This traditional pop-gun is one of the fine pieces of craftsmanship made by the people of Kalyo-Kenyu Naga, one of the tribes in Nagaland, wherein the traditional product has been in use for practical and recreational reasons. It consists of a hollow bamboo barrel, made out of a single stalk of bamboo tube, and a wooden piston with a handle attached to it. The section of the open end of the bamboo tube where the piston would be inserted was engraved with some circular lines: likely meant decoratively or for a grip or orientation upon use. With this instrument, sound is generated when a small wad—usually a pellet of wet paper or soft, pithy plant material—is pushed into the barrel at the back end.
When the piston moves forward quickly, it will drive the wad out with a loud, popping noise, due to the compression of the air trapped within. Traditionally, such devices served as toys for tribal childhood, and instead also acted as noise-makers to scare birds and small animals from cultivated fields. Known for having one of the smallest populations among all the Naga tribes, the Kalyo-Kenyu Nagas are the bearers of all that are expressed in bright culture and equipped with their own tools made of bamboo, wood, and cane for that. The pop-gun with these characteristics signifies a resourceful, safe, and educational piece to be inherited through generations, bringing children to the idea of how tools work and hunting skills in a harmless way. In this globalized age, where almost everything is mechanized, this Kalyo-Kenyu pop-gun, thus, stands as a monument for creative, traditional, and sustainable play within the tribal ecosystem.