Ruka (house type)

This article is about a house type. For a ski resort in Finland, see Ruka (Finland). For other use, see Ruka (disambiguation).
A Mapuche ruka in 1930.

A ruka or ruca is a traditional Mapuche house type. Rukas were originally round with a conical roof. Rucas are typically built communally. Rukas traditionally lack windows and are made up a single open space in the interior.[1] The interior of the rukas are organized around a central fireplace.[1]

Travellers in the first half of the 20th century compared the housing conditions of rukas favourably to the tenements of Santiago and the countryside cottages of non-Mapuche Chilean farmers.[1]

  1. ^ a b c "Ruka: representación arquitectónica y simbólica del mundo mapuche". Museo Mapuche de Cañete (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-23.