Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): ‘Wangamba Pendong,’ a traditional rectangular wooden bag of Nagaland’s Konyak Naga tribe, is the fourth ‘Exhibit of the Week’ of the month on social media pages of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), Bhopal.
Collected from the Konyak Naga tribe of Longwa Village of Nagaland in 2006, the length, width and height of the exhibit are 41cms, 12cms and 29 cms respectively.
Director of IGRMS Praveen Kumar Mishra says that ‘Wangamba Pendong,’ a traditional rectangular wooden bag that belongs to the Konyak Naga tribe of Nagaland.
It is made from a single piece of wood covered by a detachable wooden knobbed lid. The front part is decorated with three equal sizes of skull motifs and on the upper part of the skulls; two concave motifs are also shown in high relief form. Oblique lines are engraved all around the front rectangular border.
The upper part of the lid is decorated with geometrical designs. There are three loops, two are on both sides and one is below the middle skull motifs. A cane-weaved strap is stringed within three loops for carrying and supporting purposes. The cane strap is woven in double style, half of the strap part stringed within the loops is intwined pattern and the hanging part is in a criss-cross pattern.
He further says that though the technology is simple, it is excellently done by the Konyaks who are expert artisans and skilled craftsmen. The carved figures generally have their symbolic meaning. The tools used during the carving are made locally such as chisel, axe, adze, dao etc. The object is used for keeping domestic items and carrying important materials at the time of shopping,’ Mishra adds.
The exhibition began on Monday. Visitors can see this object from home through the Official site (https://igrms.com/wordpress/?page_id=8734) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NationalMuseumMankind), Instagram and twitter page of the IGRMS.
