Villages In Varto District
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A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighborhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed
dwellings In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence or an abode) is a self-contained unit of accommodation used by one or more households as a home - such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, vehicle, or other "substantial" structure. The ...
; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement. In the past, villages were a usual form of community for societies that practice
subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
, and also for some non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church.Dr Greg Stevenson, "What is a Village?"
, ''Exploring British Villages'', BBC, 2006, accessed 20 October 2009
In many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and factories; the concentration of people caused many villages to grow into towns and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and development of many trades. The trend of urbanization continues, though not always in connection with industrialization. Historically homes were situated together for sociability and defiance, and land surrounding the living quarters was farmed. Traditional fishing villages were based on artisan fishing and located adjacent to fishing grounds. In toponomastic terminology, names of individual villages are called ''Comonyms'' (from Ancient Greek κώμη / village and ὄνυμα / name,
f. ὄνομα F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distribution, a cont ...
.


South Asia


Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the village, or ''deh'' ( Dari/ Pashto: ده) is the mid-size settlement type in Afghan society, trumping the hamlet or ''qala'' ( Dari: قلعه, Pashto: کلي), though smaller than the town, or ''shār'' ( Dari: شهر, Pashto: ښار). In contrast to the ''qala'', the ''deh'' is generally a bigger settlement which includes a commercial area, while the yet larger ''shār'' includes governmental buildings and services such as schools of higher education, basic health care, police stations etc.


India

''"The soul of India lives in its villages,"'' declared Mahatma Gandhi at the beginning of 20th century. According to the
2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, 69% of Indians (around 833
million One million (1,000,000), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the au ...
people) live in 640,867 different villages. The size of these villages varies considerably. 236,004 Indian villages have a population of fewer than 500, while 3,976 villages have a population of 10,000+. Most of the villages have their own temple, mosque, or church, depending on the local religious following.


Pakistan

The majority of
Pakistanis Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...
live in rural areas. According to the 2017 census about 64% of Pakistanis live in rural areas. Most rural areas in Pakistan tend to be near cities, and are peri-urban areas, This is due to the definition of a rural area in Pakistan being an area that does not come within an urban boundary. Village is called dehair or gaaon in Urdu.
Pakistani village life Pakistani village life ( ) is the traditional rural life of the people of Pakistan. People in village usually live in houses made of bricks, clay or mud. These typically have two or three rooms which house extended families. Although now they ...
is marked by kinship and exchange relations.


Central Asia

Auyl ( kk, Ауыл) is a Kazakh word meaning "village" in Kazakhstan. According to the 2009 census of Kazakhstan, 42.7% of Kazakhstani citizens (7.5 million people) live in 8172 different villages.. To refer to this concept along with the word "auyl" often used the Slavic word "selo" in Northern Kazakhstan.


East Asia

People's Republic of China In mainland China, villages are divisions under township or town . Republic of China (Taiwan) In the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
( Taiwan), villages are divisions under townships or county-administered cities. The village is called a ''tsuen'' or ''cūn'' (村) under a rural township (鄉) and a ''li'' (里) under an urban township (鎮) or a county-controlled city. See also Li (unit). Japan South Korea


Southeast Asia


Brunei

In Brunei, villages are officially the third- and lowest-level subdivisions of Brunei below
districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
and
mukims A mukim is a type of administrative division used in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The word ''mukim'' is a loanword in English. However, it was also originally a loanword in Malay from the Arabic word: (meaning ''resident''). The clo ...
. A village is locally known by the
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
word (also spelt as ). They may be villages in the traditional or anthropological sense but may also comprise delineated residential settlements, both rural and urban. The community of a village is headed by a
village head A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town. Usage Brunei In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a v ...
(). Communal infrastructure for the villagers may include a primary school, a religious school providing or Islamic religious primary education which is compulsory for the Muslim pupils in the country, a mosque, and a community centre ( or ).


Indonesia

In Indonesia, depending on the principles they are administered, villages are called ''Kampung'' or ''Desa'' (officially ''kelurahan''). A ''"Desa"'' (a term that derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "country" that is found in the name " Bangladesh"=''bangla'' and ''desh/desha'') is administered according to traditions and customary law (''
adat Alesis Digital Audio Tape (ADAT) is a magnetic tape format used for the recording of eight digital audio tracks onto the same S-VHS tape used by consumer VCRs. Although it is a tape-based format, the term ''ADAT'' now refers to its successo ...
''), while a ''kelurahan'' is administered along more "modern" principles. ''Desa'' are generally located in rural areas while ''kelurahan'' are generally urban subdivisions. A village head is respectively called ''kepala desa'' or ''lurah''. Both are elected by the local community. A ''desa'' or ''kelurahan'' is the subdivision of a '' kecamatan'' (subdistrict), in turn the subdivision of a ''
kabupaten A regency ( id, kabupaten), sometimes incorrectly referred to as a district, is an administrative division of Indonesia, directly under a province and on the same level with city (''kota''). Regencies is divided into districts (''Kecamatan'', ''D ...
'' (district) or '' kota'' (city). The same general concept applies all over Indonesia. However, there is some variation among the vast numbers of Austronesian ethnic groups. For instance, in
Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
villages have been created by grouping traditional hamlets or ''banjar'', which constitute the basis of Balinese social life. In the Minangkabau area in West Sumatra province, traditional villages are called ''nagari'' (a term deriving from another Sanskrit word meaning "city", which can be found in the name like "
Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
"=''sri'' and ''nagar/nagari''). In some areas such as Tanah Toraja, elders take turns watching over the village at a command post. As a general rule, ''desa'' and ''kelurahan'' are groupings of hamlets (''kampung'' in Indonesian, ''dusun'' in the
Javanese language Javanese (, , ; , Aksara Jawa: , Pegon: , IPA: ) is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers on the northe ...
, ''banjar'' in Bali). a ''kampung'' is defined today as a village in Brunei and Indonesia.


Malaysia and Singapore

''Kampung'' is a term used in Malaysia, (sometimes spelling ''kampong'' or ''kompong'' in the English language) for "a Malay hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country". In Malaysia, a ''kampung'' is determined as a locality with 10,000 or fewer people. Since historical times, every Malay village came under the leadership of a '' penghulu'' (village chief), who has the power to hear civil matters in his village (see Courts of Malaysia for more details). A Malay village typically contains a ''"masjid"'' ( mosque) or ''"
surau A surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, its ritual functions are similar to a mosque, allow men and women, an ...
"'',
paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...
s and
Malay houses Malay houses ( Malay: ''Rumah Melayu;'' Jawi: رومه ملايو) refer to the vernacular dwellings of the Malays, an ethno-linguistic group inhabiting Sumatra, coastal Borneo and the Malay Peninsula. Traditional architectural forms, such ...
on stilts. Malay and Indonesian villagers practice the culture of helping one another as a community, which is better known as "joint bearing of burdens" ('' gotong royong''). They are family-oriented (especially the concept of respecting one's family articularly the parents and elders,
courtesy Courtesy (from the word ''courteis'', from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly cul ...
and practice belief in God (''"Tuhan"'') as paramount to everything else. It is common to see a cemetery near the mosque. All Muslims in the Malay or Indonesian village want to be prayed for, and to receive
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
's blessings in the
afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
. In Sarawak and East Kalimantan, some villages are called 'long', primarily inhabited by the
Orang Ulu Orang Ulu ("people of the interior" in Malay) is an ethnic designation politically coined to group together roughly 27 very small but ethnically diverse tribal groups in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia with populations ranging from less than 300 p ...
. Malaysian ''kampung'' were once aplenty in Singapore but there are almost no remaining ''kampung'' villages; the very few to have survived until today are mostly on outlying islands surrounding mainland Singapore, such as Pulau Ubin. Mainland Singapore used to have many ''kampung'' villages but modern developments and rapid urbanisation works have seen them bulldozed away;
Kampong Lorong Buangkok Kampong Lorong Buangkok (alternatively ''Kampung Lorong Buangkok''; Jawi: كامڤوڠ لوروڠ بواڠكوق; ) is a village located in Buangkok in Hougang, Singapore. Built in 1956, it is the last surviving kampong located on Singapore Is ...
is the last surviving village on the country's mainland. The term "kampung", sometimes spelled "kampong", is one of many Malay words to have entered common usage in Malaysia and Singapore. Locally, the term is frequently used to refer to either one's hometown or a rural village, depending on the intended context.


Myanmar


Philippines

In urban areas of the Philippines, the term "village" most commonly refers to private subdivisions, especially gated communities. These villages emerged in the mid-20th century and were initially the domain of
elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
urban dwellers. Those are common in major cities in the country and their residents have a wide range of income levels. Such villages may or may not correspond to a barangay (the country's basic unit of government, also glossed as village), or be privately administered. Barangays correspond more to precolonial villages; the chairman (formerly the village datu) now settles administrative, intrapersonal, and political matters or polices the area though with much less authority and respect than in Indonesia or Malaysia.


Thailand


Vietnam

Village, or "làng", is a basis of Vietnam society. Vietnam's village is the typical symbol of Asian agricultural production. Vietnam's village typically contains: a village gate, "lũy tre" (bamboo hedges), "đình làng" (communal house) where "thành hoàng" (
tutelary god A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...
) is worshiped, a common well, "đồng lúa" ( rice field), "chùa" (temple) and houses of all families in the village. All the people in Vietnam's villages usually have a blood relationship. They are farmers who grow rice and have the same traditional handicraft. Vietnam's villages have an important role in society (Vietnamese saying: "Custom rules the law" -"Phép vua thua lệ làng" iterally: the king's law yields to village customs. It is common for Vietnamese villagers to prefer to be buried in their village upon death.


Central and Eastern Europe


Slavic countries

''Selo'' (
Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...
: село; pl, sioło) is a Slavic word meaning "village" in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. For example, there are numerous ''sela'' (plural of ''selo'') called ''Novo Selo'' (''New Village'') in Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia. Another Slavic word for a village is ''ves'' ( pl, wieś, wioska; cs, ves, vesnice; sk, ves; sl, vas; russian: весь, ves). In Slovenia, the word ''selo'' is used for very small villages (fewer than 100 people) and in dialects; the Slovene word ''vas'' is used all over Slovenia. In Russia, the word ''ves'' is archaic, but remains in idioms and locality names, such as
Vesyegonsk Vesyegonsk (russian: Весьего́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Vesyegonsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: The historical part of Vesyegonsk lies under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir. It was previousl ...
. The most commonly used word for village in Slovak is ''dedina'' (dialectical also ''dzedzina''). The word's etymology may be (or may not be) rooted in the verb ''dediť'' ("to inherit"), referencing the inheriting of whole villages or properties within villages by noblemen or wealthy landowners. Another etymology could be related to the Sanskrit word ''deśá'' (देश) similar to the Afghan ''deh'', Bengal ''desh'' and Indonesian ''desa''. The term ''ves'' appears in settlement names (mostly villages, but also some towns that evolved over time from villages). The dialect term for village in east Slovakia is also ''valal'' (or ''valala''). ''Dedina'' is unrelated to the rarer east Slavic term ''derevna'', which refers to a village with wooden (''derevo'') housing.


Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the different types of ''sela'' vary from a small selo of 5 to 30 families to one of several thousand people. According to a 2002 census, in that year there were 2,385,000 Bulgarian citizens living in settlements classified as ''villages''. A 2004 Human Settlement Profile on Bulgaria conducted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs stated that:
The most intensive is the migration "city – city". Approximately 46% of all migrated people have changed their residence from one city to another. The share of the migration processes "village – city" is significantly less – 23% and "city – village" – 20%. The migration "village – village" in 2002 is 11%.
It also stated that
the state of the environment in the small towns and villages is good apart from the low level of infrastructure.
In Bulgaria, it is popular to visit villages for the atmosphere, culture, crafts, hospitality of the people and the surrounding nature. This is called ''selski turizam'' ( bg, селски туризъм), meaning "village tourism".


Russia

In Russia, as of the 2010 Census, 26.3% of the country's population lives in rural localities; down from 26.7% recorded in the 2002 Census. Multiple types of rural localities exist, but the two most common are ''derevnya'' () and ''selo'' (). Historically, the formal indication of status was religious: a city (''gorod'', ) had a cathedral, a ''selo'' had a church, while a ''derevnya'' had neither. The lowest administrative unit of the Russian Empire, a '' volost'', or its Soviet or modern Russian successor, a ''
selsoviet Selsoviet ( be, сельсавет, r=sieĺsaviet, tr. ''sieĺsaviet''; rus, сельсовет, p=ˈsʲelʲsɐˈvʲɛt, r=selsovet; uk, сільрада, silrada) is a shortened name for a rural council and for the area governed by such a cou ...
'', was typically headquartered in a ''selo'' and embraced a few neighboring villages. In the 1960s–1970s, the depopulation of the smaller villages was driven by the central planners' drive in order to get the farm workers out of smaller, " prospectless" hamlets and into the
collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...
or state farms' main villages or even larger towns and cities, with more amenities. Most Russian rural residents are involved in agricultural work, and it is very common for villagers to produce their own food. As prosperous urbanites purchase village houses for their second homes, Russian villages sometimes are transformed into dacha settlements, used mostly for seasonal residence. The historically
Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
regions of Southern Russia and parts of Ukraine, with their fertile soil and absence of serfdom, had a rather different pattern of settlement from central and northern Russia. While peasants of central Russia lived in a village around the lord's manor, a Cossack family often lived on its own farm, called '' khutor''. A number of such ''khutors'' plus a central village made up the administrative unit with a center in a '' stanitsa'' (russian: станица, stanitsa; uk, станиця, stanytsya, stanytsia). Such '' stanitsas'', often with a few thousand residents, were usually larger than a typical ''selo'' in central Russia.


Ukraine

In Ukraine, a village, (), pronounced locally as ''selo'' (), is considered the lowest administrative unit. Villages are under the jurisdiction of a
hromada A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=terytorialna hromada) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukra ...
administration. There is, however, another smaller type of settlement which is designated in Ukrainian as a ''selyshche'' (). This type of community is generally referred to in English as a "settlement". In comparison with an urban-type settlement, Ukrainian legislation does not have a concrete definition or a criterion to differentiate such settlements from villages. They represent a type of a small rural locality that might have once been a '' khutir'', a fisherman's settlement, or a dacha. Sometimes, the term "''selyshche''" is also used in a more general way to refer to adjacent settlements near a bigger city including urban-type settlements (''selyshche miskoho typu'') or villages. However, ambiguity is often avoided in connection with urbanized settlements by referring to them using the three-letter abbreviation ''smt'' instead. The '' khutir'' () and ''
stanytsia A stanitsa ( rus, станица, p=stɐˈnʲitsə; uk, станиця, stanytsya) is a village inside a Cossack host ( uk, військо, viys’ko; russian: казачье войско, kazach’ye voysko, sometimes translated as "Cossack Arm ...
'' () are not part of the administrative division any longer, primarily due to collectivization. '' Khutirs'' were very small rural localities consisting of just few housing units and were sort of individual farms. They became really popular during the Stolypin reform in the early 20th century. During the collectivization, however, residents of such settlements were usually declared to be kulaks and had all their property confiscated and distributed to others ( nationalized) without any compensation. The ''stanitsa'' likewise has not survived as an administrative term. The ''stanitsa'' was a type of a collective community that could include one or more settlements such as villages, ''khutirs'', and others. Today, ''stanitsa''-type formations have only survived in
Kuban Kuban (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Pontic–Caspian steppe, ...
( Russian Federation) where Ukrainians were resettled during the time of the Russian Empire.


Western and Southern Europe


France

The Insee classifies
French communes The () is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French are analogous to civil townships and incorporated municipalities in the United States and Canada, ' in Germany, ' in Italy, or ' in Spain. The United Kingdom's equi ...
into four groups according to population density: # Communes with high population density # Communes with intermediate population density # Communes with low population density # Communes with very low population density A commune in Group 3 or 4 is considered as a village (''commune rurale''). An independent association named '' Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'', was created in 1982 to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. As of March 2021, 159 villages in France have been listed in "The Most Beautiful Villages of France".


Germany

In Germany a ''Dorf'' (village) usually consists of at least a few houses but can have up to a few thousand inhabitants. Larger villages can also be referred to as a ''Flecken'' or ''Markt'' depending on the region. Smaller villages usually do not have their own government. Instead, they are part () of the municipality of a nearby town.


Italy

In Italy, villages are spread throughout the country. No legal definition of village exists in Italian law; nonetheless, a settlement inhabited by less than 2000 people is usually described as "village". More often, Italian villages that are a part of a municipality are called '' frazione'', whereas the village that hosts the municipal seat is called ''paese'' (town) or '' capoluogo''.


Spain

In Spain, a village (''pueblo'') refers to a small population unit, smaller than a town (''villa'' n archaic term that survives only in official uses, such as the official name of Spain's capital, "la Villa de Madrid" and a city (''ciudad''), typically located in a rural environment. While commonly it is the smallest administrative unit (''municipio''), it is possible for a village to be legally composed of smaller population units in its territory. There is not a clear-cut distinction between villages, towns and cities in Spain, since they had been traditionally categorized according to their religious importance and their relationship with surrounding population units.


Portugal

Villages are more usual in the
northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...
and central regions, Azores Islands and in the
Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...
. Most of them have a church and a "Casa do Povo" (people's house), where the village's summer ''romarias'' or religious festivities are usually held. Summer is also when many villages are host to a range of folk festivals and fairs, taking advantage of the fact that many of the locals who reside abroad tend to come back to their native village for the holidays.


Netherlands

In the flood-prone districts of the Netherlands, particularly in the northern provinces of Friesland and Groningen, villages were traditionally built on low man-made hills called terpen before the introduction of regional dyke-systems. In modern days, the term ''dorp'' (lit. "village") is usually applied to settlements no larger than 20,000, though there's no official law regarding status of settlements in the Netherlands.


United Kingdom

A village in the UK is a compact settlement of houses, smaller in size than a town, and generally based on agriculture or, in some areas, mining (such as Ouston, County Durham), quarrying or sea fishing. They are very similar to those in Ireland. The major factors in the type of settlement are: location of water sources, organisation of agriculture and landholding, and likelihood of flooding. For example, in areas such as the
Lincolnshire Wolds The Lincolnshire Wolds are a range of low hills in the county of Lincolnshire, England which run roughly parallel with the North Sea coast, from the Humber Estuary in the north-west to the edge of the Lincolnshire Fens in the south-east. They a ...
, the villages are often found along the spring line halfway down the hillsides, and originate as
spring line settlement Spring line settlements occur where a ridge of permeable rock lies over impermeable rock, resulting in a line of springs along the contact between the two layers. Spring line (or springline) settlements will sometimes form around these springs, bec ...
s, with the original
open field system The open-field system was the prevalent agricultural system in much of Europe during the Middle Ages and lasted into the 20th century in Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Each manor or village had two or three large fields, usually several hundred acre ...
s around the village. In northern Scotland, most villages are planned to a
grid pattern In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogo ...
located on or close to major roads, whereas in areas such as the Forest of Arden, woodland clearances produced small hamlets around village greens. Because of the topography of the Clent Hills the north Worcestershire village of Clent is an example of a village with no centre but instead consists of series of hamlets scattered on and around the Hills. Some villages have disappeared (for example,
deserted medieval village In the United Kingdom, a deserted medieval village (DMV) is a former settlement which was abandoned during the Middle Ages, typically leaving no trace apart from earthworks or cropmarks. If there are fewer than three inhabited houses the convent ...
s), sometimes leaving behind a church or manor house and sometimes nothing but bumps in the fields. Some show archaeological evidence of settlement at three or four different layers, each distinct from the previous one. Clearances may have been to accommodate sheep or game estates, or enclosure, or may have resulted from depopulation, such as after the
Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
or following a move of the inhabitants to more prosperous districts. Other villages have grown and merged and often form hubs within the general mass of suburbia—such as Hampstead, London and
Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...
in Manchester. Many villages are now predominantly
dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
locations and have suffered the loss of shops, churches and other facilities. For many British people, the village represents an
ideal Ideal may refer to: Philosophy * Ideal (ethics), values that one actively pursues as goals * Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato Mathematics * Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considere ...
of Great Britain. Seen as being far from the bustle of modern life, it is represented as quiet and harmonious, if a little inward-looking. This concept of an unspoilt
Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
is present in many popular representations of the village such as the radio serial '' The Archers'' or the
best kept village A best kept village is a village that has won one of the annual county competitions in the United Kingdom for its tidiness, appropriateness, and typicality. The competitions have been nationally organized by the Campaign to Protect Rural England ...
competitions. Many villages in South Yorkshire,
North Nottinghamshire North Nottinghamshire, formally the "Northern Division of Nottinghamshire" was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the block vote syste ...
, North East Derbyshire,
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly About North East E ...
,
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
and Northumberland are known as pit villages. These (such as
Murton, County Durham Murton is a village in County Durham, England. Lying east of the city of Durham and south of Sunderland, it has a population of 4,534, increasing to 7,676 at the 2011 Census. Originally a rural agricultural hamlet called Morton, the discov ...
) grew from hamlets when the sinking of a colliery in the early 20th century resulted in a rapid growth in their population and the colliery owners built new housing, shops, pubs and churches. Some pit villages outgrew nearby towns by area and population; for example,
Rossington Rossington is a civil parish and former mining village in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England and is surrounded by countryside and the market towns of Bawtry and Tickhill. Geography Historically part of the West R ...
in South Yorkshire came to have over four times more people than the nearby town of
Bawtry Bawtry is a market town and civil parish in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. It lies between Doncaster, Gainsborough and Retford, on the border with Nottinghamshire and close to Lincolnshire. The town is historically part of ...
. Some pit villages grew to become towns; for example, Maltby in South Yorkshire grew from 600 people in the 19th century to over 17,000 in 2007. Maltby was constructed under the auspices of the Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company and included ample open spaces and provision for gardens. In the UK, the main historical distinction between a hamlet and a village was that the latter had a church, and so usually was the centre of worship for an ecclesiastical parish. However, some civil parishes may contain more than one village. The typical village had a pub or inn, shops, and a blacksmith. But many of these facilities are now gone, and many villages are dormitories for commuters. The population of such settlements ranges from a few hundred people to around five thousand. A village is distinguished from a town in that: * A village should not have a regular agricultural market, although today such markets are uncommon even in settlements which clearly are towns. * A village does not have a
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
nor a mayor. * If a village is the principal settlement of a civil parish, then any administrative body that administers it at parish level should be called a parish council or parish meeting, and not a town council or city council. However, some civil parishes have no functioning parish, town, or city council nor a functioning parish meeting. In Wales, where the equivalent of an English civil parish is called a Community, the body that administers it is called a Community Council. However, larger councils may elect to call themselves town councils. In Scotland, the equivalent is also a community council, however, despite being statutory bodies they have no executive powers. * There should be a clear green belt or open fields, as, for example, seen on aerial maps for
Ouston Ouston can refer to three places in England: * Ouston, County Durham * Ouston, Ninebanks, Northumberland * Ouston, Stamfordham, Northumberland Other locations: * RAF Ouston Royal Air Force Ouston, or more simply RAF Ouston, is a former Royal ...
surrounding its parish borders. However this may not be applicable to urbanised villages: although these may not be considered to be villages, they are often widely referred to as being so; an example of this is Horsforth in Leeds.


Middle East


Lebanon

Like France, villages in Lebanon are usually located in remote mountainous areas. The majority of villages in Lebanon retain their Aramaic names or are derivative of the Aramaic names, and this is because Aramaic was still in use in
Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...
up to the 18th century. Many of the Lebanese villages are a part of districts, these districts are known as "kadaa" which includes the districts of Baabda (Baabda), Aley (Aley), Matn (Jdeideh), Keserwan (Jounieh), Chouf (Beiteddine), Jbeil (Byblos), Tripoli (Tripoli), Zgharta (Zgharta / Ehden), Bsharri (Bsharri), Batroun (Batroun), Koura (Amioun), Miniyeh-Danniyeh (Minyeh / Sir Ed-Danniyeh), Zahle (Zahle), Rashaya (Rashaya), Western Beqaa (Jebjennine / Saghbine), Sidon (Sidon), Jezzine (Jezzine), Tyre (Tyre), Nabatiyeh (Nabatiyeh), Marjeyoun (Marjeyoun), Hasbaya (Hasbaya), Bint Jbeil (Bint Jbeil), Baalbek (Baalbek), and Hermel (Hermel). The district of Danniyeh consists of thirty-six small villages, which includes Almrah, Kfirchlan, Kfirhbab, Hakel al Azimah, Siir, Bakhoun, Miryata, Assoun, Sfiiri, Kharnoub, Katteen, Kfirhabou, Zghartegrein, Ein Qibil. Danniyeh (known also as Addinniyeh, Al Dinniyeh, Al Danniyeh, Arabic: سير الضنية) is a region located in Miniyeh-Danniyeh District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. The region lies east of Tripoli, extends north as far as Akkar District, south to Bsharri District and Zgharta District and as far east as Baalbek and Hermel. Dinniyeh has an excellent ecological environment filled with woodlands, orchards and groves. Several villages are located in this mountainous area, the largest town being Sir Al Dinniyeh. An example of a typical mountainous Lebanese village in Dannieh would be Hakel al Azimah which is a small village that belongs to the district of Danniyeh, situated between Bakhoun and Assoun's boundaries. It is in the centre of the valleys that lie between the Arbeen Mountains and the Khanzouh.


Syria

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
contains a large number of villages that vary in size and importance, including the ancient, historical and religious villages, such as
Ma'loula Maaloula or Maʿlūlā ( arc, ܡܥܠܘܠܐ in Eastern Aramaic Syriac script, ' in Western Aramaic Maalouli script; ar, مَعلُولَا) is a town in the Rif Dimashq Governorate in Syria. The town is located 56 km to the northeast of Dama ...
, Sednaya, and Brad (Mar Maroun's time). The diversity of the Syrian environments creates significant differences between the Syrian villages in terms of the economic activity and the method of adoption. Villages in the south of Syria (
Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...
,
Jabal al-Druze Jabal al-Druze ( ar, جبل الدروز, ''jabal ad-durūz'', ''Mountain of the Druze''), officially Jabal al-Arab ( ar, جبل العرب, links=no, ''jabal al-ʿarab'', ''Mountain of the Arabs''), is an elevated volcanic region in the As-Suwa ...
), the north-east (the Syrian island) and the
Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. ...
basin depend mostly on agriculture, mainly grain, vegetables, and fruits. Villages in the region of
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
and
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
depend on trading. Some other villages, such as
Marmarita Marmarita ( ar, مرمريتا, syc, ܡܪܡܪܝܬܐ, ) is a village in northwestern Syria, located west of Homs. Marmarita is one of the largest villages in Wadi al-Nasara ("Valley of the Christians"), a region north of Talkalakh. In 2004, Marm ...
depend heavily on tourist activity. Mediterranean cities in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, such as Tartus and
Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...
have similar types of villages. Mainly, villages were built in very good sites which had the fundamentals of the rural life, like water. An example of a Mediterranean Syrian village in Tartus would be al-Annazah, which is a small village that belongs to the area of al-Sauda. The area of al-Sauda is called a '' nahiya''.


Australasia and Oceania

Pacific Islands Communities on Pacific islands were historically called villages by English speakers who traveled and settled in the area. Some communities such as several Villages of Guam continue to be called villages despite having large populations that can exceed 40,000 residents. New Zealand The traditional
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
village was the
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites o ...
, a fortified hill-top settlement. Tree-fern logs and flax were the main building materials. As in Australia (see below) the term is now used mainly in respect of shopping or other planned areas. Australia The term village often is used in reference to small planned communities such as retirement communities or shopping districts, and tourist areas such as ski resorts. Small rural communities are usually known as townships. Larger settlements are known as towns.


South America

Argentina Usually set in remote mountainous areas, some also cater to winter sports or tourism. See Uspallata,
La Cumbrecita La Cumbrecita is a small hamlet above sea level in the Calamuchita Valley in the Grand Sierras of Córdoba, Argentina. A paved road through the Sierra Grandes connects to it from the main road to the provincial capital. There is a river called ...
,
Villa Traful Villa Traful is a hamlet of the Argentine province of Neuquén located at the shore of the Traful Lake, at 720 metres above mean sea level. It is located inside the Nahuel Huapi National Park on the '' Road of the Seven lakes'', 60 km from Villa L ...
and La Cumbre. Guyana In various areas villages can still be found in Guyana. While many are now towns, there are several areas on river banks, and communities off central roads that are still locally considered villages. Uruguay Village or "villa" is one of the three levels at which the government classifies urbanizations or "localidades", a "villa" is highest rank than a "pueblo" which is the lowest unit and lower than a city or "ciudad", which is the highest rank. Note that this organization is more related with notability than size, since there is no official criteria to determine the level of urbanization. Every urbanization is a "pueblo" unless is elevated by decree to the next category. Historically this was a faculty of the executive power but more recently this faculty was transferred to the legislative. However colloquial speech still refers as "pueblo" to most "villas" and even cities and many names preceded by the word "villa" could represent other standard, such as "Villa del Cerro" or "Villa Serrana".


North America

In contrast to the Old World, the concept of village in Canada and the United States today is largely disconnected from its rural and communal origins. The situation is different in Mexico because of its large bulk of indigenous population living in traditional villages.


Canada


United States


Incorporated villages

In twenty U.S. states, the term "village" refers to a specific form of incorporated
municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, similar to a city but with less authority and geographic scope. However, this is a generality; in many states, there are villages that are an order of magnitude larger than the smallest cities in the state. The distinction is not necessarily based on population, but on the relative powers granted to the different types of municipalities and correspondingly, different obligations to provide specific services to residents. In some states such as New York and Michigan, a village is an incorporated municipality, within a single town or civil township. In some cases, the village may be coterminous with the town or township, in which case the two may have a consolidated government. There are also villages that span the boundaries of more than one town or township; some villages may straddle county borders. There is no population limit to villages in New York. Hempstead, the largest village, has 55,000 residents; making it more populous than some of the state's cities. However; villages in the state may not exceed five square miles (13 km2) in area. Michigan and Illinois also have no set population limit for villages and there are many villages that are larger than cities in those states. The village of Schaumburg, Illinois had 78,723 residents as of the 2020 census. A village also has no written figure against how small a population can be, with the United States' smallest incorporated village being Dering Harbor, NY, with a population of just over 10. In Michigan, a village is always legally part of a township. Villages can incorporate land in multiple townships and even multiple counties. The largest village in the state is Beverly Hills in Southfield Township which had a population of 10,267 people as of the 2010 census. In the state of Wisconsin, a village is always legally separate from the
towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
that it has been incorporated from. The largest village is
Menomonee Falls Menomonee Falls is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, and is part of the Greater Milwaukee area. The population was 35,626 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous village in Wisconsin. It is the fourth largest communi ...
, which has over 32,000 residents. In Pennsylvania law, the term borough is used to refer to the same type of entity. 80% of Pennsylvania's 956 boroughs have populations of less than 5,000 but about thirty have populations of over 10,000 with
State College State College is a city in central Pennsylvania, United States. State College may also refer to: Related to State College, Pennsylvania * State College Area School District, a school district serving State College * State College Area High School ...
having more than 40,000 residents. In Ohio villages are often legally part of the township from which they were incorporated, although exceptions such as Hiram exist, in which the village is separate from the township. They have no area limitations, but become cities if they grow a population of more than 5,000. In Maryland, a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district. An example of the latter is the Village of Friendship Heights. In North Carolina, the only difference between cities, towns, and villages is the term itself.


Unincorporated villages

In many states, the term "village" is used to refer to a relatively small unincorporated community, similar to a hamlet in New York state. This informal usage may be found even in states that have villages as an incorporated municipality, although such usage might be considered incorrect and confusing. In most New England states, a "village" is a
center of population In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geogr ...
or trade, including the town center, in an otherwise sparsely developed town or city — for instance, the village of Hyannis in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts. However, in Vermont and Connecticut, both incorporated and unincorporated villages exist.


Africa


Nigeria

Villages in Nigeria vary significantly because of cultural and geographical differences. Northern Nigeria In the North, villages were under traditional rulers long before the
Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
of Shaikh Uthman Bin Fodio and after the Holy War. At that time Traditional rulers used to have absolute power in their administrative regions. After Dan Fodio's Jihad in 1804, political structure of the North became Islamic where emirs were the political, administrative and spiritual leaders of their people. These emirs appointed a number of people to assist them in running the administration and that included villages. Every Hausa village was reigned by Magaji (
Village head A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town. Usage Brunei In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a v ...
) who was answerable to his Hakimi ( mayor) at the town level. The Magaji also had his cabinet who assisted him in ruling his village efficiently, among whom was Mai-Unguwa (Ward Head). With the creation of Native Authority in Nigerian provinces, the autocratic power of village heads along with all other traditional rulers was subdued hence they ruled 'under the guidance of colonial officials'.A Johnson Ugoji Anyaele. ''Comprehensive Government'', A Johnson Publishers LTD. Surulere, Lagos. , p. 123 Even though the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has not recognised the functions of traditional rulers, they still command respect in their villages and political office holders liaise with them almost every time to reach people. In Hausa language, village is called ''ƙauye'' and every local government area is made up of several small and large ''ƙauyuka'' (villages). For instance,
Girka Girka (Arabic and Ajami غرك) is a village in Kaita Local Government Katsina State, Nigeria. The word 'Girka' in Hausa may literally mean 'to base (something on).' It may also mean 'the spiritual activities of Bori.' The latter meaning has no ...
is a village in Kaita town in Katsina state in Nigeria. They have mud houses with thatched roofing though, like in most of the villages in the North, zinc roofing has become a common sight. Still in many villages in the North, people do not have access to portable water. So they fetch water from ponds and streams. Others are lucky to have wells within a walking distance. Women rush in the morning to fetch water in their clay pots from wells, boreholes and streams. However, the government is now providing them with water bore holes. Electricity and GSM network are reaching more and more villages in the North almost every day. So bad feeder roads may lead to remote villages with electricity and unstable GSM network. Southern Nigeria Village dwellers in the Southeastern region lived separately in "clusters of huts belonging to the patrilinage".Village
igboguide.org
As the rainforest region is dominated by Igbo speaking people, the villages are called ''ime obodo'' (inside town) in Igbo language. A typical large village might have a few thousand persons who shared the same market, meeting place and beliefs.


South Africa

In South Africa the majority of people in rural areas reside in villages. They vary in size from having a population of less than 500 to around 1000.


See also

*
Kichkalnya Kichkalnya ( tt-Cyrl, Кычытканлы́, , ; rus, Кичкальня́}) is a Tatar village in the Nurlatsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. Etymology The name of the village Kichkalnya comes from the word tt-Cyrl, К ...
* Global village * Linear village * Village green * Village lock-up * Police village


Settlement types

* Dugout * Fishing village * Hamlet


Countries and localities

* Dhani and villages * Dogon villages *
Hakka architecture A Hakka walled village ( zh, 围龙屋) is a large multi-family communal living structure that is designed to be easily defensible. This building style is unique to the Hakka people found in southern China. Walled villages are typically designed ...
*
Kampong (village) A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used ...
* Ksar * List of villages in Europe by country * Pueblo * Sołectwo (rough equivalent in Poland) * Ville ;Developed environments *
Developed environments In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community in which people live. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of dwellings grouped together to the largest of cities ...
*
City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
* Exurban * Megalopolis * Rural *
Suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
an * Urban area


References


Sources

*


External links


Types of villages (anthropogenic biomes)
* {{Authority control Rural geography Urban geography Types of populated places