Kittarpeda

General introduction

Kittarpeda are in some Andaperna states the warehouses for goods either communal or of greater worth or importance. Especially grain or wooden tools or implements are kept there. Depending on the ethnicity and their forms of organisation and government, the warehouses are supervised by a member of the royal family, a priest or clergyman in general of by another authorised person. As usual, there are many names for these warehouses, depending on the language. Some ethnicities also call them eesanka or ankar.

Technology and layout

To keep the warehouses safe from water, as they are built from unfired bricks and stomped earth, like almost everything in Andaperna, the kittarpeda are always located on some natural elevation to keep them away from the sping floods. This also offers the advantage to fight from a high ground when defending the valuable contents from attackers in times of war or when raiders are in the area. Kittarpeda are set in the ground with the soil being thoroughly compacted, except in one place in or close to the centre, where the floors tilt to. In that little area a hole is dug into the earth and filled up with stones and pebbles. It serves as a drainage area to keep the Kittarpeda dry. This is called the laššir, kattanda or kanar. All kittarpeda are thatched and the roof is being continuously supervised and repaired by the community to prevent any damage to come to the stored goods. There are also communal efforts conducted to keep mice, rats and insects at bay. Especially noteworthy are the warehouses in the east, which are sometimes called 'kahurne ankar' or 'the cats' warehouses' as people there keep cats at the warehouses to fight pests. Also fire plays a pivotal role in maintaining hygiene.

The pits are, generally speaking, rectangular and reserved for one kind of goods, like one specific kind of grain. In rare cases some Kittarpeda have a left and a right wing, where two kinds of goods are stored.

Type

Storage house / Silo