Khiamniungan is a major

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

ethnic group, with approximately 35% of the population found in

Noklak District Noklak District is the 12th district of the Indian state of Nagaland. It was established on January 20, 2021. The district headquarter is located in the town of Noklak. History Noklak district was created on 21 December 2017 as the 12th distr ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, India and the rest in Naga Self Administered Zone and Hkhamti district of

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. They were also called Kalyo-Kengnyu ("slate-house dwellers") during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

History

The origin of the Khiamniungans remains uncertain. There are no written records of their history before the

days. However, the only source of information about their ancestors are oral traditions in the form of folktales and myths. According to a popular myth, Khiamniungan means "source of great waters" - the place from where the early ancestors of Khiamniungan are said to have originated. This place is identified near Lengnyu-Tsuwao villages, under Pathso Range, over looking from the present day Noklak and

Pathso Patsho, or Pathso, is a village in Noklak District, located in the eastern part of Nagaland, and one of the biggest villages in Noklak District. It is situated at an altitude of 1415m above sea level. The village is 37km away from Noklak Distric ...

towns. Today, the Khiamniungans occupy the easternmost part of India and northwestern part of Myanmar. In India, they are mostly found in Noklak district of Nagaland state and the rest in Naga Self Administered Zone and Hkhamti district of Saigaing Division, Myanmar. The mighty Chindwin river flows through the land of Khiamniungans.They are linked linguistically as well as culturally to the Tibeto-Burman. During the British Raj, the Khiamniungans were referred to as "kalyo Kenyu", particularly in the works of anthropologists such as

Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf or Christopher von Fürer-Haimendorf FRAI (22 June 1909 – 11 June 1995) was an Austrian ethnologist and professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies at London. He spent forty years studying tr ...

. Unlike several other Naga tribes, the advent of Christianity had little impact on the Khiamniungan for a long time, due to their remote location. The first Khiamniungan to convert to Christianity was Khaming, in 1947. Thereafter, a number of Khiamniungans converted to Christianity. After the coming of the new education system, social system, modernization and Christianity, there have been drastic changes in their social life.

Tribal society

The traditional Khiamniungan village had eight important people: # Nokpao or Nyokpao (war leader) # Puthsee or petchi (peace maker, elder) # Ampao, Meyo, meya (priest) # Kieo lomei (doctor) # Ain (priestess and oracle) # Shoalang or sonlan (blacksmith) # Paothieo or paothai (story teller) # Ainloom (the keeper of the a supposedly magical stone; the stone is said to warn of any impending disaster such as a fire or a raid, by moving out of its basket or by creating a sound through striking another object) By the early 1990s, only the Puthsee, the Shoalang and the Ainloom remained relevant, others being remembered mainly as part of books and oral tradition.

Culture

The traditional Khiamniungan attires consist of bright red and bright deep blue colored dresses. The ornaments are made of

cowrie Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (''porcellana'') du ...

s and

conch shell Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Ame ...

s. The tribal musical instruments include drums made of

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...

s and

bamboo flute The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest flutes currently kn ...

Festivals

Miu

The Khiamniungan tribals, who traditionally practised

jhum cultivation Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

(slash and burn agriculture), celebrate the ''Miu'' festival at the time of sowing. They offer prayers for a good harvest.

Tsoküm

''Tsoküm'' is the week-long

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

of the tribe, celebrated in October. The festival includes dancing, singing, cleaning, repair of the roads, and outdoor cooking and eating. In this festival the people invoke god's blessing for a bountiful harvest.

References

{{Authority control Naga people