This particular cooking pot is a tribally traditional form of potting, and at the same time a potting-related masterpiece of the Phom Naga, a particular tribe among the Nagas of Nagaland. Albeit its produced pot made out of baked clay has a testimony to the kind of indigenous knowledge of this tribe in maximizing natural resources time and again for subjecting to such everyday needs.
This pot is made with a pronounced circular rim, a narrow neck, and a wide oval base that ensures relative stability during cooking on fire. The lineal designs inscribed on the surface of the pot are not merely ornamental but mostly express symbolic or tribal themes that have very strong cultural connotations. Such aesthetic patterns are hand-drawn before the firing of clay, which shows the artistic sensibilities of the tribe.
Phom Naga pottery has traditionally come as utensil with which food is cooked and even stored, mostly in setting cooking in rural households and with the community. These materials conduct heat quite evenly, ideal for slow cooking with flavor retention. Their wide base also retains heat better, preventing spillage.