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Kgrou, grain warehouse of the Tuonuo people

In the summer of 2000, I visited Tuonuo Village for the first time at the invitation of the government of Nandan County, Guangxi Province, China. When the car carrying our exploration team arrived at the village, a group of people approached us. They were wearing dark blue cobalt tops and white pants, and they looked very tidy.

  They are commonly called Baiku Yao because they wear triangular pants. However, they call themselves ‘Tuonuo.’ About 22,000 people currently live in Nandan County, Guangxi Province, and Libo County, Guizhou Province. I followed the guide into the village. There were straw-thatched houses on top of mud bricks, and residents in traditional costumes were busily walking around the village.

By the way, I found a building that stands out in this village. Even at a glance, it resembles the pukyung seen in Koguryo murals. It is said that this grain warehouse is called the ‘kgrou.’ How is it that there is a grain warehouse in this village that resembles Goguryeo’s pukyung?

Kgrou, grain warehouse of the Tuonuo people

A kgrou looks like a mushroom from a distance. First, they set up four wooden poles and put a wooden board on them to make the floor. The body is made of bamboo to make it cylindrical, and a wooden door is installed for entry and exit. Or wooden boards are connected to create a rectangular warehouse. After spreading the rafters on top of it in the shape of comb teeth, they weave reeds to cover the roof. Chestnut wood is used. The height to the body is 2.6 meters, and they climb up there on a ladder. Normally, the ladder is put away and used to take out the food. The reason why its body is built away from the ground is to allow good ventilation, to prevent the stored grain from rotting, and to prevent mice from eating it. Between the pillar and the body, wooden boards, jars, stones, cast iron pots, etc. are inserted to prevent mice from climbing up.

Kgrous are usually built in groups outside the village. The reason why the kgrou is built outside the village away from the main building is to prevent the flames from burning the grain in the event of a fire. Tuonuo houses are built with wood and reeds, so when a fire breaks out, everything is burned down in an instant. If grain is stored in the house and then burned, survival itself is threatened.

Small items may be stolen in Tuonuo Village, but large items are not stolen. No one steals large items like clothes or grain. Therefore, even if the kgrou is out of the house, there is no need to worry. However, the minimum crime prevention device was put in place. The kgrou’s door is tightly locked with a bolt that opens and closes. To open the bolt, you have to tap it with a wooden mallet, and when you hear this sound, you know that a thief has come.

Pukyung, grain warehouse of the Koguryo people

In Goguryeo, there was a gain warehouse called the ‘pukyung.’ There is a record in Records of Three Kingdoms, “There is no large warehouse in the country, but there is a small warehouse in each family, which is called pukyung.” ‘Pu’ means an outbuilding, and ‘kyung’ means a high-rise, square grain warehouse. Therefore, it can be seen that a pukyung is a high-rise square grain warehouse built at a distance from the main building. The appearance of the pukyung can also be seen through Koguryo murals. A total of three pieces have been discovered.

The pukyung of Palcheong-ri ancient tomb murals is very similar to that of Tuonuo Village. The body was placed on four wooden pillars, and the floor was made of wooden boards. A semi-circular object was inserted between the pillar and the floor to prevent damage from rats, just like the kgrou. The body is made of horizontally stacked wooden boards of uniform thickness, and a door is installed on one side. The shape of the roof is hard to see, but since it is not straight, it appears to have been woven with reed thatch. On the right side of the pukyung, a person is trying to put things in a bag into the warehouse. At the back of the pillar on the left is a ladder used to climb it.