Traditional Cooking Pot - Blackstone

Incorporate an ethnic touch to your kitchen and dining space with the Blackstone Traditional Cooking Pot from goroots. The handmade cookware is not only functional and regarded for its utility, but the attractive features of the pot are also recognized by many tribal product collectors.When it comes to making use of the pot for cooking, the product serves the purpose right for it can stand very high temperatures and it can well be used in microwave oven too. The cooking pot can be subjected to dishwashing methods as well.Plus, cooking in such earthenware only improves the health and lifestyle as it has been handcrafted using naturally found and unprocessed materials such as the Serpentine rock.

About Blackstone Pottery

The Traditional Cooking Pot made using ancient techniques of Longpi Ham is a clear example of the dexterity and fine abilities of the Manipuri tribes who handcraft and chisel Blackstone Pottery.

The art of crafting Blackstone pottery is centuries old and has been an interest of the royal families of India who used utensils and cookware made using Blackstone during religious ceremonies and festivities. Hence, also referred to as royal pottery, the art of Blackstone pottery is regal in its own sense.

Blackstone Pottery is consists of a mixture of crushed Serpentine rock and weather rock used in the ratio 3:1. The artefacts derived from Blackstone are not only used as cookware and serveware but also as decorative pieces of art.

The art is a symbol of devotion of the Thankul Naga tribes of the Ukhrul district of Manipur who accomplish and respect this form of pottery as a devotion to Goddess Panthobi and Nongpok Ningthou, equivalents of Goddess Durga and Lord Shiva respectively.

Procedure

Around 200 men and women artisans the Thankul Naga tribes, who are the inhabitants of the Longpi village of the Ukhrul district of Manipur, ply the craft of Blackstone earthenware with their rich untamed skills.

The remarkable feature of Blackstone pottery is that artisans do not resort to the potters wheel, instead, they use out of the ordinary the coiling method in order to achieve the desired shape and size of the artefact they have in their mind.

To begin with, the artists crush the Serpentine rock and weathered rocks in the ratio 3:1, along with a certain proportion of clay, water and soil.

The crushed rocks are mixed adequately to form a mixture which is later shaped by the use of hands. The final shape of the artefact wholly depends on the skills and techniques the craftsmen put to use

The faded brownish-black colour and the smoke stains are a result of intensely heating up the artefact to as high as 900 degrees centigrade.

Finally, the traditional cooking pots are baked on straw and cow-dung and polished with beeswax and a special leaf called Chirona.

Region

The art of Blackstone pottery exclusively belongs to the Ukhrul district in the north-eastern state of Manipur. The Thankul Naga tribes are the inhabitants of the Longpi village, which is situated in Ukhrul. The district is about 85kms eastward to Imphal, the capital of Manipur.

goroots provides a concrete backing to the Black Pottery craftsmen situated in the remote interiors of Manipur. We encourage the ability of the tribal handicraft artisans and genuinely support their efforts through our website.