This rectangular bamboo box is a typical production of indigenous craftsmanship of the Abor from Arunachal Pradesh. It is made entirely of splits of bamboo, a material that grows in plenty in the territory and commonly used in the daily life of tribal folk. The bamboo box shows the perfect demonstration of real functionality but also discloses the tribes' complex understanding about the natural and useful applications.The hinge is perhaps the most noticeable feature of this bamboo box, which has been attached to the upper end. Cane strips are tied across the body of the box to form a ridge, from where the flap is suspended. Functionally, the ridge has been placed at this point for aesthetic purposes.
The cane strips have also been artistically used to strengthen the three borders of the flap and the open side of the mouth, giving it a neat finish and longevity. The design, thus, reflects the utilitarian mind of the tribes while also keeping their tradition alive in ways of storing and carrying. Tribal families use such bamboo containers to keep dried foods, herbal medicines, or domestic essentials like tobacco, and so on. Cane and bamboo depict the tribalCulturally rich are these utensils and evidence identity in terms of raw materials used in their making. Most households use these containers to store dried foods, herbal medicines, and tobacco or serve as cum utensils, with very few being used purely as space-saving containers. This use again implies to an understanding of the community's symbiotic relationship with nature, where the very essence of such structures is rooted. Household use or purposes for which such items may be constructed or co-opted clearly establish the interrelationship between the tribe's community life and habitat and ultimately between its material culture and environment.