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A little girl, Menosienuo Phira, enjoys tea from a ‘hipu,’ at the ‘traditional evening park,’ at Kigwema village, in Kohima on Sat. Dec. 1. (EM Images)[/caption]
Kohima, Dec. 1 (EMN): For those who will like to experience modern dishes served on bamboo tableware, there is a stall by the name ‘Noune’ from a self-help group, at one of stalls at the ‘traditional evening park,’ at Kigwema village, in Kohima.
The stall is managed by seven people. It sells a few common foods and beverage items such as tea, coffee, lemon tea; and dumplings and noodles at reasonable prices. But what is more interesting about the stall is that it serves food in bamboo tableware, which apparently was fashioned based on the tableware ideas that Naga forefathers may have used in the ancient times.
Among the tableware, there is a cup with a handle known to the Angami locals as ‘hipu,’ which is carved from a single bamboo known to the locals as ‘viipa bamboo.’ Two of the stall’s owners, Vivo Yhosu and Kevipe Phira, told Eastern Mirror that their forefathers used to drink wine from the ‘hipu.’
A medium sized bamboo bowl called by the name ‘kerakhu’ and a ladle-like bowl called ‘himeha’ to hold food paste or chutney, is used to serve food. Even the cutleries are made of bamboo.
Another unique piece of art is ‘sakimi.’ It is an oil lamp made from three different bamboo bits of different sizes. It is lit with the help of a wick and mustard oil. Three segments—one to hold the wick, the second to hold the oil, and the third to hold the lamp—make up the Sakimi. Apparently, the type of it was used during the ancient times.
