Housing pattern as a reflection of social organization among Newars of Nepal

Social organization can be understood from different elements or units such as family, kinship, and caste in any society. During the ethnographic fieldwork among the Newars of Thecho village in Lalitpur district of Nepal, it has been observed that, the housing pattern or the arrangement of house can also act as a reflection of the social organization. This can be applied to any other society, which we come across. This paper tries to show how understanding housing pattern from the context of its geographical set up, and the rules governing maintenance of the house are nothing but areflection of social organization of any community. Within the household, the gender division of labour, power equation between the members of household in accessing certain spaces within the house are mirror images of social organization. The restriction put on the geographical or style of construction of house for the lower caste members by the dominant caste in itself is an example how social organization is an extension of the housing pattern in the society. The changes brought in the form of introduction of lavatory or bathroom for the traditional houses is a symbol of change the social organization goes through. The modernity seeps into the culture; the traditionality leaves its taints, leading to the formation of an amalgamated culture, accommodating modernity within the traditional values. The construction of modern houses in the superstructure of traditional model serves as befitting example as explained in this paper.