Tribal youth dormitory

A house apart

Membership usually began in childhood. Among the Oraons, children as young as four or five moved in, and in most tribes a member left on marriage, though some houses, such as the Ghotul of the Gonds, also admitted widowed people. Arrangements differ widely. Some houses take only boys. Among the Mundas, boys and girls slept in separate buildings, and where no girls' house existed, girls stayed with older women of the village. Among Gond groups such as the Asurs and Marias, and among the Khonds, boys and girls shared one dormitory. Day to day, senior members ran things, and elected office-bearers managed the house's affairs.

What the house taught

A dormitory was a school in the widest sense. Elders and senior members passed on clan lore, social and conjugal duties, and training in music, dance and craft. Members learned hunting, fishing, wood-cutting and farming, then gave that labour back to the village: clearing fields for shifting cultivation, raising houses, caring for elders and organising festivals. In villages where huts were small and private rooms few, the house was simply where the young slept. It could also be a shield; among the Dimasa Kacharis it stood ready for village defence. Alongside all this came story-telling, singing, festive celebrations and religious ceremonies, and in some tribes the house was a place for courtship among the young.

At the village's heart

Placement mattered. An Oraon house stood near the chief's home, a Konyak one out among the fields, and in the Bastar district some lay in the forest, away from the village. The buildings were usually distinctive, decorated with totemic emblems, and one large village might keep several, one for each khel, or quarter, among some Naga tribes. Many held special things. The Lothas kept their sacred stones in the dormitory. Among the Aos, heads taken in headhunting raids hung there, and headhunters were rewarded during the Moatsu festival. The Changs kept a related house, the haki, for guarding, council meetings, drums and war trophies, though it was never a sleeping house. Among the Semas, miniature dormitories were built as a fertility rite.

Many names, one idea

Each people names the house in its own tongue. Across north-east India the common word is morung, borrowed from the Ahom or Assamese language. The Gonds say Ghotul, the Oraons Dhumkuria, the Kukis Zawlbuk, the Adis Moshup, the Garos Nokpanti. Often a boys' house and a girls' house carry different names: the Konyaks had the Morung for boys and the Yo for girls, and the Zeme the Hangseuki and the Leoseuki. The idea crosses the sea as well, as the Dai of Palau, the Calpule of Guatemala, the Loho of Sulawesi and the Bukumatala of the Trobriand Islands all show.

Decline and survival

In the twentieth century the institution faded across much of its range. Modern schools and Christianity drew the young away, and among several tribes of north-east India the dormitories fell out of use. A 1966 survey in the Ao village of Waromung found the old Areju house largely gone, replaced by two church-run houses that kept unmarried boys and girls apart. Yet the custom did not die everywhere. Among the Nagas it has lived on as a socio-cultural institution, and the morung still prepares the young for posts on the village council, serving at once as a club, a school, a hostel and a meeting place for elders.

How Tribal youth dormitory is kept

A child of the tribe, once old enough, joins the dormitory of its sex and sleeps there instead of at home. Senior members and elected office-bearers run the house and organise its work. By day and evening members learn clan lore, songs, dances and crafts, and train in hunting, fishing and farming. They lend this labour to the village, helping with shifting cultivation, house-building, elder care and festivals. Elders gather there to talk, and among some Naga tribes the house sends nominees to the village council. Membership ends with marriage, though some houses, such as the Ghotul, also take in widowed people. Among the Nagas the custom continues today; elsewhere it has largely faded.

When and where

There is no fixed date. The custom belongs to a stage of life: a child joins in childhood, as young as four or five among the Oraons, and leaves on marriage. The house is busiest in the evenings and at festival times, such as the Ao Moatsu festival, when headhunters were once rewarded there.

The custom belongs to tribal villages, once from India and South-East Asia to the Pacific islands and the Americas. It was strongest in India's north-east, among Naga, Gond, Oraon, Munda and other peoples, and among the Nagas it survives today, while in many other tribes it is declining or defunct.

What Tribal youth dormitory means

To the peoples who keep it, the dormitory is more than a sleeping house. It is where a child becomes a responsible adult, taught the duties of clan and marriage, and where the village stores what it holds sacred, from Lotha stones to Ao trophies. It gathers the young into service, so that fields are cleared, houses raised and festivals organised. Among the Nagas the morung stands at the centre of social, religious and political life, and prepares the next generation to serve on the village council.

Questions people ask about Tribal youth dormitory

See also

WalkaboutA rite of passage involving travel through the Australian landscape to learn ancestral lore.BarkclothCloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the PacificSmoking ceremonyAn Aboriginal Australian ritual of burning native plants to cleanse, heal and welcomeGarbaA Gujarati circle dance performed around a sacred flame during the festival of Navratri

Good reading and sources

• Tribal youth dormitory on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.