Kecskés Péter (szerk.): Upper Tisza region (Regional Units of Open Air Museum. Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 1980)

2. THE VILLAGE

behind tuction and the ceiling of oak planks offered refuge not only to members of the family but also to their animals (111. 7.). For thatching, reed was used earlier, but at the beginning of the last century, with the increase of wheat production, the long type of wheat straw replaced the reed. As even a smaller house needed as much as 160—220 hundredweight of straw to thatch it, it was necessary to

( fasten broad oak boards onto the rafters with large wooden pegs, in order to support the heavy roof. The straw would be handled with long wooden forks and as many men stood on the roof as there was room for. By their walking around the roof area, the straw was constantly treaded down especially at the planks of the eaves and in between the rows of planks until the straw became as thick „as a felt-hat" (111. 8.). Finally, the top of the roof was smoothed with nut-beating rods and the thatching was fastened with long rods laid over the top and tied at the bottom of the poles reaching higher than the top of the roof. More wealthy people had their roof covered with wooden shingles. Shingles could be homemade, using either willow, poplar or — for best quality — oak, and the wood cut up would be split into shingles. Longer shinges with no grooves could be used for covering barns and bins and these were brought to the region by Ruthenians. 18