Lota (vessel)

The earliest known examples of lota and kindi in ancient India are from the Chalcolithic period, notably in the Savalda Culture and two well-preserved examples from the pottery of the Jorwe Culture, dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE.{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Upinder |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&q=Daimabad&pg=PA229 |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Delhi |isbn=978-81-317-1120-0 |pages=229–233}}{{cite web |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_imp_maharashtra.asp |title=Excavations - Important - Maharashtra |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |access-date=1 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011165314/http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_imp_maharashtra.asp |archive-date=11 October 2011 |url-status=dead}} Highly decorative spouted vases with floral motifs are also known from Chandraketugarh, dating back to around the 2nd century BC or the 1st century CE. The earliest lotas were made of clay or teracotta while modern versions are notably metal.{{Cite web |title=Lota: A Must-Have for Every Hindu Home |url=https://www.indianshelf.in/lota-a-must-have-for-every-hindu-home/#:~:text=The%20evidence%20of%20the%20presence,of%20the%20world's%20earliest%20civilisations. |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=IndianShelf |language=en}}

In West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh, the term bôdnā ({{langx|bn|বদনা}}) describes spouted (teapot-like) vessels, and the vessels used for puja are called ghôt or ghôti, while lotā is used for cleansing mugs.{{cite magazine |last1=Akbar |first1=Javaria |date=11 December 2014 |title=A Muslim's Guide to Anal Hygiene |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-clean-is-your-arse/ |magazine=Vice |access-date=9 September 2019}} In Odisha, vessels without the spout is also known as lota, while spout vessel is known as Jeri, used for prayer rituals and serving liquor.{{cite web |title=Odisha State Tribal Museum {{!}} Jeri |url=https://www.ostm.in/object/jeri-3/}}Daniel Miller, 1985, [https://archive.org/details/artefactsascateg0055mill/page/n145 Artefacts as Categories: A Study of Ceramic Variability in Central India], pages 126–130. They are also known as Karwa, Jharis and Achaman Jharis (utensils with spouts) in Hindi Belt and Gujarat in northern and western India, used for prayer rituals.Jhariji, Achaman Jhariji And Karwa https://inbrindavan.com/jhariji-achaman-jhariji-karwa/ It is also known as Mooku sombu and Pal Kindi used as milk feeder for babies in southern parts of India. In Nepal, it is known as Karuwa which is used for religious rituals, serving water and liquor.{{Cite web| title = Seven reasons why Tansen is one of the must-see places in Nepal| work = OnlineKhabar English News| accessdate = 2021-02-27| url = https://english.onlinekhabar.com/seven-reasons-tansen-one-must-see-places-nepal.html}}

American designers Charles and Ray Eames in their The India Report expressed a great admiration for the lota, saying about its design, "Of all the objects we have seen and admired during our visit to India, the Lota, that simple vessel of everyday use, stands out as perhaps the greatest, the most beautiful."{{cite web |last=Demetrios |first=Eames |date=9 February 2002 |title=An Eames Primer |url=http://www.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/147/Eames-Demetrios-An-Eames-Primer-page01.html#post13 |access-date=22 March 2007 |publisher=Universe Publishing}}{{cite web |title=Eames' India Report |url=http://www.nid.edu/aboutus_eamesreport.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309151633/http://www.nid.edu/aboutus_eamesreport.htm |archivedate=9 March 2007 |access-date=22 March 2007 |publisher=National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India |df=dmy-all}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20100409093444/http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=12692 "Charles & Ray Eames India Report, April 1958"], Design Observer

In some parts of the Indian subcontinent, the use of the phrase "bependi ka lota" (a "lota without a base") is colloquially used to refer to a person who may switch their loyalties. This comes from the observation that a spherical lota without a base tends to roll over in unpredictable directions when kept on uneven ground. The neologism "lotacracy" was coined in Pakistan to describe politicians who switch parties for their convenience.{{cite news |first=Humayun |last=Gauhar |title=Blasphemy…or a convenience? |url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2011012492056 |work=Saudi Gazette |publisher=Okaz Organization for Press and Publication |date=24 January 2011 |access-date=24 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330191038/http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2011012492056 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |df=dmy-all}}

{{see also|Ayurveda|Neti (Hatha Yoga)}}

According to the ancient Indian/Hindu-origin traditional medicine system of ayurveda, drinking water stored in the copper lota has health and nutritional benefits. It is used for jala neti, a traditional ayurvedic and yogic practice that is used for cleansing the nose and sinus passages through nasal irrigation.

{{see also|List of Hindu festivals | List of materials used in Hinduism }}

In the Indian-origin religions, the lota is a multi-purpose utensil. It is also used in the sacred rituals, such as yajna, puja, for wedding rituals, and other sacred ceremonies.

{{see also|Ritual purification|Anal cleansing|Istinja}}

File:Black Badna-Bodna BD.jpg.]]

Throughout the Indian subcontinent, the lota is commonly used to assist with hygiene, such as during baths or anal cleansing.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TDxDM2gSSFcC&q=lota+indian+american |author=Donald Albrecht |title=The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: a Legacy of Invention |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |quote=India and Pakistan have a water culture, so that it is preferable to use a lota to cleanse with after using the washroom. |year=2009 |isbn=9780810927520 |access-date=5 September 2011}}

In Bengali, the term lotā is used for bath mugs.

• Aftabeh, a similar vessel used in Iran, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia
• Ghatam, a large water pot related to the lota design
• Kalasha, a metal pot used in Hindu rites—the lota is a type of falsha
• Anal cleansing, for which a lota is commonly used

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717063729/http://www.tmafilmstudios.com/bodna_nai_new_int_vers.wmv Bodna Nai]—Music video depicting the extinction of the bodna from urban Bangladesh
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120402115732/http://www.thelotablog.com/ The Lota Blog]}}—A comedic blog about the use and application of the lota in modern times
• [http://nuevoshabitoshoy.jimdo.com Nuevos Habitos]—An artist dedicated to lota and other stuff
• [https://bootymint.com/blogs/blog/how-to-use-a-lota-the-secret-to-islamic-hygiene] - HOW TO USE A LOTA: THE SECRET TO ISLAMIC HYGIENE.

Category:Drinkware

Category:Culture of India

Category:Liquid containers