Longpi

Longpi Pottery or Stone pottery is a traditional craft from Manipur. Longpi derives its name from the villages, Longpi Kajui and Longpi Khullen from the Ukhrul District of the Indian state of Manipur, India. Thankul Naga tribes practice this exceptional pottery style. A single village of 400 houses in the district Ukhrul of North-East Manipur, with perhaps just 200 artisans plying the craft, is the nerve centre of longpi earthenware.

Manipuri pottery is made with a mixture of clay and ground black serpentinite stone. After a thorough kneading, a large slab is rolled out and shaped into a cylinder. The cylinder is placed on a circular board, which, in turn, is placed on a stool. The potter then actually moves around the clay himself, shaping and forming the pot. The pot is usually finished by rubbing the surface with the reddish-brown seed of a wild creeper and finally with beeswax.