From the 10,000 BC Neolithic period era till 2025- the extraordinary journey of Manipur’s hidden gem.

Longpi Pottery: Trade Routes, Rituals & Survival

Manipur’s Longpi black pottery has an energy that mass produced goods will never touch. It is hand shaped, stone mixed, wood-fired, imperfectly perfect. It carries the story of people, place and the traditions that refused to be lost in time.

The Craft

The very craft of Longpi pottery originated in the two neighboring Tangkhul Naga villages in Manipur, Longpi Khullen (“old village”) and Longpi Kajui (“new village”) which is 36 km north of Ukhrul town.

British ethnographer T.C. Hodson recorded it as early as 1911, describing Nungbi (village in Manipur) as a pottery centre where black stone pots were carried in bamboo baskets during dangerous expeditions to fetch salt from distant brine springs.

These vessels were the primary currency in pre-monetary trade with several prominent tribes. They exchanged it for rice, cloth, pigs, dogs and salt, often under the shadow of headhunting raids.

In Homes

Traditionally, Longpi vessels were a part of everyday life in every Tangkhul household. Among the widely used longpi pieces were the ham-lei for everyday rice, tur-ha for fermenting rice beer ( yu), kasorsa-ham for festive meats, ja-ham for collecting and filtering rainwater through bamboo channels.

To own intricately detailed pieces was to signal refinement. The pots were remembered not only for their bright metallic ring but also for the muted, earthy character they lent to whatever they held.

Fault Lines

Then came the decade that dimmed the glow of the kilns. In the 1970s, aluminium and steel being the cheap, shiny alternatives swept through the hills. A Longpi cookpot that took two weeks to make, earned just ₹80. Whereas an aluminium pot cost ₹120 and was said to last “forever”.

This market shift deepened the fault lines running through an already fragile craft. Production has always lived at the mercy of land and the weather. Seasonal monsoons routinely interrupted quarrying, while prolonged dry spells weakened vessel integrity. The progressive depletion of local serpentine deposits has further lengthened extraction routes, increasing the incidence of material impurities and production losses during firing.

To these relentless environmental pressures add the quiet drift of the younger generation emigrating to the regional urban hubs, chasing steadier livelihoods. Unfortunately, the craft is now sustained only through a handful of artisans surviving on modest earnings- a reality that stands in stark contrast to the cultural weight of the tradition they uphold.

Roots reforged

In response to this decline, a series of institutional and market-oriented interventions have been undertaken to stabilize and reconfigure the craft.

A turning point came with sustained government support, which supplied funding, recognition & platforms that helped the craft recover both its visibility and cultural significance.

USTTAD scheme (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development), launched by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2015, partnered with the National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad to run hands-on workshops. These intensive 12-day sessions brought together cohorts of artisans, teaching them to adapt ancient techniques for modern tastes, creating lamps, planters, serveware and many bamboo-handled pieces all sparking curiosity across the globe.

Inclusion in initiatives like One District One Product (ODOP) and Vocal for Local has opened doors to major exhibitions across the world, while growing tourism in Ukhrul and direct e-commerce links have connected artisans straight to buyers. Taken together, these interventions have enabled incremental change within the craft, while preserving the long-standing artisanal norms.

A cornerstone of this resurgence is the master potter Machihan Sasa from Longpi Kajui. For over five decades, he has preserved and promoted the craft, training hundreds of artisans, introducing new designs and showcasing Longpi across India and beyond. In 2024, his extraordinary contributions earned him the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, bringing national visibility to a millennia-old craft tradition long sustained outside the public gaze.

The lineage now extends outward through his son, Mathew Sasa, who carries the practice into contemporary contexts via Mathew Sasa Craft (est. 2007), working between village workshops & urban markets through youth training, international exhibitions and collaborations with modern design brands.

Today, these efforts have fostered quiet innovation, evident in contemporary tea sets, mugs, kettles, and decorative objects suited to urban homes while preserving the hand-coiled, stone-mixed and wood-fired essence of Longpi pottery.

The story of this Longpi black pottery transcends mere clay and stone; it is a profound tale of people, memory & endurance. In a world where speed and convenience dominate, crafts like this remind us of the quiet strength of tradition. Once a closely guarded hidden gem, Longpi is now emerging into the light, proving that when traditions are thoughtfully nurtured, they can gracefully evolve and thrive.

Zevv

Every Longpi piece that finds a new home, simple or ceremonial, keeps a small part of this story alive.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work directly with the families carrying this lineage forward. Each kiln yields only a handful of pieces which now circulate outside the standard retail formats through Zevv. Their availability & evolving story are shared directly through my *Instagram*.

If this story stirred something in you and you would like to give one of these vessels a place in your own rituals, just drop me a *message*. I’d love to help match you with something made by the same hands we’ve been celebrating here.

If black stone, or any other hidden Indian craft has a place in your life, I would love to hear your story. Slide into my DMs and show me what you have discovered.

I’m always excited to see what people are finding out there!

In quiet admiration of traditions that endure,

Love, Lulu (Zevv)