RESEARCH REPORT THE NAGAS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85-00671R000200060001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 64
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 27, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 1, 1963
• Content Type: REPORT

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AUGUST 1963
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RETIRED FILE
RESEARCH REPORT
The Nagas
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Research Report No. 2 August 1963
THE NAGAS
SOD/Joint Operations Intelligence Center
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F O R E W O R D
25X1 C10c
25X1 B1 a
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C O N T E N T S
1. BACKGROUND
Page
I dentification of the Naga . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Location and Terrain; Physical Type;
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Village Organization and House Type;
Agriculture and Food Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Clothing and Adornment; Arts and
Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Sociopolitical Organization; Religion,
Beliefs and Ceremonial Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Change and Assimilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. PROFILES OF PRINCIPAL NAGA TRIBES
(1) ANGAMI . . . . 11 (9) PHOM . . . . . . . . . 28
(2) AO . . . . . . 14 (10) RENGMA . . . . . . . . 28
(3) CHAKHESANG . . 18 (11) SANGTAM . . . . . . . . 34
(4) CHANG . . . . . 19 (12) SEMA . . . . . . . . . 34
(5) KACHA . . . . . 20 (13) YACHUMI . . . . . . . . 41
(6) KALYO-KENGYU . 21 (14) ZEMI . . . . . . . . . 41
(7) KONYAK . . . . 22 (15) NAGA TRIBES OF MANIPUR 45
(8) LHOTA . . . . . 23 (16) MINOR TRIBES . . . . . 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
MAPS
(1) Northeast India, Sikkim and Bhutan . . . . . . . Vi
(2) Nagaland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
(3) Distribution of Principal Naga Tribes . . . . . . 59
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Identification of the Naga
Naga is a generic term referring to a group
of Tibeto-Burman-speaking Indo-Mongoloid tribes concen-
trated in the hill country dividing Assam from Burma.
Population estimates for the dozen major Naga tribes in
this region of northeastern India range between 350,000
and 500,000. An additional 80,000 to 100,000 related
tribesmen inhabit the Naga Hill District of Burma. While
the Naga tribes differ in racial composition, area of
origin, language, technological advancement and degree
of assimilation to Indian (or Burman) national culture,
they have sufficient in common to distinguish them from
such non-Naga neighbors as the Kachin, Kuki, and Kachari
people. In August 1960 creation of Nagaland as a new
(the 16th) state within the Indian Union was announced,
culminating longstanding desires and struggles of the
Naga tribes for some measure of autonomy.
Derivation of the term "Naga" is uncertain.
Possible origins include: (1) the Sanskrit term for
"mountain"; (2) the Kachari term for "young man" or
"warrior"; (3) the word for "people" common to several
Tibeto-Burman languages. In any case the name has been
applied to the Naga highlanders since the 19th century
by neighboring people of the plains, who also tend to
include such non-Naga tribes as the Abor (Adi) and Dafla
under the term.
Until recently the term Naga was not in gen-
eral use among the Naga themselves, and while growing
political cohesion and cultural unity have increased its
popularity, many Naga still identify themselves as members
of particular tribes.
Location and Terrain
The State of Nagaland is a long, narrow strip
of hills, generally paralleling the south (left) bank of
the Brahmaputra. Taking the State of Manipur as the
southern base, Nagaland lies to the northeast, bordered
on the east by Burma, on the north by the Tirap Frontier
Division of India's NEFA, and by the broad valley of the
Assam plains along the western foothills Nagaland is
now divided into three Districts--Kohima, Mokokchung and
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Tuensang--comprising those territories formerly known
(under the 1957 GOI Act of the same name) as the Naga
Hills Tuensang Area.
The entire country of Nagaland is covered
with ranges of hills, sometimes distributed in mazes of
spurs and rj.dges, sometimes (as in the vicinity of Kohima)
disposed in gentle slopes.
Most Naga villages are situated on hill tops
at elevations of 3-4000 feet, though some hills in the
area rise about 6,000 feet. The highest peak in the
Kohhima District is Japvo, 9,890 feet. Annual rainfall
averages 70-100 inches, and rivers and streams (but not
lakes) are numerous.
While shifting cultivation has destroyed
much of the area's forest cover, a considerable amount
remains. The wild game population has been largely
decimated by native hunters, however, and wild elephants,
buffaloes, tigers, leopards, bears and deer are present
only in small numbers. Among birds the great Indian
hornbill is highly valued for its plumage.
Physical Type
In physique and appearance the Naga groups
exhibit considerable variations on Indo-Mongoloid features,
though all are noted as attractive, well-built people.
The Angami are tall with regular features, for example,
while the Sema are shorter and more conspicuously Mongoloid.
Skin color is typically light brown (often
termed "gold"), but displays considerably variation, lighter
tones (but not into the northern European range) being
admired. Hair form ranges from straight through wavy,
with some suggestions of Negrito admixture.
Language
Linguistic topography of Nagaland displays
complicated dialectical variations. Numerous mutually
unintelligible tongues are spoken and, due in part to
traditional feuding, practically every village has a dis-
tinctive dialect.
Generally similarities exist among the Naga
languages, however, which collectively belong to the Naga
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group of the Tibeto-Burman family. These similarities
tend to distinguish them from the majority of Tibeto-
Burman tongues. In general, they are highly tonal and
agglutinative. Other common features include (1)
glottalized consonants, particularly in terminal posi-
tion; (2) vowels which do not conform to conventional
categorization and are described as "indistinct"; (3)
aspirated liquids and nasal phonemes; (4) predominance
of locative variety in the case system; (5) conjugational
patterns displaying rich variety of moods and well-
classified tenses; (6) prefixed or suffixed negatives;
(7) nominal as well as numerical classificatory terms.
Lexical resemblances exist among certain
languages of the Naga group, notably Angami, Sema, Lhota,
Ao and Manipuri (Meithei). Close morphological parallels
are found among Ao, Angami, Kachari, Manipuri and Mikir.
Naga languages of Burma appear mainly related to Chin,
though some may be closer to Kachin. None have written
scripts.
For many years Nagas from different areas
have conversed in broken Assamese. Notwithstanding the
Nagas' desires for cultural as well as administrative
separation from Assam, this lingua franca has proven use-
ful in trade throughout the area and has promoted inter-
tribal unity. Today, however, many Nagas have learned
English and Hindi.
Village Organization and House Type
Naga villages often have dramatic settings,
generally on prominent points along ridges. Formerly they
were stockaded with stone walls, palisades, dykes, thorn
fences or the like, and many had village gates with great
wooden doors decorated with painted carvings in bas-relief,
approached through narrow, winding trenches and defiles.
A few of these features are retained sporadically, notably
panjis, sharp bamboo poles with fire-hardened tips which
are inserted upright in the ground.
Arrangement of village houses varies. Regular
streets are found in Ao and Lhota communities. In most
others the layout is less formalized.
Most Naga villages are divided into khels,
or quarters, each with its own headmen and administration,
and often corresponding to clan segmentation.
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Houses tend to be large, size as well as
style and decoration reflecting the importance of the
owner. Construction on poles is common. Among some
tribes the houses have high gables, projecting forward.
Others are topped by crossed wooden horns. Verandahs
are a typical feature, and decoration of large structures
frequently includes carved and painted posts and beams,
relics of great feasts, trophies of war and the hunt,
and so on.
The morung, in effect a dormitory for un-
married males, is an important feature in many Naga vil-
lages, and many groups have corresponding accommodations
for girls. The numerous activities centering around the
morung include education and discipline of the young;
inculcation of tribal mores and values; and training in
manual arts, warfare and techniques of hunting and fishing.
They are also ceremonial and recreational centers, and
often play important roles in mate selection and mobiliza-
tion of village labor. Ornate carving is characteristic
of morung architecture, and decorations formerly included
skulls and trophy heads.
Agriculture and Food Supply
Agriculture in one or more forms is practiced
by all Naga tribes and the general tenor of tribal life
is geared to requirements of the cultivation cycle. Some
Naga groups (notably the Angami and Tangkhul) emphasize
rice growing on elaborate irrigated terraces. Other employ
dry cultivation.
Most Nagas also practice non-irrigated
shifting cultivation of the slash-and-burn type to some
extent. The practice is termed jhuming, and the areas
thus cultivated are jhums. The normal procedure involves
clearing forest land along high ridges and burning the
dried trees to increase fertility of the soil. The land
is worked with hoes or similar implements (not ploughs),
and one or two crops are raised before it is abandoned
to fallow for a number of years. Sedentary village life
is possible in conjunction with agriculture of this type
since villages or tribes maintain a number of jhuming
areas exploited in rotation. Shifting cultivation of this
sort is the predominant practice among Naga groups of Burma.
In some Naga areas, millet, taro or Job's
tears (Coix lachryma-jobi) are the staples, supplemented
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by rice, maize, sorghum, yams and sago. Millet is often
grown on dry terraces among pollarded alders. Cotton,
beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and tobacco are also
grown.
Pigs and cattle are kept, and mithuns (the
domesticated bison, Bos Trontalis) have generally displaced
the semi-feral buffalo. Meat of all kinds is important
in the Naga diet, with preference for beef and pork,
though individual and clan taboos occasionally prohibit
its consumption. Dogs are reared for food as well as
hunting. Fishing is economically important among many
Naga tribes, and often involves use of poisons which kill
or stun the fish.
Tea is a popular drink, and use of milk,
until recently tabooed, is increasing. The favorite
drink, however, is rice beer, a palatable soup of mild
alcoholic content important in Naga diet as a source of
essential nutrients.
Clothing and Adornment
Styles in Naga dress vary widely and are
changing rapidly, though they tend to be defined by rigid
protocal and typically indicate the individual's relative
wealth, age, warfare exploits and social rank.
Most Nagas have a refined sense of color and
design, and their ceremonial finery is often impressive,
typically employing feathers, cowries and other shells,
bamboo, bone, beads, fur, ivory, red-dyed goat's hair and
native textiles. Certain groups (mainly the Konyak and
the Eastern Rengma) were formerly known as "Naked Nagas",
but the term is no longer accurate.
Textiles in great variety are woven on simple
tension looms and dyed by Naga women. Some skill in wood
carving is practically universal, and ceramic technology
has had mild development among some tribes. Extensive
and ingenious uses are made of bamboo among all Naga groups.
The dao (a bill or hatchet-like implement) is
perhaps the most common item in Naga material culture,
serving as a weapon, cultivator and general-purpose tool.
The principal weapon is the throwing spear, though some
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tribes use bows or cross-bows, and at least the Konyak
people have forged simple muzzle-loading guns for some
generations. Expert blacksmithing is still found among
some of the other tribes as well.
Much of Naga material culture confirms
historical ties with Indonesia and Melanesia. Noteworthy
examples are the huge, membraneless wooden drums (techni-
cally xylophones) made by the northern Naga tribes. Often
suggestive of dugout canoes, with large carved figureheads,
these drums are beaten to announce festivals, celebrate
important events, raise alarms and to summon warriors for
combat. They have a range of several miles. Other instru-
ments are used in music and dance, popular throughout Naga
society but most highly developed among southern groups.
High esthetic development characterizes the
Naga. They are notably sensitive to form and color, and
decorate most of their belongings. An unusually rich vein
of poetic thought and a high capacity for romantic love is
found in their abundant but little-known oral literature.
Sociopolitical Organization
Patterns of Naga political organization dis-
play a great range of emphases from practical dictatorship
to extreme democracy. Hereditary chieftanship is the rule
among the Sema and Chang groups. Among the Konyak socio-
political control is in the hands of autocratic chiefs,
considered so sacred that commoners may not stand before
them. Political structure of the Ao people tends toward
gerontocracy, with authority in the hands of councils of
elders who represent main families of each village. At
the democratic extreme are such tribes as the Angami, Lhota
and Rengma, among some of whom village political machinery
is virtually absent.
In Naga social organization, patrilineal
exogamy, often formalized and elaborated in clan structure,
is the rule, though there are indications of persisting
matrilineal and perhaps totemistic systems as well as of
leviritic polyandry. Inheritance of land is invariably
in the male line.
Some tribes (including the Sema and Chang)
practice polygyny, though monogamy is more common, divorce
being easy and frequent.
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Basic interests of the average Naga tribes-
man lie in his family, clan, khel and village. He is
passionately attached to his land and crops, to his
network of kin ties, and to the local machinery of social,
political and ceremonial life. This attachment underlies
the continuing authority and efficacy of native justice
and community management, in which tribal elders and the
institution of the morung play important roles. In this
context, the main political ambition of the average tribes-
man has long been, and continues to be, autonomy for the
Naga peoples.
Religion, Beliefs and Ceremonial Life
Naga religion is a variation on animistic
belief systems common throughout tribal India. There is
a vaguely conceived supreme creator and many minor deities,
ghosts and spirits of rivers, hills, trees, and the like.
In effect, all Nature is considered alive with unseen
forces. Priests and medicine men placate these spirits,
banishing those which cause disease and attracting those
which aid and protect man and his activities. Such re-
ligious authorities take the lead in rites and festivals
calculated to ensure bounty and good fortune in crop
cultivation, marriage and other ventures involving risk
or vulnerability to malevolent forces. Often such religious
personnel have considerable political authority as well.
Ceremonial taboos, religious prohibitions and
the like, collectively termed gennas, preoccupy the Nagas.
All rites and festivals observed by social units within
the tribe involve such prohibitions, which alter normal
routine and social interaction. The term genna has there-
fore come to be applied to all occasions and observances
at and by which a particular social unit consolidates its
activities. Each stage of rice cultivation is marked by
gennas to ensure success of the crop. Tribe-wide gennas
may involve temporary, periodic or permanent prohibition
of certain foods or activities--or may make them mandatory.
Village-wide gennas commonly relate to prevention of ill-
ness or veneration of ancestors. Gennas may be observed
following a death, disaster or the return of warriors.
Gennas may similarly apply to clans, households, age-groups
and individuals.
Lycanthropy is elaborately developed among
many Naga groups and some entire villages are believed
inhabited by were-tigers and were-leopard people. Many
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beliefs relate to presumed intimate associations of soul
or spirit between humans and tigers.
Naga notions of an after-life are vague and
varied, though all groups believe the soul does not perish
at death. Some groups believe in a subterranean abode of
the dead. Others believe souls go to after-worlds in the
directions of the sunrise (for the good) or sunset (for
the bad). Many Nagas believe that souls take the form
of insects after death, butterflies in particular.
Funerary practices vary greatly. Some groups
(such as the Konyak) expose their corpses on platforms.
Other practice burial, cremation or desiccation. Megalithic
monuments are erected to commemorate the dead among some
tribes (such as the Angamis) as well as for a number of
other magical, religious and ceremonial purposes.
Head-hunting virtually ceased with effective
British control over the Naga Hills area, though it con-
tinued in the Tuensang region until recently. The last
recorded case occurred in 1958. In former times the
practice was apparently based on the Naga belief that
vital soul-matter or powerful essence resides in the human
head. Taking a head therefore brought new and vital energy
to the warrior and his village. As well as enhancing
fertility of crops, animals and humans, head-hunting
brought fame and prestige to the young warrior, increasing
his choice among desirable females. Many customs formerly
associated with head-hunting are stall found among the
Nagas, including particular dances, costumes, ritual
paraphernalia, symbols attesting warfare exploits, and
trees for displaying trophy heads.
A central feature of traditional Naga cere-
monial life is the giving of so-called feasts of merit.
Generally these are a sequence of ceremonies, increasing
in social and sacred significance, culminating in sacri-
fice of a mithun. By sponsoring such feasts an individual
(married males only) acquires rank and honors, both in this
world and the next, and is entitled to wear distinctive
clothing and ornaments and to decorate the facade of his
house in distinctive manner. The Nagas have had little
interest in Hinduism, but their feasts of merit show many
parallels with ancient Vedic sacrificial rites.
Christian missionary work has had consider-
able impact among some Naga groups, not only on belief
systems but on tribal life in general. Elimination of
the varied functions of the morung, plus bans on rice
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beer and numerous pagan customs, have resulted in pro-
nounced social, economic and political disorganization
among some tribes.
Change and Assimilation
Missionary activity, government administra-
tion, two World Wars and expansion of transportation and
communication facilities have induced noteworthy departures
from Naga aboriginal culture, many of them contributing
to social, economic and political instability.
Superficial change is evident in increasing
Naga acceptance of Western hats and shoes, brassieres,
lipstick, flashlights, aluminum utensils, and a variety
of junk jewelry and plastic gadgetry. More fundamental
changes have come with the decline or extinction of inter-
tribal warfare, head-hunting, slavery and merit-feasting.
Numerous aspects of traditional ceremonialism, religion,
arts, crafts and sociopolitical life, formerly geared to
warfare and feasting as main themes of Naga culture, have
undergone consequent decay. An important example is
deterioration of the morung, a key institution of Naga
social, economic and political organization which formerly
ensured stability and continuity in tribal life through
manifold functions in manpower mobilization, education
and training, mate selection and marriage, and general
community management.
Conversion to Christianity, stressing per-
sonal salvation, has introduced a new individualism among
some Naga groups in place of former community espirit.
In addition, increased literacy and learning have en-
couraged secular appetites among the younger generation
and have brought waning interest in land and agriculture,
contempt for menial labor and desires for white-collar
jobs and urban amenities.
Poverty and hunger are generally cited as
the principal contemporary problems among the Naga. The
Indian Government appears to perceive the vast efforts
in education and technical aid required to improve con-
ditions, and great confidence has been expressed in com-
munity development projects in Nagaland said to be getting
underway in 1963. Lack of trained personnel for such
programs remains a prime deficiency, however.
Further obstacles to Naga advancement and
stabilization of conditions in Nagaland as a new state
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in the Indian Union relate to the area's low population
density and lack of a viable economy. Revenues are there-
fore trivial in proportion to expenditures, not only for
needed development programs, but for normal administra-
tive purposes as well. These considerations were stressed
by the Indian Government in opposing Naga independence,
which was viewed as detrimental to tribal as well as
national interests. In the present situation, as an
outcome of Naga insistence that they are Indians only by
virtue of British intervention in the area, India has an
impoverished and underdeveloped state on one of its criti-
cal frontiers. In view of factors which have undermined
many aspects of traditional Naga culture without supplying
functionally effective substitutes, statehood status for
the Naga is no automatic guarantee of social progress or
political stability in the area.
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2. PROFILES OF PRINCIPAL NAGA TRIBES
(1) ANGAMI NAGAS
Location
The current estimated population of the
Angami Nagas is 30,000. Other recent information is
negligible.
In 1921 the Angami were reported as the
largest Naga tribe in the Naga Hills District, where they
also occupied the greatest area. According to information
of that date, they are situated in an area bounded on the
north by a line running from a point slightly south of
where the Dayang (Diyung) River enters the plains, through
the peaks of Thevukepu above Themoketsa (most southerly
of the Rengma villages) and Mutuhu (on the edge of the
Sema country), to the confluence of the Loi and Tizu
Rivers between Kivekhu and Chipo kitema. Eastward from
this point to the Barail range the border of Angami ter-
ritory generally coincides with the eastern boundary of
the Naga Hills District. On the south the Angamis are
bounded by the Barail range and the Diphu River, and on
the west by the Nambar forest.
With the exception of the Memi group of
Eastern Angamis (below) who live further to the southeast,
all but one or two Angami villages are said to lie within
the area described.
Inter-Tribal Affiliations
The Kacha Nagas are apparently derived
from the Angamis. While the two speak different languages,
they are similar in dress and in earlier time the Kachas
were subject to the Khonoma group of Western Angami (below).
The Kabui Nagas of Manipur are also closely related to the
Kacha Nagas.
An identical creation myth, attributing
their origin to the Kezakenoma Stone in the Kezami village
of the same name, is found among the Lhota and Sema Nagas
as well as the Angami.
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The Angami are distributed in the fol-
lowing main divisions, groups and villages:
a. Western Angami:
Tengima or Khonoma group, in-
cluding the s:ix large villages of
Khonoma, Sachema, Mezoma, Kirufema,
Jotsoma and Kigwema, plus their
sattelite communities, Thekrojenoma
and Sachenobama;
Chakroma group of villages
nearer the plains, including
Rozephima, Ch:imokedima (Samaguting),
Kabvoma Piphima, Pherima, Meziphima,
Chowuma (Choloma) and Setikima;
Kohima group, including Kohima
and neighboring villages;
Viswema or Dzunokehena group,
to the south of the Kohima group;
b. Eastern Angami:
Kezami group, of which Kezabama
and Kezakenoma are the principal
villages;
Chakroma or Chakrama group, east
and northeast of the Kohima group;
Memi group, comprising 16 villages
on the Kezama borders.
Village Organization
a. Location and :Layout
Angami villages are built on summits
of hills or ridges. Previous to annexation they were
elaborately fortified with huge carved gates. Still re-
maining are pitfalls, deep ditches once filled with panjis,
and tortuous approaches under high banks with masses of
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prickly creepers overhead. Clans, of which there were
formerly two to-eight per village, have residence areas
separated by massive stone walls, which also encircle
some of the Angami villages.
Houses are arranged in irregular
fashion, often facing east. Small gardens are located
near the houses. Stone lookout or sitting platforms
with tiers of seats are located in front of houses or
on wall tops. Stone graves with life-size effigies,
often covered with ornaments and garment of the dead,
are found inside the villages.
Numerous monoliths are found in and
around the Angami villages, erected at gennas when individ-
uals have feasted the community. Such stones are erected
in so-called stone-dragging or stone-pulling ceremonies
by the clans or villages of the persons performing the
gennas. A man who has performed the stone-pulling
ceremony may use wooden shingles instead of thatch on
his house. Gennas confer social status in a series of
steps, in which elaborate rites with special costumes
take place and decoration of the village is involved.
Cenotaphs or memorial stones are also erected.
c. House Type
The front gable of the Angami house
is decorated with symbols of valor and carvings pro-
claiming the wealth, status and accomplishments of the
owner. The eaves nearly touch the ground, and the horned
roof tree is supported by heavy posts. The sides and back
of the house are large hewn boards, those in front being
carved.
The house interior is divided into
three compartments. One contains a hearth and beds of
rough planks. The liquor vat is customarily in a rear
room. There are seldom more than five occupants per house
and children are not numerous.
d. Morungs
The institution of the morung, an
important feature among many of the Naga tribes, is of
little consequence in Angami life, though a house is
occasionally set aside for young men.
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e. Clans
The basic units of Angami village
organization are exogamous clans. For many purposes
each clan is a self-sufficient community, and rivalry
between clans has long been a basic feature of Angami
culture.
Political Organization
Gaonburas appointed by the Deputy Com-
missioner prior to creation of Nagaland supplanted former
chiefs. Since annexation tribal disputes have been
settled by the courts.
Agriculture and Diet
Cultivation of wet rice in irrigated,
terraced fields is a distinctive feature of Angami vil-
lages. Maize, vegetables, cotton, gourds and chilies
are grown in jhums.
The Angami eat meat; of all kinds both
from wild and domesticated animals. Wild plants used as
vegetables include yams, sorrel, nettle tops, bamboo
shoots and various ferns and fungoicls. Tumeric and ginger
are also gathered and grubs, dragonflies and grasshoppers
are eaten. Angami women weave home-grown cotton.
(2) AO NAGAS
The Ao Nagas occupy a portion of the Naga
Hills bounded by the Dikhu River on the southeast, the
plains on the northwest, by Konyak tribal territory on
the east, and by the country of the Sema and Lhota Nagas
on the southwest. Formerly they occupied Sematerritory
up the Wokha-Bhandari bridle path in what is presently
Lhota country. The current population of the Ao is esti-
mated at 50,000
Ao country is pleasant, with unbroken
ranges sloping gently toward moderate streams. Four
parallel ranges dominate the area: (1) the Langbangkong
range on the left bank of the Dikhu; (2) the Asukong to
the northwest, a low and irregular range flanked by small
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rivers; (3) the Changkikong, also to the northwest, named
for the village of Changki located thereon; and (4)
Chapvukong, a low range flanking the plains, named for the
village of Chapvu.
Fertile land is ample and protected from
Assamese immigrants by a heavy forest belt lying between
the foothills and the plains. For some years the Ao have
been on friendly terms with Assamese rulers of the plains
area. In former times, however, they were constantly at
war with the Sema Nagas, their trans-Dikhu neighbors.
Ao country was annexed by the British in
1889 and subdivisional headquarters were established at
Mokokchung.
Village Organization
a. Situation
The great Ao villages are located at
the highest points on the long, straight ranges which are
the conspicuous features of Ao country. The valleys are
uninhabited.
Each village is surrounded by a belt
of bamboo clumps and light jungle, kept thin by wandering
cattle and pigs. The main paths along the tops of the
ranges pass through the villages, and avenues of fine
spear-oaks planted years ago flank the paths. These trees
are not native to the area and are said to have been brought
by the Ao in early migrations from elsewhere. These avenues
belong to the villages, and persons damaging the trees are
fined by the elders.
In former times there were gates at
each end of each village, with hugh doors made of single
planks ornamented with carved circles. Setting up a new
gate was once an occasion for displaying a trophy head,
carried through the gate in triumph. In the peaceful
period of recent years these gates have been allowed to
rot and fall away. Lookout platforms are located beside
the gates, with vines trained over them to conceal the
gate guards.
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A wall of panjis generally surrounds
each village, and while no longer needed for protection
these are annually renewed in some village in festive
ceremonies which take place in November. The young men
work all day on the restoration and then adjourn to beer
parties in the girls' dormitories.
c. Divisions and Layout
Three dialect groups are found among
the Ao: Chongli, Changki and Mongsen. Members of these
three groups live side by side in many villages. In some
cases each occupies a section of the village (termed a
muphu), identifiable by distinctive customs.
Each village is divided into two or
more khels. Between the muphus and khels are open spaces
which serve as fire lanes. The Ao people generally identify
themselves, however, as belonging to a particular morung,
each of which is occupied by one or more clans.
Granaries, which are miniature houses
built on piles two or three feet off the ground, are located
away from the village for fire protection. In an open space
in each khel or village there is a head-tree, formerly hung
with trophy heads.
d. House Type
Village streets are arranged irregularly
and lined with nearly contiguous houses. Rear portions of
the houses are supported on poles.
The social status and achievements
of each house owner can be read precisely from structural
and ornamental features of his house. While details differ
from village to village, those acquainted with local customs
and symbolism can readily tell what feasts of merit the
owner has given and as well as his position in the local
status hierarchy. Normally the front portion of the house
reveals status, each feast of merit entitling the owner to
further extend the eaves to a semi-circular apse supported
in front by a carved post. The way in which the eaves are
projected differs between the Eastern and Western Ao. The
Chonglis build bamboo platforms to signify additional feasts
of merit.
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Additionally, the gable of one's
house should be higher than one's neighbor's to indicate
one is not subservient, and houses on opposite sides of
a street should not face each other directly lest evil
influences be wafted across.
e. Morungs
Ao morungs are large hall-like struc-
tures (typically about 20 by 50 feet), decorated with great
beams carved in the forms of humans and tigers. The roof
projects dramatically in a high peak. The morung is
fenced and guarded, and women are forbidden.
Large drums hollowed from huge logs
and carved with animal figures are housed near the morung.
Such drums (actually xylophones) are reported up to 37
feet long and 14 feet in diameter. They are absent, how-
ever, among the Changki division of the Ao and in the
Mongsen villages of the Chapvukong.
Economy
Land is held by clans, morungs, private
individuals or by each village in common. Most land is
now privately owned. Blocks of land are cultivated col-
lectively by khels or by entire villages. Clearing paths
is likewise a community effort, initiated with ceremonies
and festivities of the sort which generally characterize
agriculture and similar activity among the Ao.
Rice is the staple food. Generally it
is lent rather than sold, the lender thereby gaining status.
In the process rice becomes a commodity, and a one-year
six-basket loan must be repaid with ten baskets. If repay-
ment is delinquent, 20 baskets are due the second year, 40
the third.
Vegetables and cotton are also grown.
Opium was formerly confined to Merangkong and other vil-
lages with high malaria incidence on the outer range.
Social Organization
The village is the political unit of Ao
society, though khels are run as separate organizations.
Control of local affairs is in the hands of a council whose
method of election and tenure of office differ from one
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dialect group to another. There is no institution
corresponding to hereditary chiefta.nship.
Superimposed on these aspects of Ao
social structure is a male age-grade system. Each vil-
lage is divided into age groups to which various communal
duties are assigned. Each three years a new group of boys
in the same three-year age interval enters the morung.
Thereafter an individual retains permanent affiliation
with his age-grade group. Members of younger age grades
(termed the "unripe gang") work as menials for the next
older group. Gradually their duties change until they
become council members. At each step they receive appro-
priate shares of meat at morung feasts. As elders they
become priests and their advice is solicited on all impor-
tant matters.
Assignment and performance of communal
tasks through the age-grade structure is said to operate
with machine-like percision, even in Ao communities with
populations up to 2,000. At the end of each "generation"
all members of khel councils are expected to vacate their
offices and be replaced by a new body, however, and reports
suggest that pitched battles are not uncommon at such times,
office-holders being disinclined to acknowledge the ends
of their tenure.
Religion
Medicine men and women, who employ trances,
occult rites and interpret omens, are called in to deal with
many abnormal conditions and situations. Lycanthropy occurs,
but is not as common as among the Sema Nagas.
Christian influence is said to have devastated
Ao traditions. Christian tribal converts have been for-
bidden to join in tribal storytelling and singing, customs
handed down for many generations. Feasts of merit have been
forbidden, and a traditional mechanism for distributing
wealth and food thereby destroyed. Girls with mission
educations are said to find it difficult to settle down
to village life, thus being the more likely to fall into
loose and idle ways.
(3) CHAKHESANG NAGAS
Chakhesang is the name adopted in 1946 by a
composite Naga group comprised of two Southern Angami groups
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(the Chakru and Khezha), a group of Sangtam people, and
two Rengma villages lying east of Kohima and north of
Manipur. A recent population estimate for the total
Chakhesang group is 31,000.
(4) CHANG NAGAS
Location and Affiliations
The Chang Nagas are sometimes called the
Mozung tribe. They are located across the Dikhu to the
east of the Ao country, and are principally concentrated
at Tuensang. Most other Chang villages are believed to
have been derived from this community. The present popula-
tion of the tribe is estimated at 17,000.
The Chang claim close kinship with the
Yachumi Nagas. One authority has suggested they have
racial affinity with the Singpho.
Clan Divisions and Tribal Organization
The principal clans of the Chang Nagas
are the Chongpo, Ung, Lumao, Kangcho and Kudamji. The
Chongpo clan is subdivided into the Shangdi, Hangwang,
Hagiyung, Ungpong and Maava.
Political structure resembles that of
the Sema in the presence of an all-powerful chief in each
village, but differs in that Chang chiefs do not have the
monopoly on land found among the Sema.
The belt worn by the Chang is distinctive,
being 4 to 6 inches wide and trimmed with cowrie shells
and red dyed dog hair. Tattoo patterns are typically
symmetrical, with leaves or fronds rising from a single
base.
Religious Beliefs
The Chang have a superstitious awe of
tigers and pythons, and it is taboo for a "true" Chang
to touch either. Members of the Chongpo clan are said to
be were-tigers.
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Warfare
Forty years ago the Chang were des-
cribed as among the most warlike of the Naga tribes,
second only to the Sema. In the past they appear to
have invaded Phom, Ao and Konyak territory, and to have
taken over the Ao villages of Hoksam, Longla and Litam.
(5) KACHA NAGAS
Location and Composition
The term Kacha Nagas refers collectively
to several tribes or tribal divisions, principally com-
posed of Zemi, Lyeng (or Lyengma, Liangmi), Kabui and
Maruong people. Reports indicate that these four group
have been closely allied and have acted as a political
unit for some years.
Originally the Kacha Nagas were located
around Mekroma, but subsequent migrations led them across
the Barail Range, mainly in the directions of Tehema and
Khonoma. More recently their reported locations have been
the Naga Hills District, Manipur, and along the Barak
River as far south as the North Cachar Hills.
The Zemi, Lyeng and Maruong are located
inside the former Naga Hills District to the south of the
Angami Nagas, by whom they have been greatly influenced.
The Zemi in particular have long been virtually subject
to the Angami community of Khonoma. Languages of these
Kacha divisions are distinct from the Angami tongue, how-
ever, as well as from each other. Closer alliance between
these Kacha groups and the Kabui of Manipur than with other
Naga tribes is indicated by more advanced development of
dancing and singing among them and greater prominence of
the morung system as a feature of Kacha tribal organization.
Historical Background
The Zemi first appeared in the Barail
Range from the northeast and settled in the mountains south
of the Kachari headquarters at Maibong, where they lived
under Kachari rule for many years. With the fall of the
Kachari Kingdom in the 16th century, the warlike Angami
raided Zemi country and exacted tribute. Weaker Zemi vil-
lages in the north and east moved westward, passing through
the already crowded Barail Range and later colonizing the
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rolling hills beyond the Diyung Valley. Control was
disputed between Kachari and Manipuri rulers, but the
hill people acknowledged the authority of neither.
The British and waves of Kuki immigrants
arrived simultaneously in the 19th century, the latter
colonizing in Zemi territory and other areas in the hills
and lowlands. Intense rivalry for possession of land
developed. In 1918 the Kuki people rebelled against
the British. In 1928 the Kabui, Zemi and Lyeng members
of the Kacha Naga, who had many grudges against the Kuki,
planned a full-scale massacre of them, but were prevented
by the British. In 1931 the Kuki aided the British in
subduing the Kacha.
For some generation there had been a
local prophecy that a Naga king would arise one day,
drive out the British and establish rule over "all who
eat from the wooden platter" (i.e., the Naga tribes). In
1929, a Zemi tribesman from Kambiron named Jadonang pro-
claimed himself this Messiah. His ideas combined elements
of Christianity, Hinduism and Zemi priestcraft. Eventually
his followers resorted to human sacrifice and he was hanged
by the British. Jadonang's chief priestess and disciple,
a sixteen year old Kabui girl, survived, however, and
established herself as a goddess. Amassing enormous
tribute and securing allegiance of all of the Kacha Nagas,
she proclaimed ?a Naga Kingdom in 1931 and planned a massacre
of the Kuki. The Kuki aided the British in subduing the
Kacha and the girl was jailed for 14 years (at direction
of J. P. Mill, Naga authority who was then Deputy Com-
missioner at Kohima). Since that date, however, the Kacha
Naga movement for Naga independence has continued in
various forms.
(6) KALYO-KENGYU NAGAS
The Kalyo-Kengyu overlap the India-Burma
border. They are distributed from the Ti-Ho, a tributary
of the Chindwin, to the Patkai Range, occupying territory
east of the Chang, Yachung and Sangtam Nagas. The tribe
extends south as far as the Somra tract in Burma, and
includes the village of Makware, burned in 1911 by a
British punitive expedition. Nieme and Karami are also
Kalyo-Kengyu villages.
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The Kalyo-Kengyu Nagas are referred
to as the Bosorr by the Sema people, Aaoshed by the Chang,
and Para by the Burmese,
Distinguishing Features
The name Kalyo-Kengyu means
"men
who live
in stone houses," their dwellings typically having
roofs. Formerly the Kalyo-Kengyu were well known
metalsmiths, producing fine spear heads and daos.
slate
as
The
typical costume is reported to include
red cane helmets and
leggings, with handwoven chaddars or
shawls of indigo dyed
cloth decorated with squares embroidered
in red dyed dog hair.
In the past the Kalyo-Kengyu manufac-
tured ornaments, cane
helments, gauntlets and leggings for
surrounding tribes.
The Kalyo-Kengyu occupy territory which
is virtually unadministered and unsurveyed. Current infor-
mation is meager and no definitive study of the tribe has
been made.
(7) KONYAK NAGAS
The Konyak tribe, with an estimated popula-
tion of 63,000, appears to be the largest of the main Naga
groups, though current information on them is meager. They
are situated to the northeast of the Ao and Chang Nagas in
the areas between the Dikhu and Disang Rivers, to the north
of the Patkai Range, and south along the Patkai Range to
the east of the territories occupied by the Phom and Chang
tribes.
The people known as the Eastern Konyaks
occupy the Tamlu region and the area northeast of the Dikhu,
and extend along the borders of Sibsager and the Lakhimpur
districts to the Patkais, east of the Phom and the Chang.
The Konyak are reported to have two main
divisions, that known as the Shamnyuyungmang being the more
democratic, the other being ruled by autocratic chiefs.
Until recently the Konyak were among the
tribes known as Naked Nagas. The men wore tight belts of
cane or the bark of the agar tree which reduced their
waists to small size. The hair was worn in a long tail
wound in a knot at the back of the head and held with a
pin of wood or bone.
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Architecture of the Konyak morung is
distinctive, featuring poles projecting through a
straw-thatched roof and great posts carved with figures
of men, tigers, snakes and monkeys.
(8) LHOTA NAGAS
The Lhota Nagas occupy the scenic
drainage area of the middle and lower Dayang River and
its tributaries, down to the point where it enters the
plains. The Dayang, unfordable most of the year,
divides the tribe into two sections. Lhota on the left
bank are known as the Ndrung, those on the right bank
as the Liye.
Noteworthy climatic extremes are re-
presented in Lhota territory, ranging from frost zones
in the high spurs of Wokha Hill to the unbearable heat
radiated from the sandstone in the malaria-ridden
foothills bordering the plains.
The current estimated population of
the Lhota is 23,500.
Historical Background
The main body of the Lhota Nagas may
have a southern origin in common with the Sangtams,
perhaps in the Chindwin valley of Burma.
Many Lhota villages hold grants of
land in the plains, originally given by the Ahom Rajas
with the understanding that the Lhota would not take
Ahom heads. There is no record of fighting between the
Lhota and Assamese since the 17th century.
In 1875, a Captain Butler, in charge
of a survey party, was ambushed and killed by tribesmen
of the village of Pangti. The Lakhuti villagers, who
were settling an old score with the Pangtis, their
traditional enemies, had deceived them into this
treachery, assuring them they would join the attack. As
a result, Pangti was burned by the British, and in
1878 a stockade was established at Wokha and all Ndrung
villages of the Lhota were annexed. The remaining Lhota
settlements were annexed in 1889.
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Warfare between Lhota villages has
been rare, and intra-tribal head hunting is against
ancient Lhota law. During the northward migration
of the Lhota there was considerable conflict with the
Ao Nagas, however, who once held a greater part of
what is now Lhota country north of the present bridle
path from Wokha to the plains. During these conflicts
entire Ao villages were expelled, and today the Ao are
still referred to as uri ("enemy") by the Lhota.
General Characteristics
Lhota temperament is generally described
as reserved. In common with most Nagas, they believe
that illness or misfortune will fall on one who is
laughed at or is the object of derision.
Standards of morality differ from
village to village. Unlike Ao and Sema husbands who
openly boast of philandering and immorality, Lhota men
are said to be relatively faithful.
In attitudes toward parents the Lhota
stand midway between the Konyak, who consider it a
chief duty to live with and support their parents, and
the Ao, who may turn them out to die in a hut lest their
dying contaminate the house.
One notewrothy respect in which the
Lhota differed from other Naga tribes as of two genera-
tions ago was their readiness to commit suicide for
seemingly trivial reasons. Examples reported as typi-
cal include a man who hanged himself because he owed
a small village fine. Joint suicides by poison,
resulting from frustrated love affairs, were said to be
the most common form.
Village Organization
a. Situation and Layout
With the exception of villages situated
on spurs running down from the great; peak of Wokha Hill,
Lhota communities are built atop ridges, usually near
springs. Typically there is a main entrance to the village
at either end, with smaller paths leading down to fields
from the sides of the village.
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Permanent narrow paths following
the topmost crests of the ranges connect the villages.
These can be negotiated by men walking single file. Where
the rock is soft sandstone, as near Tsori, extremely steep
ascents are made by toe-holds cut.in the rock. Small
streams and ditches are bridged with large trees or stout
poles laid in parallel fashion. Cane bridges are constructed
across wider streams such as the Chebi. Young trees are
planted near those which serve as bridgeheads to provide
substitutes if the latter are washed away.
Lhota villages range in size from a
dozen to 350 houses or more. The village consists of one
long street with houses facing inward on each side. In
the middle of the street are graves and genna stones, the
latter opposite the houses of their owners. The main
bachelors' residence (called a champo in Lhota villages
rather than morung) usually stands at the end of the vil-
lage facing down the street.
b. Khel Divisions
All Lhota villages except the smallest
are divided into khels, the separations often indicated by
strips of open land. In some instances a single khel is
occupied by a single clan, but often the Lhota khels are
merely convenient divisions of the community, each containing
members of various clans. Normally an individual remains in
the khel of his birth, though he may move if he desires.
There is often one champo in each khel.
Work teams are composed of children of neighbors from the
same khel. Boys and girls work together, and may be hired
for the day by anyone needing help in return for a small
wage and a mid-day meal.
c. Land Tenure
Public lands and unused areas near
the village, together with rights to poison certain water
for fish, are held in common by the community. In addition,
every champo controls land of its own worked by boys of the
champo. A large portion of Lhota land is held and worked in
common by clan members.
d. House Type
Lhota houses vary from poor hovels
owned by widows to those of rich men which may have dimensions
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of 18 by 30 feet or more. The front is usually semi-
circular with a sloping ridge. Typical features are
eathen floors, sitting platforms, storerooms, and separate
quarters for each wife. Wealthy men may have three wives,
each with her own hearth and sleeping cubicle.
Furniture includes large pounding
tables, log liquor vats and plank beds.
House building is elaborately ritualized
among the Lhota. A dreamer (hahang), of which there are said
to be three in each village, is consulted on various aspects
of construction. If the owner has undergone the ceremony
of dragging a stone, for example, the bamboo on the platform
is laid a certain way. Evil spirits are expelled from the
new dwelling and opening ceremonies are held.
e. The Champo
The Lhota champo,generally comparable
to the morung among other Naga tribes, is the sleeping place
for all males from the time they don dao-holders until
marriage. Only those who remain at home to care for an
ailing or widowed mother are exempt. The champo is for-
bidden to women.
The champo building may be some 15 by
40 feet, and usually has a handsome curving roof-tree, low
at the back with bamboo horns at each beam projection.
Ornamental reed tassels hang at each end, where the eaves
nearly touch the ground. Inner posts, and the front post
in the middle of the facade, are carved with representations
of mithuns and hornbills. At the base of the front post are
stones on which the good fortune of the champo is thought to
rest.
Fires are made in hearths of pounded-
earth. Bamboo partitions enclose sleeping benches of rough-
hewn planks. The champo is usually rebuilt every nine years,
the occasion being a village festival.
Technology
The Lhota make their own pottery, but
blacksmithing is considered unlucky and metal implements
are supplied by the Rengma Nagas. The Lhota are expert
carvers and basketmakers, and weaving is down by the women.
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Sociopolitical Organization
Lhota villages usually operate as un-
divided wholes, but where khels are large the leaders of
each khel may manage local affairs.
The villages are managed by informal
councils (pangis) of male elders (sotsoi, or "meat-eaters")
and men of influence. Government administration is accomp-
lished through government-selected headmen. Formerly the
Lhota had hereditary chiefs, descended from village founders.
Religion, Magic and Superstition
A Lhota man's wealth and social status
are known by the number of gennas he has performed. Stone-
dragging is one such ceremony which brings status. The full
series is twenty-five, a feat few attain, and the first
genna is at the dragging of one stone.
The genna is a public feast given for
the whole village. Men of the village, some in full dancing
dress, go for the stone, which may be several miles from the
village, and make a bamboo frame on which the stone is
lashed with vines and creepers. The stone is then taken up
and carried to the front of the sponsor's house, where it
is installed with elaborate rites. Each genna entitles a
man to wear clothing of a particular sort, woven by his
womenfolk.
b. Head-Trees
A large tree, generally of the fiscus
family, is situated on a mound in the middle of each Lhota
village. Sacred stones surround the roots. A fence is
placed around the tree whenever a genna is performed. For-
merly heads of enemies were placed on long bamboo poles and
propped in the branches of such trees. In some villages
these trees are regarded as too sacred to be photographed.
c. Miscellaneous Beliefs
Small water-worn pebbles are thought
to have magical properties and are placed in granaries and
under house posts. Love potions are used in Lhota villages
near the plains. Dreams and ghosts play important parts in
the daily life of the Lhota people.
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d. Missionary Influence
As early as the World War I period
observers of Lhota culture noted that the tribe was losing
many of its traditional distinctive features and was in
danger of disorganization and decline due to the combined
influences of American Baptist missionary work and the
encroachment of Hindu culture from the neighboring Assamese
and Nepali settlers on the plains. Hindu influence was
more pronounced in the south. Baptist influence emanated
from Impur in the Ao country, where, by the period indicated,
American missionaries had already destroyed traditional
stone religious monuments and grossly altered much of tribal
culture.
(9) PHOM NAGAS
The estimated current population of Phom Nagas,
neighbors of the Konyak, is 13,000? The tribe appears con-
fined to four villages: Hukpang, Pongching, Ourangkong and
Mongnyu.
The Phom people have close cultural ties with
the Chang Nagas. Men of the Phom tribe are indistinguishable
from the Chang in dress and similar in tattooing. Phom
women have tattoos on the legs but not the face, and wear
beads which differ from those of the Chang.
(10) RENGMA NAGAS
Until comparatively recent times the Rengma
and Lhota peoples were one tribe, unified by joint migra-
tion. Today they retain many cultural parallels but are
separate tribes, the Lhota living to the north of the Rengma.
The majority of the Rengma proper occupy a small triangle
north of the Angami country.
With a current estimated population of
5,000 the Rengma are the smallest of the main Naga tribes.
There are two principal divisions. The larger concentration
is the Western Rengma, who inhabit spurs of the long ridge
running northeast from Nidzukru Hill to Wokha Hill. Around
1830 a portion of this Western Rengma group migrated to the
Mikir Hills, where they are now distributed in several dozen
villages which in 1937 totalled roughly 700 households.
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The other main division of the tribe is
the Eastern Rengma, who are among the people known as
Naked Nagas. This group separated from the Northern (Ntenyi)
section of the Western Rengma many generations ago, and
has since lived in three communities isolated by impenetrable
mountains and hostile Naga neighbors.
Western Rengma
a. Sections and Villages
The Western Rengma are in turn divided
into two sections. These speak different languages and
differ considerably in customs. They occupy 12 villages,
all except Chosinyu being on spurs of Therugu Hill. These
Western Rengma villages are:
Northern Section (Ntenyi):
Kotsenyu (Kontsenyu)
Kotsenishinyu
Kitagha
Tesophenvu (half of village)
Southern Section (Nzong):
Tesophenvu (half of village)
Tseminyu
Phesinyu (Phensinyu)
Sentenyu
Chosinyu
Tsokonyu
Therugunyu
Thegwepegedenyu (Thegwepekenyu)
Nishinyu
There are six exogamous clans among
the Western Rengma, their multiplicity resulting from migra-
tion and subdivision.
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b. General Characteristics
The Rengma are characterized as full
of contradictions, being dour but often wildly excitable,
brave yet liable to panic, inhospitable to strangers but
firm friends. They are said to be addicted to squabbling,
argument and wild quarreling, and to develop bitter hatred
despite capacity for warm friendship. In sexual patterns
some groups are extremely strict, others far more liberal.
The Rengma are also described as sensi-
tive and high strung; an angry word one day may bring tears
of remorse the next morning. They are an extremely super-
stitious people, believing in black magic, magical powers
and. the existence of were-tigers.
c. Intervillage Feuding
Feuding between villages was formerly
common. For many years Government orders prohibited men
from visiting between villages because of the risk of attacks
on small parties. Hatred between villages of Tseminyu and
Tesophenyu was particularly pronounced.
d. Village Organization
Location and Layout
Villages of the Western Rengma
are located on a flat-topped spur with steep slopes at each
side. Formerly they were fortified with carved wooden gates,
ornamented with carvings of human heads. The gates have
decayed, but thorny creepers planted over panjis remain.
Shade oak trees line the steep paths down to the fields.
Every village is divided into khels,
some of which are named after clans, There is generally one
morung for each khel, though occasionally more if the khel
is wealthy. Usually one clan predominates in each khel.
Christians have separated from non-Christians in some cases.
The separate Baptist khel at Tzeminyu is conspicuous, since
its buildings have corrugated iron roofs which offend local
taste, reflect light and hold the heat.
House Type
Houses are built of bamboo, wooden
posts and thatch, and are situated in short lines. They
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are about 16 feet wide at the rear, and are semicircular
in front with a width of 20 to 24 feet. In villages in
cool locations there is a partition half way across to
conserve heat from the hearth. In warmer locations the
house is open for air circulation.
A pounding table, an extra hearth
and guest beds are in an outer room behind the verandah.
Granaries are separate. The number of feasts of merit
which the man of the house has given is indicated by the
shape and ornamentation of the house front. Projecting
eaves, extended verandah and house horns indicate the number
and grade of mithun sacrifices made by the house.
Morungs
The morungs are the most ornate
buildings in Rengma villages, being elaborately carved and
decorated., Their dimensions average some 12 by 50 feet.
Boys enter the morung around the
age of seven. Aside from functions in training, the morung
is also a sanctuary. No criminal or fugitive can be
apprehended and no one can be struck or abused therein.
Members of the khel protect the morung and its traditions.
Stealing and other crimes are taboo inside the morung.
No woman has ever been known to
enter a men's morung. Girls' dormitories are in the front
rooms of several large houses in each khel, and males are
likewise barred from these. Girls also enter at the age of
seven.
A tree for the hanging of trophy
heads is found in all villages of the Western Rengma. It
is said to be invariably a fiscus tree with sacred stones
placed beneath.
e. Economy
Land is held by clans or individuals.
There are blocks of common land for jhumming and firewood
collection.
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f. Village Government
Before annexation by the British,
the Rengma had hereditary clan chiefs. Since the loss of
this autocratic structure no alternative form of govern-
ment has evolved and village problems have come to the
courts or locally appointed officials.
g. Religion
Religious power is in the hands of
priests whose chief duty is to announce genna days.
Customs and traditions of the Western
Rengma have been profoundly affected by American Baptist
missionary work. While current data are unavailable, in
the period of the early 1940's the older men of the tribe
were said to be extremely opposed to missionary influence,
but helpless in countering the new teachings. Baptist
innovations included banning feasts of merit and prohibiting
use of the morungs.
Eastern Rengma
The Eastern Rengma call themselves Anyo.
They are mainly confined to three villages on the eastern
(Burmese) side of the Barail watershed: Meluri (Melomi),
Sahunya (Sohemi) and Lephori (Lapvomi), of which Meluri is
the largest. All are located in the Tizu River valley not
far from its junction with the Tiho, a main tributary of
the Chindwin. The nearby village of Temimi has a mixed
population of Eastern Rengma and Sangtam people.
Although the Eastern Rengma villages
are located only about 20 miles from the main body of the
tribe, their isolation for many generations has produced
marked cultural differences. Sema and Angami people, plus
the high range which forms the watershed between Assam and
Burma, have kept them apart. Other tribes neighboring the
Eastern Rengma are the Tangkhul to the south, the Southern
Sangtam to the north and east, and the Eastern Angami on
the west.
b. Clothing and Adornment
Until recently the Eastern Rengma were
among the groups known as Naked Nagas. Ceremonial clothing
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was worn, however, indicating the number of feasts of merit
the individual had given, the number of heads taken, and
the like. The right to wear certain ornaments was also
acquired by the taking of heads.
Ornaments used throughout the Rengma
region are made by the Kalyo-Kengyu tribe, who also make
cane gauntlets, leggings and tall red cane hats, ornamented
with horns and crests of red goat's hair, which are used in
dances.
c. Village Organization
Layout
Villages of the Eastern Rengma
are surrounded by broad belts of carefully fenced garden
land, usually planted to garlic and a few vegetables. Nar-
row paths connect with granaries beyond. Houses are nearly
contiguous and are built in long lines on rough stone abut-
ments which provide level construction sites.
Division of the villages into khels
is comparable to the Western Rengma. Meluri has four khels;
the other Eastern Rengma villages have three each.
Morungs
Morungs are similar to those of
the Western Rengma, differing somewhat in architectural
detail, generally in the direction of more elaborate carving
and decoration.
House Type
The Eastern Rengma house design
differs slightly from that of the Western Rengma, being
semicircular in back with a rear door for exit during raids.
Floors are earth. The hearth is in the inner room. A
pounding block made from the trunk of a large tree is usually
at the front. Beds are hewn from single logs and stand on
high legs.
The Eastern Rengma depend upon irrigated
terracing for rice cultivation, and use jhums only for millet,
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maize, vegetables and cotton. The gentle slopes of the
Tizu are well suited to terracing, and this art has been
learned from the neighboring Angami. people. Channels carry
water from small streams which fall. into the Tizu.
(11) SANGTAM NAGAS
The current estimated population of the Sangtam
Nagas is 20,700. At one time this tribe extended down the
eastern border of the territory occupied by the Ao and Sema
Nagas, from the Chang country to that of the Tangkhul and
Eastern Rengma peoples. The Sema country has now been
separated into two divisions by the northward movement of
the Semas and the western shift of the Yachumi villages.
The Sangtam Nagas now consist of three main
1. Lophomi, or Northern Sangtam
2. Tukomi, or Central Sangtam
3. Southern Sangtam
The Southern Sangtam villages include Primi,
Photsimi and Phozami. Thachumi and Thomami are also apparently
occupied by the Southern Sangtam. These villages adjoin the
Eastern Rengma. The village of Temimi is occupied jointly
by Southern Sangtam and Eastern Rengma. Otherwise little
is known about the Southern Sangtam group.
The Tukomi Sangtam once extended west to the
Tizu Valley but have now mixed with Sema Nagas moving east-
ward. The Semas have quickly gained control of Sangtam
villages which they have penetrated.
The Lophomi group are said to resemble the Ao
Nagas but to dress like the Chang.
(12) SEMA NAGAS
Location
The Sema Nagas are located northeast of the
Angami country and number approximately 48,000. In broad
terms they occupy the watershed area dividing Assam from
Burma. In former times the Sema were said to have exacted
taxes on all products being carried through their villages
to or from the Burma border.
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Reports earlier in the century indicate
that the Sema are mainly distributed in the valleys of
three large rivers and in the mountain ranges and plateaus
which separate these. Most westerly of the three is the
Dayang River, which rises at Japvo in the Angami country,
flows north into the Sema area, then turns west and south
and emerges from the hills through the territory of the
Lhota Nagas. Thereafter it joins the Dhansiri, and
eventually the Brahmaputra. The Dayang is referred to by
the Semas as the Tapu.
The two other main rivers of the Sema
country are the Tizu (or Tuzu) and the Tita (or Tutsa),
which rise in the north and northeast of the area and flow
south into the Lanier, reaching the sea via the Ti-Ho, the
Chindwin and the Irrawaddy.
Formerly the Tizu was the boundary of
British territory, dividing the Sema into two sections.
Those under British administration lived in "enforced
peace." The independent group expanded eastward as their
population increased, and thereby escaped the perpetual
scarcity which developed from an unfavorable land-popula-
tion ratio in the Sema area under British control.
The Tita comprises the eastern border of
Sema territory but as in the case of the Dayang there are
a few Sema villages beyond it. These are said to be
steadily moving east toward the Ti-Ho, and at present the
trans-Tita Sema population may be substantial.
On the south the Sema are bordered by the
Angami Nagas, and on the west by the Rengma and Lhota
people. The Ao and Lophomi Sangtam are on the north, the
Yachumi and Tukomi Sangtam to the east. On the northeast
the Sema adjoin the Chang, and on the southeast the Eastern
Rengma.
Sema tribesmen of villages in the cooler
highland zones of the eastern portion of Sema territory
are referred to as Azhomi ("cold-place men"). Those from
the hoter lowland villages to the west are known as Ghabomi
("hot-place men").
Affiliations With Other Tribes
The Sema are related to the Chekrama
Angami in that a large number of the latter are of Sema
origin. Both the Sema and Chekrama languages are spoken
in such villages.
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Sema people of Lazemi and some of the
villages in the Dayang Valley have had considerable ad-
mixture with the Tengima Angami, and in some cases with
the Rengma. Their language and customs have been con-
siderably influenced in the course of these contacts,
distinguishing them from the bulk of Sema peoples.
Among the Northern Sema there is con-
siderable admixture with the Sangtam and Ao Nagas, and to
the east with the Tukomi Sangtam. Chang-Yachumi-Sema
admixtures are noted in the northeast of the Sema area.
In general Sema language and culture
predominate in villages displaying ethnic mixing. Only
in a few mixed villages in the Chekrama border have the
Sema adopted customs and speech of other tribes.
Migrations
In common with the Angami and Lhota Nagas,
local lore places the origin of the Sema at the Kezakenoma
Stone, though other accounts suggest the tribe originated
in the vicinity of Japvo (Tukahu). Northward movement of
the Sema, spreading fan-wise up the Dayang Valley, has
been checked on the west by the Rengma and the Lhota,
who were themselves attempting to move east. The Dayang
River thus became a natural barrier between the tribes,
though the Sema did establish themselves on the west bank
of the Dayang, thus separating the Western and Eastern
Rengma.
In quite recent times, the Sema have divided
the Sangtam tribe by pushing a wedge eastward to meet the
Yachumi.
Ao Naga people who occupied the south as
fair as the Kileki stream were easily expelled by the Sema
until the Government annexed the country and saved the Ao
from being driven north and west of Mokokchung. The Sema
could not take Nankam. They nearly penetrated Longsa, but
were prevented by military police at the Wokha outpost.
Ungma, also protected, remained free except on the side
bordering the Sema. In contrast with Ao villages with stable
populations and adequate land, the Sema are said to endure
perennial scarcity.
After the Sema were barred from migration
to the north and west they continued east at the expense of
the Sangtam and Yachumi tribes. Many Tukomi Sangtam in the
south were absorbed or driven east in the process.
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General Characteristics
The Sema people are said to be generous
and hospitable, but fatalistic and frequently improvident.
They are characterized as impulsive, generally cheerful,
and seldom depressed for long periods. They are also des-
cribed as plucky and daring, capable of great endurance,
and savage on provocation.
Allegiance to the tribe rather than the
village is stronger among the Sema than other Naga tribes.
It is also reported that due to traditional obedience to
chiefs the Sema accept discipline and order more readily
than their neighbors. While there have been no extensive
studies of the Sema since Hutton's key work in 1921, it is
believed that Sema culture has been slow to change and that
rule by autocratic hereditary chiefs persists today, at
least in more remote areas.
Clothing and Adornment
Except in villages in the south of the
Dayang Valley, all Sema cut their hair short in a cleanly
shaven line an inch or two above the ear. Girls are shaven
until around the age of 12, after which a knot of hair is
grown and tied at the back. Wigs of human hair, bound to
cane frames, are worn by elders and bald males.
A small apron or loin cloth is worn by
the men. Women wear a narrow skirt reaching above the
knee. Both wear shawls decorated with cowries.
Weapons
Except for the Eastern Rengma, the Sema
were formerly considered the most primitive of the Naga
tribes. Iron weapons have been introduced among them only
recently, before which cross-bows and daos were their only
arms.
Village Organization
a. Location and Layout
Sema villages are usually located
either on the summits of hills on shoulders of spurs below
ridges. They are approached across open jhums. Houses are
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scattered in open spaces to prevent fires and promote
better sanitation. Small rows of raised huts near the
houses serve as granaries.
Bamboo plantations surround the vil-
lages. Graves are located near the houses, and ornaments
belonging to the deceased, together with heads of game,
cattle and mithuns he has slaughtered, are hung above them.
It is said to be customary for the
eldest son of a Sema chief to take a, colony from his father's
village and found a new village at a, convenient distance,
the son's authority in the new community being permanent.
b. House Types
Serra houses contain three or four rooms,
with one narrow room in each house for unmarried girls. The
hearth is in the main room. A liquor room where beer is
brewed in hollow log vats is in the rear. Beds are single
slabs of hewn wood some two feet off the ground. Walls of
the front room and the outside gable are hung with animal
heads and the like.
Houses of chiefs and wealthy men are
surrounded by massive, carved forked posts to which mithuns
are tied for slaughter. A simple platform in front of the
house is used for receiving guests. The chief's house
serves as a morung, bachelors sleeping in an outer room
on the large wooden table (dhan) used for pounding rice.
The gables and center posts of such houses are elaborately
carved.
Sociopolitical Organization
a. Patterns and Implications of Land Tenure
Land in Sema communities cannot be sold.
If it belongs to an individual rather than to the village or
a clan, it is transmitted through a complicated system of
inheritance.
Villagers are bound to the village
chief through ties of land tenure and have been likened to
medieval churls. The chief not only provides land for the
villagers, but secures wives for those too poor to pay a
bride price. He is also expected to feed the indigent and
pay fines for misdemeanors committed in or against other
villages.
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The villagers in turn pays homage to
the chief, referring to him as "father" and being referred to
by him as "orphan." They are obligated to aid the chief
in war and regularly supply a stipulated amount of labor.
The villager is also required to remain in the village of
his chief, and the property of deserters is confiscated.
The system produces a quasi-kinship relationship.
The village is an organized community
under control of the chief. He directs the village and
consults with elders nominated by him in matters involving
disputes or inter-village relations.
The chief also determines which land
will be cultivated each year. He gives warning of gennas,
involving taboos upon the village, and is the actual head
of religious ceremonies, although priests (awou) perform
the rites.
The village is named after the chief
and the name is often changed with each new chief, though
sometimes the name of a founder is retained.
One of the elders aids the chief in
management of public affairs, serving as village herald
and running errands to other villages.
c. Clan Organization
There are 22 clans among the Sema,
clan affiliation permeating most aspects of social and
personal life. Clan membership determines whom an individual
may marry, what foods he may eat, and who his friends and
enemies are.
Fighting between the Sema clans has
been noted in the past. The Yeopthomi and Zumomi clans of
the Tizu Valley were once at war, for example. Certain
clans dominate particular areas of Sem'a territory.
Despite the individual's involvement
with clanship, this attachment is said to be overshadowed
by allegiance to his village.
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d. Labor Gangs
Labor gangs, sometimes organized on
a clan basis, are the basic work units in Sema villages.
Generally they include (1) married women and widows, or
(2) unmarried persons of both sexes. After marriage women
therefore work alone with women and men alone with men.
Labor gangs elect their own commanders
and. may eject members for cause. They work in long lines,
singing songs paced to each phase of the task, often with
magical powers to drive away malignant spirits.
Religion
All Naga tribes believe that men and tigers
are intimately associated in their ultimate ancestry. The
two are regarded as brothers. In some tribes entire clans
have particular associations with tigers.
The Sema tribesman believes that his soul
can be projected into a particular animal, with which his
body becomes associated. Thus a particular tiger or leopard
thought to be the recipient of a human soul may be identified
in some particular way.
Possession can come about through eating
particular food or sleeping near a man who is possessed.
The human soul enters the animal during sleep and returns
to the human by day. The individual who is possessed is
lethargic and suffers such symptoms as swelling in the knees
and. elbows or pain the the small of the back. Women who
become possessed are said to be more dangerous than men.
Many Sema claim to be possessed and to be-
come were-tigers or were-leopards. Maximum vulnerability
to such possession is said to occur between the culmination
of one lunar cycle and the rising of the new moon. Chiefs
and. many important personages among the Sema claim to be
were-tigers.
Psychological implications of lycanthropy
and associated beliefs are important. Phenomena associated
with ability to project the soul cause illness, and numerous
reports by government observers describe cases of sudden
death without apparent physical cause where such beliefs
and practices have been involved. Murromi, a trans-frontier
village in unsurveyed territory, is said to be inhabited
by were-tigers.
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(13) YACHUMI NAGAS
The Yachumi are located at the head of the
Tita Valley bordering the Chang Nagas, with the Sema on
the west and the Sangtam on two other sides. The Sema
people dominate the Yachumi villages closest to them,
and are reported to extract tribute from them.
(14) ZEMI NAGAS
Location and Historical Background
By geographical accident many tribesmen
of the Zemi Nagas are located in North Cachar, a division
made part of the Silchar District due to its proximity.
British civil officers in Silchar received no training in
handling Naga problems, however. The Zemi, pushed off
their original lands by Angami Nagas and Kuki immigrants,
appealed to the Government for larger tracts. Not under-
standing the cycle of jhum cultivation, in which land is
often left fallow for a number of years, the Silchar govern-
ment considered Zemi demands unreasonable, and all lands
not under active cultivation were given to the Kuki. In-
cluded were the lands of the Impoi and Gareolowa groups.
The result was bitter hostility between the Zemi and Kuki
tribes.
The solution attempted by the government
was introduction of the Angami method of wet rice cultiva-
tion, but this failed to support the Zemi. Through the
years (notably 1920, 1942, 1963) severe famines have been
reported in the North Cachar area, and many Zemi have become
day-laborers for the Kachari and Kuki people in order to
survive.
A large number of Zemi have been pushed
into the western plateau across the Barail Range by the
hostile Angami Nagas. Those who remain in proximity to the
Angami have long been subject to rule by the Angami village
of Khonoma. A few Zemi remained in villages around Haflong
and on the plains beyond, but the majority now live beyond
the Diyung Valley and in the Barail Range.
The Mikir people, who live in the thick
forests of the Mikir Hills to the north of the Zemi, are
the most numerous of the tribal groups in the vicinity of
Zemi territory.
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Current data on the Zemi Nagas are meager.
Principal sources are the study by Soppitt (1885) and two
popular accounts by Bower (based on 1940 field work).
Principal Villages
As of 1940 the principal Zemi villages
were Laisong, Hangrum, Guilong, Maibong, Jenam Prazoa,
Herneolowa, Bopungwemi, Bolosan, Impoi, Asalu and Khangnam.
Current population estimates are unavailable.
Zemi villages are generally surrounded
by thick belts of carefully preserved woodland. Build-
ings tend to be large, with carved doors and peaks
projecting over verandahs.
Clothing and Adornment
Zemi costumes, noteworthy for fine
weaving, include splendid capes and kilt-like garments
with intricate patterns. Breastbands are worn by
young spear-carrying warriors for festivals as well
as warfare. Enormous delicate feather headdresses are
found. Long pendants of yarn and beads are worn as
overskirts, and heavy beads are worn by both sexes.
Economy and Technology
The staple crop among the Zemi is
rice. Millet, maize and vegetables are grown as
supplements. 1940 reports indicate that Zemi people
of the Haflong area were addicted to opium. Later
data are unavailable.
Heavy work is done by the men. Women's
work includes spinning, weaving, cooking, pounding
rice and brewing rice beer, crop sowing, weeding,
reaping, carrying wood and water, and the like. Eco-
nomic importance of women's work in Zemi division of
labor therefore condemns a single man to relative
poverty.
Morung System
Formerly each Zemi village had at
least two morungs, some three or four. Girls' dormi-
tories were allied with those for men, and Zemi
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notions of decency forbade the young from remaining
with their parents at night.
Members of each morung in effect com-
prised a club, and were collectively referred to as a
kienga. Children were enrolled in kiengas at birth
and actually took up residence with the group and
began to receive discipline and instruction in the
morungs at seven or eight. Within the kienga small
boys worked for the morung and later joined labor
groups performing field work, guard duty, or the like.
Girls worked at home during the day, using the
dormitories only at night. Boys returned home only
if seriously ill.
The morungs functioned as corporate
bodies, selling wood and rice, clearing paths, organi-
zing outings and festivals, carving new water troughs
and the like, as well as working the fields collectively.
Between the time a youth assumed
tribal dress and the time he established his own home
at marriage, he was excused from all field work save
that of his own choosing, the work being carried on by
younger boys and older men. During this period he
gossipped and drank beer, played music, made baskets,
arrayed himself in tribal finery, and spend the night
with partners of his choice in the girls` dormitories.
Zemi love of dancing, music and pleasure was reflected
in the license allowed young men, since it was considered
that marriage soon brought family cares and a hard life.
During the same period girls were instructed at home
in domestic duties during the day, and at night experi-
mented with various suitors before selecting a hus-
band.
After marriage the morung served as a
clubhouse and center of social, economic and political
activities. Blacksmithing was done at the morung, and
drums, torches, spears, trophies and the like were
kept there. Visitors were also received at the morung.
Clan Organization and Political Control
Formerly elders controlled village
affairs through the morung system, which also provided
a structure for operation of public utilities.
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The economic position of women in
former years was said to give them more authority
than men, though they rarely appeared in public affairs.
One occasion is reported where women of a Zemi village
armed themselves with clubs and broke up a local riot
which they viewed as destructive.
Originally the Zemi were divided into
two exogamous clans. A leader was selected from each
clan, together with a lieutenant (generally the leader's
relative by marriage) from the other clan. These leaders
or headmen (kadepeo) controlled all lands in sites selected
for settlement. In practice such control tended to become
hereditary, and outsiders have seldom if ever risen to
leadership in Zemi villages.
With the advent of British administration
Zemi headmen were given red blankets ("government blankets,"
still seen among the Nagas) as honorary symbols of office.
Under each village kadepo was a council of elders, which
served as a judicial body as well as representing community
opinion. Only inter-village disputes which resulted in
warfare were taken to government magistrates. Judgements
by village courts were irrevocable, and disputing parties
were compelled to accept their decisions or leave the
village. All cases were heard in public and weighed by
tribal law. Banishment was a common punishment for serious
offenses.
In all, village political machinery con-
sisted of the junior and senior headmen, plus eight officials
(four secular, four religious) chosen by the community.
Religion
Two priests, apparently junior and senior
in rank, were formerly in charge of public sacrifices and
religious life in each Zemi village. Their duties included
the keeping of lunar calendars and setting the dates of
gennas. An assistant serving as town crier proclaimed the
arrangements made by the priests for ceremonies, festivals
and the like.
Christian influence has included outlawing
of the morung and prohibition of participation in its
ceremonies. Drinking of rice beer, a staple in the Naga
diet, was also barred. Sources report that tribal organiza-
tion, discipline and control have been "grievously affected"
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by such influence. Most Zemi villages are now split into
Christian and pagan groups, sometimes (as in other Naga
tribes) the two being separated by a mile or two.
(15) NAGA TRIBES OF MANIPUR
Tribal Populations of Manipur
The area of the State of Manipur is
approximately 8,000 square miles, of which 7,000 is hill
territory inhabited by Naga and Kuki tribes. The Meithei,
who occupy the valley area, are of Naga extraction.
A line drawn along the Kubo Valley road
via Aimole and joined to the Cachar road which traverses
the western hills from Bisnupur in Manipur to Jiri Ghat
on the western boundary of the state, separates the Naga
area from that of the Kukis, but includes a few small Kabui
villages which lie south of Nongba. Naga villages lie north
of this line, Kuki settlements to the south. Kuki com-
munities are also found in the former Naga Hills District
in the vicinity of Henema, and as far to the northeast as
the vicinity of Melome and Lapvome. The Kuki are in fact
scattered in practically every part of Manipur except Mao,
and refer to themselves as "birds of the air" who nest in
a different place each year.
The principal Naga tribes of Manipur are:
(1) Tangkhul, distributed in the
hills directly east and north of the valley;
(2) Mao and Maram (or Maramei),
in the hills north of the valley;
(3) Kolya (or Khoirao) an d Mayang
Khong, in the hills south of the Mao and Maram Nagas;
(4) Kabui, located in hill areas
west and northwest of the valley;
(5) Quoireng;
(6) Chiru;
(7) Maring.
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The last three are smaller tribes scattered
through the hills immediately surrounding the valley.
The Mao and Maram groups are sometimes referred to as
quasi-Angami since they are more closely connected with
the Angami Nagas than with the Tangkhul and Kabui
tribes.
Current information on the Naga tribes
of Manipur is negligible, the 1911 work by Hodson
remaining a principal source.
Tangkhul Nagas
a. Location
The Iril River marks the western
border of the Tangkhul area. The most westerly settle-
ment is Mapao to the north of Imphal. The most northerly
villages are Kharasom, Chatlao and Tussum. At one time
the Tussum group was tributary to Manipur but was
incorporated in Angami territory when the Eastern Angami
Political Control Area of the Naga Hills was rectified
prior to 1910.
On the east the Tangkhul occupy
the Burma border area, extending into the Upper Chindwin
District. The Somra group of Tangkhul villages is also
outside the State of Manipur.
On the east and northeast the
Tangkhul are bounded by Singpho villages. The most
southern Tangkhul communities are Sagok-lang and
Tangkhul Hundung. There are also minor groups of
Tangkhul in the valley at Thobal.
The center of Tangkhul concentra-
tion is marked by Sirohifurar peak, which dominates the
landscape in practically all villages of the tribe and
therefore figures importantly in local lore and religion.
b. Costume
Each clan or tribal group among
the Tangkhul is said to have distinctive colors and
patterns in dress. Recent information is unavailable,
however.
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c. Village Location and Typical Features
Tangkhul villages are generally
located on hill tops. In building construction,
typical features are carved decorations in bright colors,
hewn planks and wooden shingles. Beams are sometimes
carved with deer heads. Houses are arranged in ran-
dom fashion. Tangkhul people who came up from the
Kubo valley show the most pronounced Burmese influence
in architecture.
Planks erected upright are carved
with symbolic motifs believed to have magical proper-
ties. Cairns and heaps of stones erected in the
villages also have religious and magical significance.
d. Social Organization
The smallest unit in Tangkhul
society is the individual family, which normally
occupies a separate house. Children sleep in dormi-
tories, organized for each sex.
On marriage of a son, parents are
dispossessed of the bulk of their property and are
required to vacate the most desirable parts of their
house, if not to leave it entirely. The eldest male
remains head of the family, but the married son
becomes head of the household. Ordinarily, however,
inheritance takes place only on death of the family
head. The obligation of parents to relinquish
prerogatives to newly married sons parallels patterns
of tenure of village offices.
Tangkhul clans are exogamous kin
groups, numbering between two and ten per village.
Responsibilities of clan heads include various reli-
gious duties.
Village headmen are called khulla-
kpa. Second officers bear the Meithei name luplakpa, im-
plying one who is head of a clan.
e. Economy and Technology
Localized technical specializations
characterize some Tangkhul villages or groups of vill-
ages or groups of villages. The communities of Ukrul,
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Toloi, Naimu, Sandang, Toinem and Phadang, for example,
have long been known for weaving. ]Raw cotton is
obtained from the Sena Kaithel or Royal Bazaar at
Imphal and woven into such items as the celebrated
Tangkhul chaddar, or chief's shawl. Weaving is done
by women, who are prohibited by taboos (gennas) from
diffusing their art by marriage outside this group of
villages.
In similar manner the village of
Nungbi and three Hundung clans specialize in production
of pottery from local clays. Other villages exploit
salt wells or emphasize basketry. Some, such as Ukrul,
have thus become powerful and politically important.
Each Tangkhul village occupies
well-defined territory, including unused land as well
as cultivated and jhum land. Boundaries of local
hunting anf fishing rights are also established. Vil-
lage unity is also reflected in religious activity, in
which the community, acting as a whole, participates
in various rituals and gennas, particularly food gennas
which assist the vultivation of rice or the village's
staple crop.
Mao and Maram Nagas
The Mao and Maram Nagas derive their names
from the two principal villages in their area. While the
two are closely associated, they differ in certain respects.
a. Mao Nagas
The center of Mao concentration is
marked by Kopamedza peak. With Sirohifurar, this peak
forms part of the watershed which separates the river
systems of Burma and Bengal. The Lanier rises below
Sirohifurar, flows north, turns east at Sarametti, and
joins the Chindwin. The Barak rises in the Kopamedza
area and flows south, turning north at Kairong and
south again below Maram, receiving the tributaries from
the western hills of the valley.
Mao is on the western spurs of
Kopamedza on the road from Dimapur to Imphal, contiguous
with the villages of Robugnamei and Pudugnamei. Other
villages extend as far east as Jessami (Phundrak), which
overlooks Melome and Lapvome and is built on an apex of
land between the Lanier and the river rising below Mao.
Swemi (Chinjaroy), once devastated
by the Kabui, is inhabited both by Mao and Tangkhul
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people. Oinam and Purum are Mao villages, but have
developed characteristics of their own. West of the
Manipur-Kohima road the Mao extend to Uilong, Yang and
Bakema. To the west of the Barak are a number of
villages which were originally Maram.
Mao villages are similar to those
of the Tangkhul Nagas. House facades feature curved
and crossed beams.
Organization of village life is
also comparable to that of the Tangkhul, though the
roles and powers of headmen, clans and clan leaders
differ from village to village. Village headmen
(khullakpa), who combine the roles of doctor, priest
and magaician with their political powers, often have
authority extending over several villages. Synchronized
gennas may be held in these villages in the belief that
the headman, fortified by the collective strength and
will of the entire group, is able to constrain forces
otherwise beyond his control.
Provided the khullakpa is sound
of mind and body, his office as headman is hereditary,
and stability of local society depends upon him to a
great extent. He is surrounded by taboos, wears dis-
tinctive costumes, and performs the sacrifices during
crop gennas. The latter vary in nature but usually
involve food prohibitions.
b. Maram Nagas
The foregoing characterization of
the Mao generally applies to the Maram, though a few
variations may be noted.
Maram houses are constructed on
poles in Burmese style. They should not face west since
spirits of the dead depart in that direction for their
final resting place.
Megalithic constructions are found
in Mao territory but are particularly common in the
Maram area. Noteworthy examples are the symmetrical
stone arrangements at Uilong and the avenue and circle
of stones at Maram, Monoliths, cairns and small stones
of special significance abound.
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Kolya (Khoirao) and Mayang Khong Nagas
As of 1910 these tribes were reported
as occupying nine villages in the hills south of the
Maram and Kairong. Investigators found them difficult
to distinguish from the Moa and Maram people. Recent
data are unavailable.
Kabui Nagas
Ruins of large villages in the jungles
south of Nongba, destroyed by Kuki and Meithei tribes
early in the 19th century, indicate that the Kabui
people were expelled from the hills in relatively recent
times. They are now largely restricted to the hills
immediately north of the Cachar road.
A few small Kabui villages in the
Manipur valley exist in conditions of semi-servility,
while the Kabui in the Kaopum valley raise excellent
crops on the flat plains.
Kabui tribal structure is diffuse.
The tribe gives no rights to its members, and the
individual tribesman owes no allegiance or obligations
to the tribe. Nor does the tribe afford protection
against enemies, and in former times the individual's
worst enemies were often Kabui tribesmen themselves,
sometimes fellow villagers.
Similarly, the Kabui acknowledge no
supreme tribal authorities in either religious or
secular affairs.
Quoireng Nagas
Reports earlier in the century indicate that
the Quoireng people were located in nine small villages
south of the Barail range, adjoining the Kabui on the
northwestern boundary of the State of Manipur.
Chiru Nagas
The Chiru were formerly located in
thirteen villages on the slopes of the western hills
overlooking the Manipur valley. Chiru village structure
was said to be typical of the Nagas in general.
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Maring Nagas
The Maring people were earlier re-
ported as occupying several villages in the Hirok
hills in the southwestern portion of the Manipur
valley. They were ruled by officials, three hereditary
and one, the lowest in rank, elected.
(16) MINOR TRIBES
Three other tribes identified as Nagas
but otherwise not described in available source
material are:
Khienmungan Nagas
Current population of the Khien-
mungan tribe is estimated at 17,000.
Yimchungr Nagas
Current population of the Yimchungr
(Yimtsungrr) tribe is estimated at 17,500.
Zeliang Nagas
The Zeliang Nagas are apparently
a mixed group of Zemi, Liangmai and other Naga people.
Their current estimated number is 5,2'50.
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MISSING PAGE
ORIGINAL DOCUMENT MISSING PAGE(S):
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Aonok, S. W.
"Morung Organization among the Nocte Nagas."
Vanyajati, Vol. IV, No. 2, 1956.
On the important functions of the morung in
the social and economic organization of one
Naga group.
Baveja, J. D.
Across the Golden Heights of Assam and NEFA. Cal-
cutta, 1961.
General survey of the area with some discussion
of Naga groups, mainly emphasizing environment.
Bower, U. G.
Drums Behind the Hill. New York, 1960.
Popular treatment, containing some information
on the Zemi and Tangkhul groups and neighboring
peoples in Manipur and the Kohima area.
Chatterji, Suniti Kumar
"Kirata-Jana-Kriti: The Indo-Mongoloids: their
contribution to the History and Culture of India."
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XVI,
No. 2, 1950.
Useful article on historical, ethnic and
linguistic affiliations of Naga tribes.
Elwin, V., editor
India's North-East Frontier in the Ninteenth Century.
Madras, 1959.
An anthology of short articles on tribal groups
of the India-Burma-Tibet area in the 19th cen-
tury, containing several interesting background
items on Naga history, social organization, re-
ligion and technology.
Elwin, V.
Nagaland. Shillong, 1961.
Includes brief survey chapter on Naga culture
and society, but primarily a chronicle of
historical-political events culminating in
creation of Nagaland as a separate state in the
Indian Union.
Elwin, V.
The Art of the North-East Frontier of India. Shillong,
1959.
Most useful for illustrations of arts of the
Nagas of the Tuensang area.
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Embree, J. F., and W. L. Thomas, Jr.
Ethnic Groups of Northern Southeast Asia. Yale
University Southeast Asia Studies. New Haven, 1950
Invaluable gazetteer of ethnic groups in the
borderlands of southern China including the
Naga and NEFA tribes, with excellent ethno-
linguistic map.
Furer-Haimendorf, C. von
The Naked Nagas. 2nd Revised Indian Edition. Cal-
cutta, 1962.
Informal descriptions of culture and conditions
of Naga peoples of the Tuensang area, mainly
the Konyak, as of 1936-37. Useful illustrations.
Author is Professor of Asian Anthropology at
University of London.
Hodson, T. C.
Naga Tribes in Manipur. London, 1911.
Remains a primary source on the southern Naga
groups in Manipur.
Hutton, J. H.
"Leopard-men in the Naga Hills." Journal of the
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain
and Ireland, January-June 1920.
Useful background item on lycanthrophy.
Hutton, J. H.
The Angami Nagas. London, 1921.
Remains the primary source on the important
Angami group. Also contains data on the
Sangtam,Chang, Phom and Konyak groups.
Hutton, J. H.
The Sema Nagas. London, 1921
Principal source on the Sema group despite date.
Johri, S.
Where India, China and Burma Meet. Calcutta, 1933.
Emphasizes northern NEFA groups but contains many
useful comments on Naga social organization, re-
ligion and the like.
Kingdon-Ward, F.
Plant Hunter in Manipur. London, 1952.
Information and insightful remarks on various
tribes, including the Tangkhul.
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Mackenzie, A.
History of the Relations of Government with the Hill
Tribes of the North-East Frontier of Bengal. Cal-
cutta, 189T.-
Valuable source for conditions and political
relations of Naga tribes in the 19th century.
Mills, J. P.
The Ao Nagas. London, 1926.
One of the classic works on a key Naga group.
Mills, J. P.
The Lhota Nagas. London, 1922.
General background on the culture and traditions
of the Lhota group by one of the foremost
authorities on the Nagas, formerly a government
administrator in the area.
Mills, J. P.
The Rengma Nagas. London, 1937.
Useful material on one of the lesser Naga tribes.
Patterson, M. L. P.
South Asia: Introductory Bibliography.
Includes entries for Assam, Nagaland, NEFA and
various tribes.
Peal, S. E.
"Eastern Nagas of the Tirap and Namtsik." Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXV,
Pt. 3, 1896.
Brief but useful discussion.
Reid, R.
History of the Frontier Areas Bordering on Assam
from 1883-1941. Shillong, 1942.
Valuable for historical background on area
indicated.
Shakespear, L. W.
History of Upper Assam, Burmah and North-Eastern
Frontier. London, 1914.
Useful for historical background.
Smith, W. C.
The Ao Nagas. London, 1925.
Useful supplement to Mills' 1926 monograph on
the same tribe.
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Smith, W. C.
The Ao Tribes of Assam. London, 1925.
Valuable data on the Ao, compiled by a
Baptist missionary at Imphur.
Stonor, C. R.
"The Feasts of Merit among the Northern Sangtam
Tribe of Assam." Anthropos, Vol. XLV, 1950.
Discusses the Sangtam form of a custom which
was once a central theme of Naga culture.
Thomson, R. C. M.
Assam Valley. London, 1948.
General information on the area.
Woodthorpe, R. G.
"Naga Hills Exploration: Report on the Survey
Operations in the Naga Hills, 1875-6." General
Report on the Topographical Surveys of India,
for the Season 1875-6. Shillong, 1876.
Some useful data on terrain and environment.
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