VAJATS IN THE VILLAGES ON THE SOUTHERN SLOPES OF MOUNT POVLEN
VAJATS IN THE VILLAGES ON THE SOUTHERN SLOPES OF MOUNT POVLEN

Summary/Abstract: Vajats (singular: Serbian vajat /pronounced as vayat/; plural: vajati (English vayats) are objects located in the croft of a rural household. They are rectangular, single-room buildings with a corner entrance and without windows. They were used either to house newly-wed couples, or as storage for keeping dairy products, or as temporary mountain houses. With respect to their structure there are two large groups of vajats: 1) vajats in which the infill and the frame are identical, and 2) vajats with an infill and with a load-bearing frame. The latter group can further be divided into vajats with the following infills: either of horizontal planks, or of vertical wooden strips, or of a combination of horizontal planks and vertical wooden strips. Considering the foundations that support them there are three types: a) vajats placed on stone footings, b) vajats placed on strip foundations, and c) vajats with a basement. This paper gives account of the materials collected during a personal research conducted from 1996 to 2000.

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