Earthernware of Nagaland
History
In Nagaland, women potters practise a unique hand modeling technique, probably dating back to even earlier than neolithic times before the invention of the wheel.
Techniques Used
Nagas make earthern pots by hand without the use of a wheel. Different colours are used for ornamentation purpose. In this process, the potter begins with a band of clay mixed with sand that is folded into a cylinder to which a base is added. Then it is placed on the lepshum, usually the trunk of a tree, as high as the potters knee. A piece of thick wet cloth or phunanphadi is wrapped around the open rim while the craftswoman, holding it with both hands, circumambulates in the manner of the wheel till the collar is smoothly formed. After this stage, she beats the pot with a wooden beater or phuzei using a stone anvil till it expands into shape with the requisite thickness of the walls.
Design & Styles
Pot making is exclusively a women craft. Plain round cooking pots with flattened, out turned rims are made in various villages.
Common Materials Used
Clay, ceramic colours, brush, sand, cylinder-lepshum (cylindrical platform), phuzei (wooden beater)
Popular Products
Earthern pots.
