About The Konyak Tribes and Mon District
EXPLORE the Land of the Konyak tribe in Mon district, Nagaland state, India and experience the culture and way of living.
Mon is the land of the captivating Konyak Nagas, whose culture and traditions are an attraction by themselves for the visitors. The Konyaks believe that they crossed the historic gate known as "Alemkaphan", which is interpreted in Konyak as the gate of the sun. The rulers of the villages still use the word "Wang"(Angh) for themselves, meaning 'the beginning of everything'. The Konyaks are known for their tattooed faces, blackened teeth and the headhunting practise, which is a thing of the past now.The Konyak tribe is one of the major tribes of Nagaland. They inhabit Mon district which is in the northern most part of Nagaland. Mon town is the main headquarter of the district, which is 354kms away from Kohima, the capital of Nagaland and 294kms away from Dimapur, which is connected to the other Indian metros by air and railways. The nearest airport to Mon is Jorhat (147kms) and Dibrugarh (283kms) connected by major flights and trains from New Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati.
The climate is pleasant all year round.
(Summer-Cotton clothes and light jacket with rain gear,and good walking shoes)
(Winter- Heavy woollens,rain gear for occasional showers and good walking shoes)
Famed for their practise of head hunting the Konyaks were the last of the Naga tribes to give up this pracitse in the mid 30`s .. Head hunting was carried out due to inter village or inter clan feuds as revenge.
The culture of tattooing the faces and body was common to both males and females as they attained puberty which marked as that person being welcomed or entering the adult society. The males tattoed on the faces and chest which is distinctive and depended on their valorous acheievements.But for the females the tattoo was done on the calves when they are unmarried and still living at their fathers house,and then tattooed on their thighs after marriage as they live in their husbands house. This tattoo culture and practise was stopped with the advent of christianity.Nowadays, just a few of the older generation is left which will become memeories on celluloid in a few year's time making it an opportunity to grab now to come, see and experience.