Nagaland

Nagaland, state, extreme north-east India, bordered on the west and north by Assam State, on the east by Myanmar, on the north by Arunachal Pradesh State, and on the south by Manipur State. Comprising the former Naga Hills District of Assam and part of the former North East Frontier Agency, Nagaland was made a separate state in 1963. It is one of India's smallest states, with a total area of 16,579 sq km (6,400 sq mi). The state capital is Kohima. The terrain is mountainous, thickly wooded, and cut by deep river valleys. There is a wide variety of flora and fauna. Nagaland has a monsoon climate with generally high humidity; rainfall averages between 1,800 mm and 2,500 mm (70 and 100 in) a year.

The population of Nagaland is 1,988,636 (2000), giving an average density of about 119 people per sq km (310 per sq mi). Kohima, which became famous in World War II as the place where the Japanese advance was halted by Indian and British forces, has a population of about 51,400. The main commercial centre is Dimapur, 74 km (45 mi) from Kohima, where there is a railhead and airport. Society is predominantly tribal and many traditional customs are maintained. Women have relatively high status and influence in tribal councils. Tribal structures vary from the autocratic Konyaks to the democratic Angamis, Aos, and Rengmas. The Nagas were once head hunters, believing that the release of the spiritual soul (mio), located in the head, would bring wealth and fertility to the possessor. The principal languages are Angami, Ao, Chang, Konyak, Lotha, Sangtam, and Sema. British missionaries were active in the region in the 19th century, and today about 90 per cent of the population is Christian.

Agriculture provides 90 per cent of the people with their livelihood; rice and maize are the main crops. However, the state is not self-sufficient in food. Shifting cultivation is widely practiced and population pressure has caused the fallow period to be cut to a couple of years—causing loss of soil fertility, erosion, and falling crop yields. The forests, which cover about 17 per cent of Nagaland, are its most important source of income. There are varied mineral reserves, including oil deposits, but almost no exploitation. The state has adopted an industrialization programme since the 1970s. Dimapur now has sugar mills, pulp and paper mills, breweries, and a plywood factory. Handloom and handicrafts remain important.

Nagaland has a unicameral Legislative Assembly with 60 seats, and sends two members to the Indian national parliament—one each to the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and the Lok Sabha (lower house). There are seven local government administrative districts. Little is known about the early history of Nagaland, including the origin of 30 huge mushroom-shaped monoliths. British rule was established over the area of Nagaland by the 1890s, and head-hunting was outlawed. The Naga territory remained split between Assam and the North East Frontier Authority after Indian independence in 1947, despite a vocal movement advocating the political union of all the Naga tribes; one faction called for secession from the Indian Union. In 1957, following violent incidents, the Indian government established a single Naga administrative unit under Indian government administration. The Naga people responded by refusing to pay their taxes and with a campaign of sabotage. In 1960 it was agreed that Nagaland should become a self-governing state within the Indian Union. Naga separatists, however, continued to show violent opposition. In the early 1970s, direct rule was imposed by the Indian central government. A ceasefire was agreed with some of the rebels in 1975, but others have continued the insurgency campaign.

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More General Information

Till 1963 Naga Hills formed a district of Assam. It was made into the state of Nagaland in that year. It is a land of rugged hills with small plains tracts, the total area being 16,579 square kilometers. The state is bounded by Assam in the north and north-west, Manipur in the east. The population according to the 1991 census is 1,215,573.

The bulk of the inhabitants of Nagaland are known as Nagas who are believed to be among the earliest migrants from south-east Asia to North-East India across the Assam plains.

There are more than twenty Naga tribes and sub-tribes, the more well-known among them being the Angamis, the Aos, the Semas, the Lhotas, the Konyaks, the Chakesangs, the Sangtams, the Changs, the Yimchungers, the Zeliangs and the Rengmas. All of them speak different dialects unintelligible to one another. For mutual communication they use a kind of pidgin Assamese which has been named Nagamese - i.e., Assamese as adopted by the Nagas. Incidentally, contacts with the people oft the plains have been regular and abiding.

Sturdy and virile, the Nagas have been inveterate lovers of freedom. Inter-clan and inter-village feuds had been very common in the past and head hunting was once very much a part of the Naga way of life. Much of the Naga character of independence and alertness had been built up through the institution of the morungs or bachelors' dormitories

Today, the majority of the Nagas have adopted Christianity. Along with it, rapid spread of western education and the impact of modern western standards have made deep inroads into traditional Naga beliefs and customs. However, the Nagas are a tradition-loving people, and a more or less distinctive Naga way of life is still being maintained.

source: A Handbook of Folklore Material of North East India. Birendranath Datta, Nabin Chandra Sarma, Prabin Chandra Das

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