in willow rushes, with handles also made of willow rushes. The pot holds burning coals that stay warm throughout the day. Throughout Kashmir in winter, it is common to see people with one hand holding their Kangdi inside their Phiran, doing the daily chores with the other. Cooking The fire pot was probably invented long after people discovered the value of cooking over fire. Once fire-proof containers became available, such as iron pots, it was natural to design fire pots that both heated and supported the cooking vessel. Over time, these developed into stoves, used both for cooking and heating. Adogan An earthenware fire-pot or indigenous stove found in West Africa , notably in Ilora and Oyo, an Adogan has a flat bottom with a carinated wall and an out-turned rim with three decorated lugs to support the cooking pot. A U-shaped hole is cut in one side to allow air to enter, and through which fuel is inserted. Chinese hot pot Hot pot or huoguo (Simplified Chinese: 火锅) is a traditional Chinese social meal. The literal Chinese translation is fire pot, as huo means fire, while guo refers to pot. The Chinese hot pot consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, thinly sliced ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. This type of cuisine is also referred to as "steamboat". In Western cooking, the fondue is used in a similar way, although usually with different ingredients. Warfare Small earthen pots filled with combustibles were used as early thermal weapons during the classical and medieval periods. Containers made at first from clay, later from cast iron, known as 'carcasses', were launched by a siege engine, filled with pitch, Greek fire or other incendiary mixtures. These fire pots could cause great damage to besieged cities with largely wooden construction. In the Siege of Petra (550–551), the Sasanians used fire pots containing sulfur, bitumen and naphtha, a composition called the "oil of Medea"—an early form of chemical weapon. A description of how to make military fire pots is given in Lucar, 1588, cited by Martin 1994:207-217 "Make great and small earthen pots which must be but half baked, and like unto the picture in the mergent . . . . Fill every of those pots half with grosse gunpowder pressed down hard,