This miniature bamboo spear and crossbow set, attributed to the Kalyo-Kenyu Naga tribe of Nagaland, is traditional art and indigenous knowledge of weapon making in the tribe. Although the spear is not whole as it has the shaft broken, it is still an important ethnographic object indicating a model of real weapons that used to hunt and assure safety among tribes. It is made of bamboo or any other material that is lighter and stronger. It is typical of smallness, which points that it can be an imitation type of example-based training, a ritual object or even a small weapon toy for the teaching of young boys to learn skills on how to throw the spear and how to shoot a bow—skills that were necessary in survival from old Naga society.
The Kalyo-Kenyu Nagas were classified as one of the under-reported sub-groups that belong to the very broad Naga ethnic group always residing in areas of eastern Nagaland and western Myanmar. Like many other Naga tribes, their indigenous lifestyle was one that subsisted totally, which included weapon making as part of their hunting-warrior culture. Artifacts can be more than utility objects; they're also lifestyle-proof in terms of tribal identity, tradition and oral history. The usage of that locally available bamboo only tells of the ecological consciousness and sustainable thinking about material culture. Miniature weapons like this are now most valuable from the research and museum perspective and indulge in the further understanding regarding technology progression and culture transfer within the Naga community.