ceramic jars and ceremonial gongs, and their compact, unified single room reflects how closely the Bunong people tie community and intimacy together in their way of life.