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GABLE. The triangular portion of the end-wall of a building, between the enclosing lines of a sloping roof. (Afrikaans: gewel).

GABLE-ENDED COTTAGE. Rural cottage built on a rectangular plan, usually comprising a single living cell, roofed over with a hipped roof terminated at either end by a small parapet gable.

GABLET. Small ornamented gable or canopy formed over a buttress or a niche. (Afrikaans: geweltjie).

GABLE DOOR. Door built into a gable usually accessed via a single flight timber stair. In southern Africa it is more commonly known as a solder door. (Afrikaans: solderdeur).

GADD. Length of hazel before splitting. (Afrikaans: splytlat).

GAMBREL ROOF. Also called a half-hipped roof; a roof having a gablet in its upper part near the ridge, the lower part being hipped. Also see MANSARD ROOF. (Afrikaans: gebroke saaldak).

GANDHAKUTI. (Indian). Fragrant hall.GANDI. (Indian). An architectural term meaning a trunk.

GARBHAGRHA. (Indian). Womb chamber. The inner, principal compartment of a temple in which the major image or linga is placed and, as such, the container of the seed of manifestation.

GARIEP. Indigenous Khoi name for the Orange River. The name is more correctly spelt !Garieb meaning "river of the wilderness". See also ORANGE RIVER.

GEBROKE FRONTON. (Afrikaans). See under BROKEN PEDIMENT.

GEBROKE SAALDAK. (Afrikaans). See under GAMBREL ROOF.

GEKAMDE DEKSPAN. (Afrikaans). See under COMBED LEGGETT.

GEMEENSKAP. (Afrikaans). See under SETTLEMENT.

GEORGIAN ARCHITECTURE. Style of construction imported to the Cape by colonial administrators after the British annexation of the Colony from the Dutch in 1806. Based upon a Palladian interpretation of classical principles popular in England at that time, its careful proportioning and dignity of form and elegant interiors struck a responsive chord in Cape society whose distance from Europe made the importation of luxuries prohibitively expensive. It was typified by a plain facade treatment, parapetted roof lines, regular fenestration and, part from an elaboration of the main entrance, a virtual absence of applied decoration.

GERONDE DAKPLATE. (Afrikaans). See under BULL-NOSED SHEETING.

GEWELRAND. (Afrikaans). See under BARGE.

GEWEL. (Afrikaans). See under GABLE.

GEWELTJIE. (Afrikaans). See under GABLET.

GHANTA. (Indian). A bell; its transient sound is symbolic of the impermanence of existence. May be held in the hand of a deity. As an attribute of Siva, it may symbolize creation. Its sound can warn away demons and attract the attention of worshipers or the gods. In Buddhism, it can represent praja (wisdom).

GIBB SE OMRANDING. (Afrikaans). See under GIBB’S SURROUND.

GIBB'S SURROUND. Rusticated or quoined surround to a door or a window, usually consisting of alternating large and small stone blocks. (Afrikaans: gibb se omranding).

GLAZING BAR. Also known as a sash bar or an astragal. A rebated T-shaped bar which holds the panes of glass in a window. (Afrikaans: ruitbalkie).

Gobatega. (seTswana). Clay wall plaster, often used together with cow-dung.

GOPURAM. (Indian). The large gate-tower of a south Indian temple enclosure.

GRASDAKLAT. (Afrikaans). See under LIGGER or ROD.

GRASDAKSPAAN. (Afrikaans). See under LEGGETT.

GREEN BRICK. A clay brick which has not been fired. (Afrikaans: rou steen).

GRIDIRON PLANNING. A method of town layout initially associated in southern Africa with Dutch settlement. It made use of a strong rectilinear plan with broad streets laid out in large blocks with little consideration for topography. The town's centre was located at its Kerk (Church) and Market squares, which were also the site for monthly nagmaal gatherings.

GRIQUA HOUSE. Stereotypical noun applied to a form of dwelling built by Griqua Khoikhoi immigrants into Griqualand East. It consisted of a single, rectangular cell approached through a raised stoep at the front, with a large, open fireplace and massive external chimney stack at one end. Built in stone with a thatch roof it normally had no windows.

GRIVA. (Indian). Neck; an architectural term. In southern Indian style temples, the wall portion beneath the sikhara and stupi of the superstructure over the shrine. It may be square, circular, or octagonal in shape.

Guda. (tshiVenda). The roof eaves.

GUDHA MANDAPA. (Indian). The assembly hall of a temple; a term used especially in western Indian or Gujarati nomenclature.

Gumba. (tshiVenda). The sapling ring used to hold down externally the grass thatch at the apex.
Guvha. (tshiVenda). A wall seat, usually used in conjunction with courtyard walls.

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