A sunken hearth is a type of furnace with a square-shaped cut out in the floor to make a fire. It is filled with ash, upon which charcoal or firewood was burned to cook food or heat the room. Each family member is supposed to sit in his/her appointed seat such as the “yokoza,”the seat farthest from the earthen floor, for the head of the family.

The free pot-hook is a tool for hanging a pot when cooking above the fire in the hearth. This tool hung from the beam above the hearth and is called a free pot-hook because its height or rotation is freely adjustable.
The crossbars, the wood pieces used for securing the pot-hook, range from a simple piece of wood with a hole to a decorative one in a fish, fan or gourd shape, which all represent good luck.