H andy clay used for making the traditional pottery of Manipur is known as Leimarombi Chaphu Leibak. This peculiar type of clay is available only in Thongjao area in the Thoubal District of Manipur. Although, there are places where clay is available for making the pottery in other parts of the state, they are mostly mixed with minerals which is not suitable for making the unique kind of handmade Leimaram Pottery. If the pot is made with more portions of ferrus and mineral content, it is not durable and often breaks before or after firing. The best quality of clay popularly known as the handy-clay is collected after digging 5 feet deep in the ground. In most of the cases, appropriate quality of these kinds of clay could only be collected from two or three layers when it reaches the level of handy and loam clay. The collected clays are exposed to the sunlight for about a week so that impurities and other foreign contents get oxidised. After this process, it is mixed with water ...
Mirrors the Traditional Past