The rarity of the color combinations found on a Lotha Naga shawl, one of their traditional dress characteristics, presses diversity into demands of aesthetic value, even as it refrains from complaint. Lothas dwell mainly in Wokha district, who reckon the interrelationship of the weaving craft with community identity and ancestral heritage have ceremonial and ritualistic applications. The use of bright red embroidery on the woolen Cuba shawl body stands for energy, strength, and celebration in Naga culture. The multihued body of the shawl is worked into rainbow geometric embroidery featuring diamonds, zigzag lines, and chevron designs. These patterns are symbolic of fertility, prosperity, courage, and tribal lore.
The fine contrasting multicolored borders at both sides of the shawl serve as aesthetic appeal and a display of the weaver's creativity. The interplay of colors on the other components-green, yellow, blue, and white-embodies the Lotha belief in harmony with nature and community. Traditionally hemmed with woolen fringes for added texture, the fringe is believed to be hand-knotted and thus carries a legacy of painstaking craftsmanship handed down over generations. Mostly worn at festivals, dance, and other important ceremonies; it was thrown on as protection against cold and a proud statement of the communities' cultural and tribal identity