The "bahay kubo" is the term for huts built out of nipa. These types of edifices were characteristic of the way that indigenous people of the Philippines built homes prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. They are still in use today, especially in rural areas. Different architectural designs are present among the different ethnolinguistic groups in the country, although most homes built along the shorelines conform to being stilt houses, similar to those found in neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and other countries of Southeast Asia.