This is a work on dwellings in India and Sri Lanka that draws on ethnographic work in the South Asian region as well as on housebuilding manuals that have been composed in the constituent cultures. The history of architecture as we know it is the story of monumental works, especially of European traditions. The intention of this work is to explore the ways in which architecture is produced and interpreted in social locations that have received far less attention and thus to contribute to the record on architecture cross culturally and its place in human experience. Three South Asian popular manuals on dwelling construction and associated rites appear as part of this work.