Headhunters in Nagaland, India
60 images Created 30 Jul 2020
Nagaland is landlocked in the north east of India, one of India's 28 states, created in 1963, with a population of about 2 million people from 16 Tibetan Burmese tribes, who have nothing in common with the vast majority of Indians. Nobody is quite sure where they came from - the Unrepresented Nations and People's Organisation says Mongolia in the 10th century.
Each Naga tribe has its own language or dialect. The villages are independent of each other, and self-sufficient.
During World War II the Japanese hoped to reach Calcutta through the Naga Hills and were driven back from the Indian border to Burma in 1944 by Commonwealth forces and Naga warriors loyal to the British.
The Nagas were enthusiastic headhunters. The British criminalised it in the 1920s, but it continued well into the 1960s and even 1980s, although there was mass conversion to Christianity in the late 19th century largely by American missionaries.
They were renowned fighters. The Ahom kings of Thailand conquered neighbouring Assam, but not the Naga Hills, in the 13th century. The Naga Hills were never part of Mughal India, which conquered Assam in the early 17th century.
They are adorned with tattoos and hats decorated with wild boar horns. The great hornbill is the national bird. They make great use of cowries and conch shells in their traditional costumes.
Brass heads worn as chest ornaments indicate head-taking status.
Each Naga tribe has its own language or dialect. The villages are independent of each other, and self-sufficient.
During World War II the Japanese hoped to reach Calcutta through the Naga Hills and were driven back from the Indian border to Burma in 1944 by Commonwealth forces and Naga warriors loyal to the British.
The Nagas were enthusiastic headhunters. The British criminalised it in the 1920s, but it continued well into the 1960s and even 1980s, although there was mass conversion to Christianity in the late 19th century largely by American missionaries.
They were renowned fighters. The Ahom kings of Thailand conquered neighbouring Assam, but not the Naga Hills, in the 13th century. The Naga Hills were never part of Mughal India, which conquered Assam in the early 17th century.
They are adorned with tattoos and hats decorated with wild boar horns. The great hornbill is the national bird. They make great use of cowries and conch shells in their traditional costumes.
Brass heads worn as chest ornaments indicate head-taking status.
