For most tourists and visitors Nagaland, that narrow strip or land at the north east of India, sandwiched between Myanmar and China, is about the Konyak head-hunters and little else. A simple Google search should convince you. Why? The Konyak are different, exotic, remnants of a time the world left behind. And, of course, they make for great images. I travelled to Nagaland to see beyond that, meet the people as they are today and see how the modern world has changed them - if at all. What I discovered were the warmest, kindest, funniest and most hospitable people in the world!
First of all, a bit of background - and a bit of clarity: Nagaland does not resemble India in any way you can think of. The people do not look indian - they look Burmese, Chinese, Korean even, but not Indian. They speak mainly English (and I include everyone, from the really old 90 to the 5-8 year olds alongside their tribal dialects and Nagalese, what they call their “lingua franca”. They can understand a bit of Hindi, but only at a very basic level (and let me tell you, they despise Indians who talk to them only in Hindi and not in English). Their villages are more modelled along the lines of rural Japanese villages, are immaculately clean and orderly, beautifully decorated with flowers of every kind. Their houses are spacious, functional and combine, in a truly wonderful way, traditional and more modern elements - to cut a long story short, I would not have minded staying in such a house!
They are christians (mostly Methodists) at 95%, with a few animists (remnants of the old religion) and a few Buddhists. And when I say christians, these people really and truly believe - christianity is a major part of their lives and culture these days and they are, probably, a lot more devout than almost every other people I’ve met. Every village, however small or large, has at least one church - and a large one too! Churches are the new focal points for village and community life and every Sunday morning they will be packed with the faithful - in fact, most villages have provisions for those seasons where church attendance exceeds the church’s capacity! Even their daily references, their personal introductions and much more are centred around their faith - expressions like “accepted Jesus as his saviour” are very commonplace and normal, with many of them using the date of the region’s conversion to christianity as an age counting marker! It’s surprising and absolutely lovely - and this comes from a completely non-religious person! Why? Because unlike many other “recent” converts I’ve met over the years, the people of Nagaland have managed to retain ALL their customs and traditions while incorporating modern christianity!
But, first a few “warnings” - important ones:
- there are many “guides” who will proclaim they are experts in Nagaland, who can guide you, get you to meet the tribes etc etc. Be extremely careful who you choose (and, under no circumstances should you choose a company called Dulcimer Tours - they are the worst I’ve ever had the chance to work with….by far!) Who you travel with will determine your experience to a large extend - wrong choice means you’ll definitely lose out, have a horrible experience and it will reflect to the locals. Nowhere in the world - at least nowhere I’ve been to - does your choice of guide shape your experience more.
- be prepared for really rough roads and long travel days. I am talking about 8-12hrs driving along roads so bad goats would think twice about using them just to cover 90 or 100kms. This has probably protected the region from hoards of tourists and the incursion of indian culture, but it does make for a really uncomfortable trip - any which way you see it.
- be ready for very simple accommodation, frequently nothing more than huts with really hard beds and no heating. I imagine this will be okay during the summer or spring months, but at 1200 and 1500m altitude, nights get really cold from Sep to Mar! Also be prepared for basic food (delicious, light, extremely tasty but still, very basic - if you’re a fruitarian, vegan, lactose intolerant and all those “intolerances”, you will starve…)
Now that those are out of the way - and by all means, ignore them at your peril - lets talk Nagaland.
First of all, the landscape. Mountains and hills, all covered in dense vegetation, rich trees, thick greenery, extremely fertile ground. They provide shade in the summer months and keep everything cool and warm in the winter months. They are amazingly beautiful to look at and, in the early mornings, when the mist forms thick low-lying clouds which weave in and out among the trees, the landscape seems as if it came out of some ancient fairytale.
But this is not about trees and hills - this is about the people and I apologise for the long introduction. During my trip I visited 3 Konyak villages (around the Mon area), three Ao Naga (around the Mokok Chung area) and two Angami villages around Tuophema. And while the trip was absolutely and completely ruined by the incompetence of my guide, my experience and the locals, who stepped in to help, turned the trip into a really wonderful one. If you want to read just how bad things can get, read here!
The Konyak are known to most of us as the Nagaland head-hunters because of their historic practice of cutting off their enemies heads after battle. To commemorate these victories, they would craft bronze necklaces with small skulls - one for each head claimed - and add more and more facial and body tattoos. This means that some of the more successful and old warriors are covered in really extensive tattoos and, even to this day, proudly wear their skull necklaces with anything from 1 to 6 heads. The practice was officially stopped in the early 1980s (I heard of hunters claiming as late as 1983), but most of the younger people will claim they stopped in 1976 when the region accepted christianity.
These days, most villages still have a very small number of old warriors, most over the age of 80, who love nothing more than to share their stories with the occasional visitor and, some of the more proud among them, eager to, even if its only for a few minutes, remove their modern fleeces, t-shirts and tracksuits , wear their ivory and brass bracelets and hornbill-feathered caps and pose for pictures - not because you ask them (they will never accept payment) but because they are proud to show the person they once were - and, I’m sure, the person they still feel are inside. These are deeply proud people, actual cold-blooded killers every single one, but who have had their rough edges smoothed by age and a new faith. You can see the harshness deep in their eyes - make no mistake, it is 100% there - but you can also see a deep sadness for their old lives, one mediated by the community wrapping around them like a warm blanket.
The highlight of this part of the trip was, undoubtedly, the visit to the Hongphoi village. Not much larger than the rest it is still home to over 20 old head-hunters! They still gather around the main village fire in a newly-constructed morong (the main meeting structure in the village) where they swap stories, gossip (apparently incessantly). For the photographer, there are enough images to keep you there for hours on end - there is an amazing bamboo bridge leading to an awesome treehouse more than 60m from the ground, there is a place where all the stones they used to place the severed heads are all gathered together and so much more. You dont expect this when you arrive - you’ll see modern cars and loads of more modern, brick and cement houses, but scratch the surface a bit and the old Konyak life is still very much alive and kicking!
Overall, the Konyak people are kind, warm, visually and culturally awesome and awe-inspiring and, by themselves, more than enough reason to visit Nagaland. It’s a step into the past, as it CAN be, combining ancient traditions with modern life without faking anything, with no posing for happy tourists without substance. At least for now.
The Ao Naga are, these days, a lot more modern - you will find no tattoos, no scarification, no elaborate clothing, headdresses etc. Their traditional clothing comprises of hand-woven fabrics in black and vivid colours and are adorned with simple amber-like necklaces from a locally mined stone. That’s it. They have embraced christianity completely and have allowed it to permeate every aspect of their lives, with the older traditions simply maintained rather than being incorporated into how they live today. They are enormously hospitable and really happy to share their culture, food and homes with even the most casual visitor, they are easy to talk to and easy to laugh - although mostly at your expense. Photographically speaking there is very little there that you cannot get anywhere else, but the absolutely unfettered access to their lives can create absolutely intimate images.
I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful couple, Tsuktitula and Alemwati. At 84 years old, Alemwati does not look a day older than 45, is retired army sergeant who fought in a number of wars and has the medals to show for them. He is one of the last few Ao Naga who still have their traditional warrior attire, fully maintained like new and was incredibly proud to not only show every single piece to me but also to wear them so i can see how they used to be worn. It was a wonderful and unexpected experience - not very realistic or current (and I chose to photograph him like this) but beautiful nevertheless. I photographed his wife of 60 years (!!!!) Tsuktitula - she’s 78 - in her beautiful kitchen to show how traditions have evolved in the Ao Naga today.
The Angami are probably the only tribe (I had the chance to visit) who strike a more modern balance between modernity and tradition - they live modern lives but every single aspect is studded with smaller or larger aspects of tradition: a traditional garment worn together with a t-shirt or jeans. A part of a head-dress worn together with a modern hat and so on. But what binds them more with their traditions is the fact that ALL - and i do mean all - village events, happenings, council meetings, celebrations - both individual as well as community-wide - are attended by everyone in their traditional attire, from the youngest child to the oldest elder, with younger men honoured to wear their traditional warrior attire (and looking awesome doing it). They are absolutely fluent in english (which they speak almost exclusively between them) and love sharing their culture with visitors.
I was, by sheer luck and happenstance, fortunate enough to be visiting Tuophema village during their annual council meeting - an absolutely amazing celebration of life and community, with traditional dances, village choir singing, traditional dresses and so much more. The entire village banded together to cook and feed more than 1200 people (for free) in a truly admirable way - I don’t think I’ve ever seen that spirit of togetherness in all my travels, certainly not in this day and age. I am sure it used to be like that everywhere - I have certainly seen that in my youth in Greece - but it has quietly and completely gone away. It was incredible for me to see it very much alive and growing today…
While my trip was plagued by many problems, most of them created by my bad choice of guide, the amazing people of Nagaland helped make it an incredible experience and one of the most memorable trips! I owe them not only my infinite thanks but also the title of friendliest people!!!!