HEADHUNTERS OF NAGALAND
One of the best parts of going to Nagaland was that NO ONE, even seasoned travelers, knew where it is located. It is indeed a kind of Shangri-La, as Nagaland is isolated from the outside world by remote horrific mountain roads. It is also populated with fierce warriors and rebels who to this day continue to fight for their people’s independence. In fact, the armed conflict with insurgents prevented the Indian government from allowing tourists into the area until 1998.
The extreme northeast part of India is a land apart, seized by the British in the 19th century as a buffer against China. The people rebelled against the British Raj, and tried desperately to become an independent nation when India gained independence, but were denied. So, rebels have fought the Indian government ever since. Every town or village in Nagaland has an Indian Army camp in the middle of town with uniformed and armed soldiers.
We started our trek in Calcutta, which lives up to its reputation for heat, humidity, color, poverty and dense living for five million souls. We visited various markets, temples, monuments and Mother Teresa’s memorial.
The most interesting was Kamuartuli, or the Potter’s Quarter, where craftsmen toil in countless tiny workshops constructing clay figurines mainly depicting the Goddess Durga and other Indian deities. Men of all ages work on figurines in the narrow lanes, making straw skeletons and carving patterns in the clay with fine tools for the festival of Durga Puja when the statues will be ceremonially sunk in the holy Ganges.
Goddess Durga symbolizes the divine forces (positive energy) known as divine shakti (feminine energy/ power) that is used against the negative forces of evil and wickedness. She protects her devotees from evil powers and safeguards them.
We flew from Calcutta to Guwahati, a city set between the banks of the Brahmaputra River and the foothills of the Shillong plateau. From there we began a long, brutal drive into the mountains and jungles. We visited villages of the Nishi, who are noted for their ceremonial bamboo helmets spiked with porcupine quills and hornbill skulls and feathers.
From our base in Ziro, we visited surrounding Apatani tribal villages, learning about their primitive but successful agricultural system, their mythology and rituals, and other traditions. The most remarkable tradition is the women, who insert large, black plugs on the sides of their nostrils ostensibly to make them unattractive to companion seeking men of other villages. We were privileged to have these women perform a traditional tribal song and dance for us, which you will see in a video. And these were such warm, funny and welcoming ladies – a genuine pleasure.
From there we took a ferry to Majuli Island in the Bramhaputra River, the world’s largest riverine island, home of the Mising tribe, who embrace a monotheistic offshoot of Hinduism that eschews the caste system, and is the home of 22 active monasteries (satras) for the training of monks. We were treated to a private dance performance at one of the satras by young novice monks, which you will see in a video.
The highlight of Majuli was our visit to the shop of master mask-makers and performers, who demonstrated their creative skills for us and performed a version of the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys. It was incredible, and I have photographs and video clips in the show to let you see this special cultural gem.
In addition to being a photographer, I am a collector of costumes from cultures we encounter on our trips. On Majuli Island the artisans created made-to-order costumes for me of the spectacular demon Ravana and the hero Hanuman (King of the Monkey Army), and later at an important Naga head hunter ceremony I was privileged to be allowed to obtain a Naga Warrior costume.
We then visited Kaziranga National Park, home to one third of the world’s remaining Indian one-horned rhinoceroses, huge beasts that feel like a bridge to the days of dinosaurs. This population has made an incredible resurgence due to a program that arms rangers (500 of them) and instructs them to shoot intruders.
We stopped along the highway to visit a tea plantation, spending time walking with the women who gather the valuable leaves into baskets, working as a team in the fields, wearing colorful large hats to protect them from sun and rain.
Then we entered horrific road system of switchbacks up and down the mountains of Nagaland proper, home to 17 distinct and proud tribes, each with their distinctive dress, customs and language.
But first I had us stop at a local Baptist church (it was Sunday and the service was just ending). Missionaries began going into the jungles of Nagaland in the 19th century to try and convert the wild people to Christianity and to convince them to stop headhunting. Today the vast majority of Nagas are Baptists. As we sat in our basic cottage in the evenings, we could hear the sweet sounds of choir practice wafting to us from a nearby church. Amazing. Headhunting Baptists? Go figure!
We visited remote Phuktong village where we toured the longhouse (and an adjacent opium den) and went out to a field where the local tribes were performing for a big local audience and a set of government VIP’s on a very muddy field. It was an exciting challenge to walk backwards in ankle deep mud and water while taking pictures as they paraded and danced across the field. They also shot off their antique black powder muskets, which are extraordinarily loud and are used to this day for hunting as well as ceremonial dances.
The next morning, we visited a small village where we were allowed to photograph their tribal King and the elders. They all had tattoos on their faces and chests, a reward for a successful head hunting foray decades ago. The tattoos were applied by the Queen of the village using bamboo slivers and indigo.
Then, an incredible opportunity. I was fascinated by the fact that these elders had actually engaged in head hunting as young warriors decades ago. I arranged for two of them to move to a private area and set up a video camera and had an interpreter ask them questions about those days and what they did. I hope you are intrigued by the result.
Finally, we went to the large and spectacular Aoling Festival in Mon, where many villages and tribes gathered to perform their venerated age-old and songs and dances.
The warriors and women of Nagaland are spectacular in dress, fascinating in song and dance, and committed to their heritage, including the not so long-ago tradition of hunting heads in enemy villages. It is one of the last places on earth to observe humans still connected to a primitive, meaningful way of life. In unexpected ways, I found their way of life to be both alluring and extraordinarily beautiful.
