Nagas are various
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
s native to
northeastern India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
and northwestern
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 C. Wells, Joh ...
. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
History
Pre-indepen ...
s of
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 ...
and
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
and
Naga Self-Administered Zone
The Naga Self-Administered Zone ( my, နာဂကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရဒေသ ), is a self-administered zone in the Naga Hills area of Sagaing Region of Myanmar. Its administrative seat is ...
of Myanmar; with significant populations in
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
and
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
;
Sagaing Region
Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...
and
Kachin State
Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
in
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 C. Wells, Joh ...
(Burma).
The Nagas are divided into various
Naga ethnic groups whose numbers and population are unclear. They each speak distinct
Naga languages
The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of languages under the Kuki-Chin-Naga languages, spoken mostly by Naga peoples.
Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, th ...
often unintelligible to the others, but all are somehow in a way loosely connected to each other.
Etymology
The present day Naga people have been called by many names, like 'Noga' by
Assamese
Assamese may refer to:
* Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India
* People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam
* Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...
, 'Hao' by
Manipuri and 'Chin' by
Burmese
Burmese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia
* Burmese people
* Burmese language
* Burmese alphabet
* Burmese cuisine
* Burmese culture
Animals
* Burmese cat
* Burmese chicken
* Burmese (hor ...
. However, over time 'Naga' became the commonly accepted nomenclature, and was also used by the British. According to the Burma Gazetteer, the term 'Naga' is of doubtful origin and is used to describe hill tribes that occupy the country between the Chins in the south and Kachins (Singphos) in the Northeast.
History
Culture
Art
The Naga people love colour as is evident in the shawls designed and woven by women, and in the headgear that both sexes design. Clothing patterns are traditional to each group, and the cloths are woven by the women. They use beads in variety, profusion and complexity in their jewelry, along with a wide range of materials including glass, shell, stone, teeth or tusk, claws, horns, metal, bone, wood, seeds, hair, and fibre.
According to Dr.
Verrier Elwin, these groups made all the goods they used, as was once common in many traditional societies: "they have made their own cloth, their own hats and rain-coats; they have prepared their own medicines, their own cooking-vessels, their own substitutes for crockery.". Craftwork includes the making of baskets, weaving of cloth, wood carving, pottery, metalwork, jewellery-making and bead-work.
Weaving of colorful woolen and cotton shawls is a central activity for women of all Nagas. One of the common features of Naga shawls is that three pieces are woven separately and stitched together. Weaving is an intricate and time consuming work and each shawl takes at least a few days to complete. Designs for shawls and wraparound garments (commonly called ''mekhala'') are different for men and women.
Among many groups the design of the shawl denotes the social status of the wearer. Some of the more known shawls include ''Tsüngkotepsü'' and ''Rongsü'' of the Aos; ''Sütam, Ethasü, Longpensü'' of the Lothas; ''Süpong'' of the Sangtams, ''Rongkhim'' and ''Tsüngrem Khim'' of the Yimkhiungs; and the Angami ''Lohe'' shawls with thick embroidered animal motifs.
Naga jewelry is an equally important part of identity, with the entire community wearing similar bead jewelry, specifically the necklace.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce has filed an application seeking registration of traditional Naga shawls made in Nagaland with the Geographical Registry of India for
Geographical Indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
.
Cuisine
Naga cuisine
Naga cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Naga people of Nagaland, India. It features meats and fish, which are often smoked, dried or fermented।
Overview
The various Naga people have their own cuisines, but often exchange recipes. A ...
is characterized by smoked and fermented foods.
Folk song and dance
Folk songs and dances are essential ingredients of the traditional Naga culture. The oral tradition is kept alive through the media of folk tales and songs. Naga folk songs are both romantic and historical, with songs narrating entire stories of famous ancestors and incidents. Seasonal songs describe activities done in a particular agricultural cycle. The early Western missionaries opposed the use of folk songs by Naga Christians as they were perceived to be associated with spirit worship, war, and immorality. As a result, translated versions of Western hymns were introduced, leading to the slow disappearance of indigenous music from the Naga hills.
Folk dances of the Nagas are mostly performed in groups in synchronized fashion, by both men and women, depending on the type of dance. Dances are usually performed at festivals and religious occasions. War dances are performed mostly by men and are athletic and martial in style. All dances are accompanied by songs and war cries by the dancers. Indigenous musical instruments made and used by the people are
tati, bamboo mouth organs, bamboo flutes, trumpets, drums made of cattle skin and log drums.
Festivals
The various Naga groups have their own distinct festivals. To promote inter-group interaction, the Government of Nagaland has organized the annual
Hornbill Festival
The Hornbill Festival is an annual festival celebrated from 1 to 10 of December in the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. The festival represents all ethnic groups of Nagaland for which it is also called the ''Festival of Festivals''.
Back ...
since 2000. Another inter-ethnic festival is
Lui Ngai Ni
Lui Ngai Ni is the seed-sowing festival celebrated by the Naga tribes of Manipur India. The festival heralds the season of seed sowing and marks the start of the year for the Nagas and the festival was declared a state holiday since 1988.
Etymol ...
. The group-specific festivals include:
Ethnic groups
The word Naga originated as an
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
.
Today, it covers a number of ethnic groups that reside in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh states of India, and also in Myanmar.
Before the arrival of the British, the term "Naga" was used by
Assamese
Assamese may refer to:
* Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India
* People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam
* Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...
to refer to certain isolated ethnic groups. The British adopted this term for a number of ethnic groups in the surrounding area, based on loose linguistic and cultural associations. The number of groups classified as "Naga" increased significantly in the 20th century: as of December 2015, 89 groups are classified as Naga by the various sources. This expansion in the "Naga" identity has been due to a number of factors including the quest for upward mobility in the society of Nagaland, and the desire to establish a common purpose of resistance against dominance by other groups. In this way, the "Naga" identity has not always been fixed.
Nagas in India
Nagas are present in all Northeast Indian States except Tripura and are listed as
scheduled tribes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
in other 6 Northeastern States: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland
Nagas in Myanmar
Nagas in
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 C. Wells, Joh ...
are mostly found in
Sagaing Division
Sagaing Region ( my, စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Sagaing Division) is an administrative region of Myanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and lon ...
and
Kachin state
Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...
. The Naga territory in Myanmar is marked by
Kabaw valley in the south bordering to the
Chin state
Chin State (, ) is a state in western Myanmar. The Chin State is bordered by Sagaing Division and Magway Division to the east, Rakhine State to the south, Bangladesh to the south-west, and the Indian states of Mizoram to the west and Manipur t ...
, the
Kachin on the north and the
Burmese
Burmese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia
* Burmese people
* Burmese language
* Burmese alphabet
* Burmese cuisine
* Burmese culture
Animals
* Burmese cat
* Burmese chicken
* Burmese (hor ...
on the east.
The Major Naga ethnic groups in Myanmar are:
#
Konyak (Chen)
#
Lainong (Htangan)
#
Makury
# Nokko (
Khiamniungan)
#
Para
Para, or PARA, may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Paramount Global, traded as PARA on the Nasdaq stock exchange
* Para Group, the former name of CT Corp
* Para Rubber, now Skellerup, a New Zealand manufacturer
* Para USA, formerly ...
#
Somra Tangkhul
#
Tangshang
Some other minor Naga groups are
Anāl,
Lamkang,
Moyon
Moyon () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Moyon Villages.Koka
KOKA (980 AM) is an AM radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, licensed to Shreveport, Louisiana, and serving the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area with an Urban contemporary gospel format. The station is currently under owne ...
(sometimes spelt as Goga or Koki),
Longphuri,
Paung Nyuan (Makhyam), etc
The townships which are inhabited by the Nagas are:
#
Homalin
#
Lahe with Tanbakwe sub-township
#
Layshi with Mowailut sub-township and Somra sub-township
#
Hkamti
#
Nanyun Nanyun (, , also spelt Namyun) is a town in the Sagaing Division in Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some Britis ...
with
Pangsau and
Dunghi sub-township
#
Tamu
Tamu may refer to:
* Texas A&M University or TAMU
* Tamu, Myanmar
** Tamu District, Myanmar
** Tamu Township
* Ta'mu, rice cooked in woven coconut leaves from the Philippines
* Tamu Massif, an inactive underwater volcano in the Pacific
* '' Helio ...
of Sagaing Division and
#
Tanai
Danai ( my, တနိုင်းမြို့) is a town in Kachin State, in the northernmost part of Myanmar.
Kachin State ( Kachin: ''Wunpawng Mungdan''; Burmese: ကချင်ပြည်နယ်) is the northernmost state of Myanmar. ...
of Kachin state
Anāl and
Moyon
Moyon () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Moyon Villages.Tamu township
Tamu Township is a township in Tamu District in the Sagaing Division of Burma. on the south and a few
Somra Nagas are also found in and around Tamu bordering to
Layshi jurisdiction.
Makury,
Para
Para, or PARA, may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Paramount Global, traded as PARA on the Nasdaq stock exchange
* Para Group, the former name of CT Corp
* Para Rubber, now Skellerup, a New Zealand manufacturer
* Para USA, formerly ...
and Somra tribes are mainly found in Layshi township. Makury Nagas and a few Somra Nagas are also found in
Homalin township
Homalin Township ( my, ဟုမ္မလင်း မြို့နယ် ) is a township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of Burma. The principal town is Homalin. .
Lahe is highly populated by
Konyak,
Nokko
Nokko (born November 4, 1963) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actress. She was the lead singer of the popular band "Rebecca," which had a string of hits in Japan in the 1980s. Nokko was born in Urawa, Saitama, as . Under her stag ...
,
Lainong and
Makury tribes.
Nanyun Nanyun (, , also spelt Namyun) is a town in the Sagaing Division in Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some Britis ...
on the north is the home of
Tangshang tribe which comprises more than 54 sub-dialect groups.
Homlin township is highly populated by the considered lost tribes (
Red Shans). But
Kukis
The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar ...
,
Burmese
Burmese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia
* Burmese people
* Burmese language
* Burmese alphabet
* Burmese cuisine
* Burmese culture
Animals
* Burmese cat
* Burmese chicken
* Burmese (hor ...
,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
and
Indians
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
are also found there.
Hkamti township is populated altogether by all the Naga tribes majority and with a number of Burmese,
Shans, Chinese and Indians.
Tanai
Danai ( my, တနိုင်းမြို့) is a town in Kachin State, in the northernmost part of Myanmar.
Kachin State ( Kachin: ''Wunpawng Mungdan''; Burmese: ကချင်ပြည်နယ်) is the northernmost state of Myanmar. ...
in Kachin state of Myanmar is inhabited by the
Tangshang Nagas among the
Kachin people.
Languages
The
Naga languages
The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of languages under the Kuki-Chin-Naga languages, spoken mostly by Naga peoples.
Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, th ...
are either classified under the
Chin-Naga languages or the
Sal languages
The Sal languages are a branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in northeast India, parts of Bangladesh, and Burma.
Alternative names
''Ethnologue'' calls the group "Jingpho–Konyak–Bodo", while Scott DeLancey (2015) refers to it as "Bodo-Ko ...
.
Nagas have more language diversity than any other ethnic group or states in India. Naga people speak over 89 different languages and dialects, mostly unintelligible with each other. However, there are many similarities in between different languages spoken by them. The diversity of languages and traditions of the Nagas results most likely from the multiple cultural absorptions that occurred during their successive migrations. According to legend, before settling in the region, these groups moved over vast zones, and in the process, some clans were absorbed into one or more other groups. Therefore, until recent times, absorptions were a source of many interclan conflicts.
In 1967, the Nagaland Assembly proclaimed English as the official language of Nagaland and it is the medium for education in Nagaland. Other than English,
Nagamese, a creole language form of the
Assamese language
Assamese (), also Asamiya ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language, and it serves as a ''lingua franca'' of the wider region. The easternmost Indo-Iranian language, ...
, is a widely spoken language. Every community has its own mother tongue but communicates with other communities in either Nagamese or
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. However, English is the predominant spoken and written language in Nagaland. Hindi is also taught along with English in most schools and most Nagas prefer to used Hindi to communicate with the migrant workers of the state, that primarily comes from Bihar, UP and Madhya Pradesh. Hindi in India has been made official until class 10
Gallery
File: Angami Naga girl.jpg, An Angami Naga
The Angamis are a major Naga ethnic group native to the Northeast Indian state of Nagaland. The Angami Nagas are predominantly settled in Kohima District, Chümoukedima District and Dimapur District of Nagaland and are also recognized as one of ...
girl in her traditional attire
File:An Ao Naga lady in her traditional attire.jpg, An Ao Naga
The Ao Nagas are a major Naga ethnic group native to Mokokchung District of Nagaland, Northeast India. Their main territory is from Tsüla (Dikhu) Valley in the east to Tsürang (Disai) Valley in the west in Mokokchung District.
The Ao Nagas ...
girl in her traditional attire
File:India - nagaland Ao.jpg, Ao Naga lady in her traditional ornaments
File:Lotha Naga girl.jpg, A Lotha Naga
The Lotha Nagas, also known as Kyong, are a major Naga ethnic group native to Wokha District in the Indian state of Nagaland.
Origins
Scholars have presented several theories about the migration of the Lothas and the other Naga tribes, based ...
girl in her traditional attire
See also
*
History of the Nagas
The history of the Nagas dates back centuries, but first appear in written records of Ahom kingdom during the Medieval India, medieval period of History of India, Indian history. Aside from developing contacts with the Ahom kingdom, which was ...
*
List of Naga tribes
Naga is an umbrella term for several indigenous communities in Northeast India and Upper Burma. The word Naga originated as an exonym. Today, it covers a number of ethnic groups that reside in the Indian states of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Aru ...
*
List of Naga languages
This list of Naga languages includes various Sino-Tibetan languages spoken by the Naga peoples. Most of the native languages are group under Naga languages whereas Northern Naga languages fall under Sal languages. Both Sal languages and Kuki-Chin ...
*
List of Naga people
The following is a list of prominent people belonging to the Naga people.
Artists
Actors/Actresses
* Zhokhoi Chüzho
* Andrea Kevichüsa
* Mengu Süokhrie
Filmmakers
* Sesino Yhoshü
Musicians
* Jiangam Kamei (1963–2016)
* Silas Kiko ...
References
Further reading
*Drouyer, A. Isabel, Drouyer René, " THE NAGAS: MEMORIES OF HEADHUNTERS- Indo-Burmese Borderlands vol.1"; White Lotus, 2016, .
* Wettstein, Marion. 2014. ''Naga Textiles: Design, Technique, Meaning and Effect of a Local Craft Tradition in Northeast India''. Arnoldsche, Stuttgart 2014, .
* von Stockhausen, Alban. 2014. ''Imag(in)ing the Nagas: The Pictorial Ethnography of Hans-Eberhard Kauffmann and
Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf''. Arnoldsche, Stuttgart 2014, .
*Shongzan, Mayaso, "A Portrait of the Tangkhul Nagas"; Exodus, 2013, .
*Stirn, Aglaja & Peter van Ham. ''The Hidden world of the Naga: Living Traditions in Northeast India''. London: Prestel.
*Oppitz, Michael, Thomas Kaiser, Alban von Stockhausen & Marion Wettstein. 2008. ''Naga Identities: Changing Local Cultures in the Northeast of India''. Gent: Snoeck Publishers.
*Kunz, Richard & Vibha Joshi. 2008. ''Naga – A Forgotten Mountain Region Rediscovered''. Basel: Merian.
*
* Shimray, Atai, A.S. - "Let freedom ring?: Story of Naga nationalism".
Novels
* Ben Doherty, ''Nagaland'', Wild Dingo Press, Melbourne, 2018, .
External links
Official site of Nagaland state governmentPhotos of Nagas by Pablo BartholomewArticle "Textile & Bead Art of Nagaland"National Geographic Why These Headhunters Converted to Christianity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naga People
Sino-Tibetan-speaking people
Ethnic groups in Northeast India
Ethnic groups in Manipur
Ethnic groups in Myanmar
Indigenous peoples of South Asia
Indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia
Social groups of Assam
Scheduled Tribes of Nagaland
Ethnic groups in South Asia
Ethnic groups in Southeast Asia
Ethnic groups divided by international borders