Traditional Meitei potter artists coming from Nongsekamai and Thongjuo region of Manipur, there to preserve the beliefs, rituals and traditional knowledge systems of Meitei community, they are giving a mythical shape (Paphal) to the folk beliefs in community from the soil at Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya.
The Meitei people of Manipur believe that they are metaphysical and divine origin of Python; who live in the core of Loktak Lake.
According to a Meitei belief, the godly king Nongda Lairen Pakhangba lived as human at night and he could transform himself into a divine form of Python.
These divine forms are available in the form of an illustrated manuscript called Paphal Lambuba which contains 364 diagrammatic representations of Pakhangba and they are known as Paphal.
These assumptions are attributed as the controlling deity of places. The forms of Pakhangba has a very significant role to play in the socio-religious and political structure of Meitei society. The relevance of Python is not only associated with religious cult and glorification of the royal lineages but also held important cultural role in the folk life of the people of Manipur. Apart from the Hindu faith of Naag and the Dragon cult of China, the Python cult of Manipur portrays a unique blend of cultural syncretism.
They Manipuri artists are making different types of utensils to fulfill the domestic utilities, socio-religious ambit and cultural aspirations of the people who are strongly bound by local beliefs and practices and which are used in many rituals and traditional ceremonies from birth and death.
