Lota

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For the city in Chile, see Lota, Chile.

Lota (Urdu: لوٹا, Hindi: लोटा) is a Urdu and Hindi word for 'pot'. Though it may refer to any pot, the term is most commonly employed for a container filled with water to facilitate the cleaning of one's anal region after defecation.

A stainless-steel lota

Cleaning is accomplished by holding the lota in the right hand and pouring water on the area to be cleansed, while the left hand is used to clean the area as the water comes down. The assignment of tasks to each hand is important, as the use of lotas is derived from Islamic traditions where the right hand is usually used to start most everyday tasks (such as eating or drinking) and thus should not make contact with the area to be cleaned.

In most South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, the use of lotas is considered to provide a more thorough cleaning than simply using toilet paper.

Lotas are also sometimes used as a general purpose water container, including for the purposes of ablution. In this capacity it is used mainly when water has to be taken manually out of a larger storage container.

The Muslim shower is a more modern alternative to the lota and is a common bathroom fixture throughout the Indian Subcontinent as well as in many Arab states.

In Pakistan, the word Lota is also colloquially used to refer to a person that switches loyalties, especially from one political party to another. This comes from the fact that the "Lota" has a tendency to fall over and roll around, as it is not stable sitting on its base. The analogy is taken to the extent that the person is not stable, and keeps changing loyalties. The term "lotacracy" was coined in Pakistan to describe this feature of Pakistani politics where individuals frequently switched loyalties.

Provisionally used as the term "Sajed" many years ago, Urdu language was changed and suited for further fluency. What we then knew as "Sajed" is now known as a "lota"

Also sometimes in slang Urdu referred to as "Sana".