Maloca

a large communal dwelling common among the tropical forest Indians of the Amazon Basin. Rectangular or circular in layout, a maloca is made of beams and poles and has a gable- or cone-shaped roof covered with palm leaves. It accommodates up to 100 persons (one large family). A village may consist of one or two malocas and several small huts, but even in this case the principle of kin-group living is strictly observed.