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CAITYA. (Indian). A sacred spot, sometimes associated with a relic, funeral pyre, or burial. It may be marked by a tree or mound, and surrounded by a sacred railing or vedika. A stupa is a type of caitya.

CAITYA HALL. (Indian). A hall that contains a caitya.

Caka. (isiXhosa). The white-washed façade of a Transkeian dwelling. Also referred to as qaba.

AKRA. (Indian). Wheel; discus; sometimes a solar symbol. In Buddhism, the Cakra refers to the wheel of the law (dharmacakra) and, sometimes, to Sakyamuni Buddha's first sermon, by which he "turned the wheel of the law" into motion. In Hinduism, the cakra is a symbol, and weapon, of Visnu.

CAME. H-section strip of lead or soft copper used in lead glazing. (Afrikaans: loodroei).

CAMPANILE. Italian bell tower, often freestanding from the main structure. Also see BELFRY.

CANDRASALA. (Indian). A Moon-chamber; the rounded opening at the end of a barrel-vaulted hall. Its shape is used as a repeating decorative motif in South Asian religious architecture.

CANOPY. An ornamented projection over a door or a window. (Afrikaans: baldakyn). CANTED. A term used among carpenters to denote the cutting of the angle of a square. (Afrikaans: skuinsgesny).

CAPE DUTCH ARCHITECTURE. Regional style of domestic archicture evolved in the Cape Colony by Dutch, Flemish and Huguenot settlers during the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was based upon a short span, symmetrical and rectangular plan, usually with I, T, H or U configurations. Farmhouses were largely single storeyed with thick lime-washed walls and relatively narrow and well-disposed door and window openings. Roofs were thatched with local reeds and terminated by characteristic gables, the latter undergoing a number of stylistic changes. Town houses could reach two storeys and, after the 1750s, were invariably flat-roofed.

CAPE DUTCH REVIVALISM. Took place in southern Africa during the late 1920s and early 1930s. The architecture of this period is marked by the reintroduction of such elements as small-paned timber sash windows and, more generally, the poor reinterpretation of the earlier gable tradition.

CASEMENT. The hinged part of a window, attached to the upright side of the window frame. (Afrikaans: swaairaam).

CASEMENT WINDOW. One where one or more lights are hinged to open. (Afrikaans: swaairaam venster).

CAST IRON. Term generally applied to pig-iron which has been remelted in a crucible, or furnace, and cast into moulds. During the late Victorian era it found wide architectural application in decorative trims and motiefs although its strength under compression also made it suitable for columns and structural supports. (Afrikaans: gietyster).

CATSLIDE ROOF. Better known as a lean-to roof or an afdak. Usually the result of an extension to an existing structure necessitating the tucking in of the new roof beneath the existing eaves or being joined onto the existing roof but at a lower pitch. (Afrikaans: skuins or skutdak).

CENTRE POST. The additional support given by southern African indigenous builders to the apex of a conical roof. This is normally a temporary measure aimed at strengthening the roof during the period of thatching when it may have to support the extra load of one or two men. In some recorded examples however, the large span of the roof timbers made it necessary to retain the centre post permanently. (Afrikaans: middelstyl).

CHATTRA. An umbrella or parasol, a symbol of royalty, protection or honour.

CHAYA STAMBHA. (Indian). Shade-pillar; a type of hero stone (viragal).

CHIMNEY BREAST. The chimney wall which projects beyond the general wall surface below the eaves and contains the fireplace and flues. (Afrikaans: skoorsteenbors).

CHIMNEY POT. A burnt clay pipe at the top of a chimney stack which leads the smoke clear of the brickwork. (Afrikaans: skoorsteen pot).

CHIMNEY STACK. The brickwork containing one or more flues and projecting above the roof. (Afrikaans: skoorsteen).

CILL. Also called sill or sole; the horizontal piece of timber or stone forming the bottom of a window, doorway or other similar opening. (Afrikaans: vensterbank, when applied to windows, or drumpel, when applied to doors and plain openings).

CLAMP. A stack of bricks burnt over flues. The clamp is erected with the same bricks which are due to be fired, leaving an open cavity or flue in its lower end. It is then filled with combustible materials and set alight. This is an old European way of making bricks which is thought to have been introduced into southern Africa by missionaries during the latter part of the nineteenth century. (Afrikaans: bakstapel).

COB. Wall building material consisting of clay mixed with a straw binder. (Afrikaans: strooisteen).

COB-WALL. A wall built of unburnt clay mixed with straw. See also ADOBE. (Afrikaans: Strooisteenmuur.

COLLAR BEAM. A horizontal, sometimes curved, tie beam in a timber roof. (Afrikaans: hanebalk).

COMBED LEGGETT. See under LEGGETT. (Afrikaans: gekamde dekspan).

COMPASS WINDOW. See under BAY WINDOW. (Afrikaans: erker).

COMPOUND HOMESTEAD. A homestead occupied by a nuclear family, either monogamous or polygamous, under the leadership of one person, usually the husband and/or father. (Afrikaans: kerngesineenheid).

CONCAVE-CONVEX GABLE. Perhaps the most common form of gable found in Cape Dutch architecture. It consisted of a pair of convex curves at the base followed by a pair of concave curves and was surmounted by a rounded cap. Each curve was separated from the next by a small vertical or horizontal moulding.

CONCAVE SHEETING. Corrugated iron sheeting which has been given a concave sweep across the line of corrugation. Used predominantly for verandah roofing. (Afrikaans: konkaaf plate).

CONE ON CYLINDER. Technical name given to any circular plan building roofed over with a conical roof. Although known to have been built in southern Africa since about 800CE, it remains the region's single most popular rural dwelling form to the present day. It normally comprises a single living cell but has also been recorded with a verandah about its perimeter, either open or enclosed to give a variety of storage and sleeping cubicles. It is also known more commonly as a rondawel.

COPING. The covering course of a wall or parapet, either flat, or sloping on the upper surface, to throw off water. The stones along the ridge of a roof are called coping stones. (Afrikaans: deklaag)

CORBEL. A stone, brick or timber nib projecting from a wall surface and supporting a structure over. (Afrikaans: karbeel).

CORBELLED STONE HUTS. Stone shelters built on the southern highveld and parts of Lesotho, probably before the era of Difaqane when their construction appears to have come to an end. Their relatively small size indicates that they probably were built to house herd-boys or their activities.

CORNICE. A moulding or group of mouldings at the top of an outside wall which overhangs it and keeps the rainwater drips from running down the surface. (Afrikaans: kroonlys).

CORRUGATED IRON SHEETING. Iron sheeting with mechanically introduced undulations or corrugations designed to increase its spanning strength. Introduced in England during the late 1830s in the form of cast sheets, it reached this country in the mid or late 1840s. Originally sheets were 2 feet 4 ins. wide by 4 feet 8 ins long (711x2204mm) and had a zig-zag profile but by the time the material reached southern Africa it had developed its current curved form. After the rolling process of manufacture was developed in the late 1850s, sheet sizes became larger. Imported sheeting was either 24 or 26 gauge although thinner material was available in England at the time.

CORRUGATED-IRONIC STYLE. Derisory terms applied during the Colonial Era to timber framed dwellings clad in corrugated iron sheeting.

COURSE. a. Masonry term signifying a horizontal layer of bricks, blocks or ashlar. (Afrikaans: laag). b. Thatching term signifying a horizontal layer of straw or reed thatch. (Afrikaans: dekgraslaag).

CREST. The ornamental finishing which surmounts a screen, canopy or other part of a building. (Afrikaans: kruin).

CROSS COLLAR. Constructional detail found mainly in conical and pyramidal roof construction. Initially the twin cross collars are connected at right angles to opposing rafters and act to steady the central support post during the process of roof building and thatching. After completion the central post is usually cut away leaving behind a vestigial king truss which, in some recorded cases, can support an apex finial. (Afrikaans: dwarsbint).

CROSS-RODS. Ornamental hazel rods fixed between liggers. (Afrikaans: kruisrib).

CROSS WING. A general term used to describe the arms of a T-plan dwelling. (Afrikaans: kruisvleuel).

CROWN POST. Also known as a king post. A vertical timber which supports the ridge of a king-post roof truss and carries to the tie-beam of the truss at its foot. (Afrikaans: hoofstyl).

CURVILINEAR GABLE. An early form of Cape Dutch gable consisting of a series of gentle convex lines.

CURVILINEAR SHEETING. Corrugated iron sheeting which has been given an alternate convex and concave sweep across the line of corrugation. Predominantly used for verandah roofing. (Afrikaans: kromlynige plate).

CYMA RECTA. Double-curved moulding, concave above and convex below; also called an Ogee Moulding. (Afrikaans: regte ojief).

CYMA REVERSA. Double-curved moulding, convex above and concave below; also called a Reverse Ogee Moulding. (Afrikaans: omgekeerde ojief).

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