suitable. After the site was ready, a seven-day ceremony was performed, consulting the spirits of the forest (for wood) and arranging payment for the craftsmen responsible for creating decoration of the house. All the occupants of the village would then erect the pillars supporting the house, after which they would eat together. The colours used in Karo designs are red, white and black. The red signifies a zest for life, a 'get-up-and-go', the colour seen in traditional clothes used in weddings, black the colour of death, man's ignorance of Dibata's (God) will, and white, the colour of God's holiness. Ornamentation is very important in Karo houses, with Buffalo horns an essential decoration of the rumah adat, and two white-painted horns are mounted on each end of the roof (the mounting is done in the night, so nobody sees), using both male and female buffalo. Ornaments in Karo houses served traditionally to protect the residents from evil spirits, and to demonstrate the status of the owner. With the fading of traditional religious beliefs (permena), they are now largely decorative and a reminder of past cultural traditions. Ornaments of Karo homes are found in three ways: The house is decorated with braided bamboo in a variety of geometric designs. The geometric designs have been classified into seventeen types, each having special magic properties, such as the Tupak salah Silima-lima (five-pointed star), symbolising the merga silima, and deterring those who would try to upset the integrity of it. The kitchen is decorated with carvings An intaglio carved gecko protects the occupants from evil spirits Roof The roof of the Karo house is different from other Batak peoples, being a hip roof. The roof is the dominant feature of the house, sometimes being as tall as 15 metres high, against the supports and walls, both around 1.5 metres each. The most basic house, known as rumah beru-beru, has a basic hip and saddle roof. The rumah tersek has a double-storied roof with a saddle roof on top of the lower part. This improves ventilation in the house, reducing the impact of cooking smoke. A house with four gables, known as a si empat ayo has two saddle roofs crossed at right angles. In some cases an anjong-anjong, or miniature house, may be placed atop the house for further decoration Internal organization The Karo adat house has two entrances, on the north and south ends,