FUNCTIONAL AND SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION OF DONG DOMESTIC FIRE PITS: A CASE STUDY OF CHENGYANG VILLAGES, GUANGXI

บทคัดย่อ

This study aims to: 1) examine the functional system and cultural structure of traditional domestic fire pits in Dong stilt houses; 2) analyze how modernization and tourism development have reshaped their functions, spatial positions, and meanings in Chengyang Villages, Guangxi, China; and 3) propose preservation recommendations for living heritage in ethnic minority communities. A qualitative case-study design was adopted. Fieldwork was conducted in 2024 through literature analysis, architectural mapping of 12 domestic fire pits, semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, and participant observation of daily domestic activities, festival rituals, and tourism-oriented fire-pit banquets. Results show that: 1) the traditional fire pit operated as a central and multipurpose household institution that integrated cooking, heating, food preservation, social learning, and ritual memory; 2) modern facilities have substituted many utilitarian functions, but ritual and emotional meanings persist in family gatherings and festivals; 3) tourism has reconstructed the fire pit as a public stage for cultural display, dining experience, and local economic participation; and 4) domestic and tourism fire pits now form a differentiated but connected heritage system. The study contributes an adaptive functional-transformation perspective, meaning that heritage continuity agency depends not only on preserving original physical forms but also on sustaining community, ritual connection, and the flexible relocation of cultural functions.