The Ladle is a true artefact of the Khiamniungan Naga tribe's special tendencies, which have been able to discover ingenious uses of natural materials from the environment. This kitchen implement was fashioned from the rib bone of mithun, a semi-domesticated bovine of Northeast India, which the Naga tribes hold as most important to them in cultural and economic terms. The particular ladle in question is long and curved, shaped carefully from the naturally arched mithun rib. One end of the ladle is wider, forming a work area of the shallower scooping area ideal for serving or stirring food, while the narrow end functions as the handle.
The curve of the bone has been so well harnessed as ergonomics permitting easy dipping and pouring of liquids or semi-solids. The ladles were an integral part of cooking in the Khiamniungan Naga households, especially during communal feasts and ceremonies. The use of mithun bone in making these ladles stands for functionality and practicality and is a testimony to the regard held by the tribe for this animal, often associated with status, wealth, and ritual offerings. Nowadays, these traditional bone ladles are rare, but they find preservation in ethnographic museums like the Indian Museum in Kolkata where they remain an artefact. In this sense, they shall reflect the sustainable lifestyle and material culture of the Khiamniungan Naga tribe who revered nature and ancestral wisdom in their making of everyday objects.