Konyak Naga
Total population | |
---|---|
320,000 approx. | |
Regions with significant populations | |
India | N/A |
Nagaland | N/A |
Assam | N/A |
Myanmar | N/A |
Naga SAZ | N/A |
Languages | |
Konyak language, Burmese | |
Religion | |
Christianity and Animism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Wancho, Other Naga Ethnic Groups, Garo |
The Konyaks are a major
Other unique traditional practices that set the Konyaks apart are: gunsmithing, iron-smelting, brass-works, and gunpowder-making. Members of a village were asked to urinate in one particular place for months. Urine has potassium nitrate and sulphur. The urine rich soil is then boiled. A black residue floats on top of the water which is collected, dried, mixed with charcoal, and turned into gunpowder. They are also known for making excellent Yanglaü (machetes) and wooden sculptures.[citation needed]
Society
The Konyaks are the largest of the Naga ethnic groups. They are found in
The ethnic members maintain a very disciplined community life with strict adherence to duties and responsibilities assigned to each of them.[citation needed]
Culture
Festival
Aoleang is a festival celebrated in the first week of April (1–6) to welcome the spring and also to invoke the Almighty's (Kahwang) blessing upon the land before seed-sowing, is the biggest festival of the Konyaks. Another festival, Lao Ong Mo, is the traditional harvest festival celebrated in the months of August/September.[citation needed]
Language
The
Notable people
- Chingwang Konyak (b. 1943), Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha (1980–1984)
- Tobu constituency
- Phangnon Konyak (b. 1978), Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (2022–present)
- P. Paiwang Konyak (b. 1977), Cabinet Minister in Nagaland Legislative Assembly
- Noke Wangnao (b. 1948), Member of Nagaland Legislative Assembly
- W. Wangyuh (b. 1963), Former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
References
- ^ 'Konyak Nagas' by Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf, (1969)
- ^ "Portraits of India's last tattooed headhunters before they disappear".
Further reading
- 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.
- Alban von Stockhausen: Imag(in)ing the Nagas: The Pictorial Ethnography of Hans-Eberhard Kauffmann and Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf. Arnoldsche, Stuttgart 2014,.
- ISBN 978-3-89790-412-5.