What is a Grass Hut?

Various cultures still employ grass huts in the modern world.

A grass hut constitutes any hut, or dwelling, made partially or totally from grass. Grass huts figured prominently in various cultures through human history, in many locations around the world. In the 21st century, grass huts exist in various capacities, depending on the location and nature of the hut in question.

Grass Hut Construction

Grass hut construction varies depending upon location, culture, and the function of the hut. In all instances of indigenous cultures creating dwellings from grass, only local grasses figured as construction materials. In modern times, however, some companies specialize in the importation of grasses from places such as the Amazon. In its most basic form, a grass hut contains walls and a ceiling composed of grass, with a dirt floor. Binding agents used in basic huts often comprise ropes made from grass or a similar material. Some grass huts contain, or consist completely of, straw. The term "straw hut" sometimes appears as a synonym for "grass hut," though the two differ in that grass and straw are not technically the same thing. More-complex huts contain mixed material in the walls, including clay bricks, mud, twigs and other wood.

Grass Huts in History and Culture

Grass huts appear in many cultures throughout world history. In North America, indigenous peoples in places such as Texas, Florida and plains regions such as Kansas and Oklahoma constructed grass huts. In Africa, so-called bush cultures in the grasslands south of the Sahara built grass huts. Cultures in the Amazon jungle built them, as did people in various regions of India. In some locations, nomadic peoples built grass huts because of their simplicity---the nature of the nomadic lifestyle left no time for constructing complex dwellings. In places such as Hawaii, indigenous peoples built grass huts because of the abundant materials and the generally agreeable climate.

Grass Huts in the 21st Century

Grass huts persist into the 21st century. Some of these constitute a continuation of the cultures of indigenous peoples in regions such as the Amazon or African savannas (tropical grasslands), which remain relatively free of modern industrial development. In other instances, though, people in modernized or fully developed nations build or purchase grass huts as something for the garden. Garden grass huts serve decorative and functional purposes, serving in some instances as accoutrements and in others as sheds or garden shelters for people, similar to gazebos.

Grass Huts in the Tourism Industry

Grass huts serve various functions in the modern tourism industry. Countries or regions with grass hut traditions, such as South Africa, offer grass huts as dwellings for tourists, as alternatives to hotel rooms. In regions such as the sparsely populated north cape of New Zealand, where many indigenous peoples still live, grass huts serve as tourist attractions. The city of Chengdu, China, boasts the DuFu Caotang museum, built in and around a thatched grass hut/cottage in honor of the poet Du Fu. Du Fu built and lived in just such a hut in Chengdu in 759 CE, during China's Tang Dynasty.

References

• "Mother Earth News"; Backyard Grass-Hut Retreat; Shelley Botts; June/July 2011
• "Frommer's South Africa"; Pippa de Bruyn; 2010
• "Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier"; Ray Allen Billington, et al.; 2001
• Grass Hut Treasures LLC
• "Secrets of the Savanna"; Mark & Delia Owens; 2006
• "Everglades: An Ecosystem Facing Choices and Challenges"; Anne E. Ake; 2008

Resources

• Polynesian Cultural Center: Hawaii
• "Drive Out" magazine: Northern Cape
• China Fact Tours: Dufu's Thatched Cottage
• VJourney.com: Chengdu Du Fu Grass Hut