Read : Various festivals of Nagaland

Nagaland is a place that is extremely rich in vast species of flora and fauna and also a habitat of some of the deadliest plants and animals. Nagaland is also known as the Falcon capital of the world because it’s a home of the large diversity of different and beautiful species of birds. Nagaland not only make people amazed and dazzled by its natural aesthetic beauty but also gives a feeling of relaxation and peace, whoever visits this amazing place.

NAGALAND: Home of various Tribal communities

 Nagaland is a home of different Tribes. According to the ancient history of Nagaland, there are estimated to be 66 tribes including the sub-tribes but out of these, only 16 are considered as major tribes. The major tribes include Angami, chakhesang, Ao, Chang, Khemungan, Konyak, Tista, Zeliang, Phom, Pochuri, Lotha, Rengma, Sangram, Sema, Yimchunger, Poumai, Rongmei Naga, Maram Naga, Nocte, Tangsa, Tista, and Wancho. These all Tribes have their own language structure except a common language (Nagamese) that they speak to communicate with other tribes, but they are all common in following dress code, traditional laws, cultural practices, and eating habits. These tribes had their origin from the Indo – mongoloid family and major of these tribes follow Christianity as religion. Instead of living in urban areas, they prefer to live in rural regions in order to maintain their culture and tradition.

Culture and its origin

As mentioned Nagaland is a home of different tribes, cultures, and social structures that vary from one tribal community to another. The people of Nagaland lives on the top of the hill in houses having stone walls and heavy wooden gates with deep ditches dug around the wall. Because of Nagaland’s vibrant and dynamic cultural tradition, their dance and music forms are all different and unique.

Dance and music of Nagaland

In Nagaland, each tribal community has its own unique style of dance Zeliang dance, fly dance, cricket dance, cock dance, and bear dance are some of the famous dance forms that are performed by the tribal people of Nagaland mostly during festivals. These dance forms are mainly dominated by the male members of the community, dressed in traditional costumes and usually performed in groups in the closed circles. During the dance performance, they use props like shield or spear that are related to their culture.

 As tribal people used their native musical instruments, so they have unique melodious rhythm depending on various communities of the tribal people. Through these instruments, the music composed mainly based on religion, bravery, romance, and motivation.

Customs and traditions of Nagaland

Nagaland is known for its strong warrior background. They had a ritual of headhunting where warring tribes uses to take off the head of their enemies in order to establish triumph on a particular region a state after the war. But now this ritual has become obsolete.

Marriage culture in Nagaland

The Naga tribe follows a typical tradition with respect to the marriages. The marriages in the same community are not allowed in Naga tradition. It is considered as a social evil if there is any relationship between a boy and a girl within the same community. The marriage laws vary according to the different tribal communities. There are practices such as, in some tribal communities relations like prenuptial are allowed but only at a certain limit, while in some tribal communities the groom of one tribe has to pay a price for the girl in the form of Dowry and hence, in those communities the girls are given a lot of care and regard. Some communities like Sema, changs, and Lothas, the man can have multiple wives at the same time.

Costumes and dress code of Nagaland

The dress code also varies from one tribe to another tribe. The main attire or dress code of Nagaland tribes is shawls and skirts.

The Angami Tribe women usually wear a petticoat called neikhro, a sleeveless top called vatchi, and a white skirt called pfemhou. The Zemei women usually wear white-colored clothes and skirts with a very narrow black and red border, and men wear a black kilt, decorated with embroidered cowries in three or four lines.

There are different types of shawls worn by different people in Nagaland like Rongsu shawls are for people having a glorious heritage of Mithun sacrifice, Rongkhim is wearable only by the venerated warrior.

Food and cuisine of Nagaland

Normally Nagaland people eat rice as a common food usually accompanied by vegetables and meat.

The people of the Nagaland tribe are fond of meat, they usually prefer to eat beef, pork and chicken meat but sometimes they also prefer the meat of Mithun, dogs, fish, cats, spiders, and birds in accordance with their taste and occasion. They also prefer elephant meat including its skin on some occasions. To prepare dishes, they smoked the meat, dried it, and preserve it for a long time, they prefer steaming their food instead of frying. The people of Nagaland mostly use chilies in their every dish. Zutho (a rice beer), Ruhi, and Dzutse are some famous drinks preferred by the people of Nagaland.

Occupation and work of Nagaland

 Agriculture and animal husbandry are the most common occupation of the people of Nagaland that includes poultry farming, vegetables and fruits farming, and irrigation. There are also some other modes of income on which they generally rely on includes bamboo farming, cane farming, spears making, and weaving.

Some traditional village industries based on local forest products act as the backbone of this sector. The people of Nagaland have been blessed with dexterity, especially when we talk about women. Nagaland is rich in metals such as iron, brass, and tin that are used to make beautiful jewelry pieces in the form of armlets, neck Bands, bangles, and many more items.

Popular places of Nagaland

There are many different places which are very popular in Nagaland. The most popular places of Nagaland are Kohima and Dimapur includes lots of popular destinations like Kachari ruins, Rangapahar reserve Forest, Kuki dolong village, Baptist Church, japfu peak, Dzokou valley, Naga Heritage Village, Kohima war cemetery, etc.

You can’t explore Nagaland until or unless you visit it by yourself.  Visit this awesome and beautiful place and watch the unlimited sight full of adventure and amazement.

The events celebrated in Nagaland are popular all over the world. Nagaland attracts lots of visitors towards these events just because of its unique style and beauty. There are some of the popular events celebrated in Nagaland that you need to know for a better understanding of the culture of Nagaland.

The Popular events of Nagaland

Hornbill Festival – Most popular festival

Hornbill festival is celebrated annually. This festival gets its name from the Indian hornbill, a common bird among the folklore and the tribes of Nagaland.

Hornbill festival is a very popular and vibrant festival in Nagaland. It is often also called a “festival of all festivals”. This festival is a powerful representation of Naga culture, traditional practices, cultural music, and dance. All the diverse tribes in Nagaland offer their possible contribution to the festival to make it more entertaining and vibrant. People from all over the world visit Nagaland just to take part in these various extravagant dances and musical performances as well as competitions to make their visit more entertaining and fun. You must take part in the Hornbill festival at least once because only then you can actually know about the true culture and traditions of Nagaland.

 Ngada Festival – post harvesting celebration

Ngada festival is also celebrated annually in the month of November and December. This festival is celebrated after the harvesting of crops.

The Ngada festival is celebrated by the Rengma tribe (originated in the state of Assam and Nagaland, northeast India). Ngada Festival is also among the most popular and vibrant festivals of Nagaland as it is a post-harvest festival in which people of different tribes celebrate the successful harvest and also do prayers at the graves of their loved ones.

Surkenye Festival – pray the Almighties

Surkenye festival is celebrated continuously for 6 days. This festival starts on 15 January and ends on 28 January. Surkenye festival is celebrated to pray to the almighty to bless and purify their souls. This is one of the harvest festivals which is celebrated by the Nagas of Nagaland (Chkhesang). The joviality of the festival is anchored by the chakhesang tribe with a keen and confident approach. It is a festival to promote baptism among the young generation of Nagaland. This festival includes cultural programs like singing, dancing, feasting, sacrificing animals, and praying to all the Almighties.

Sekrenyi Festival – a festival of harmony

Sekrenyi is a 10-day long festival organized by the people of the Angami tribe in Nagaland in the month of February every year. The festival involved festivities like cultural music and dance performed by the Angami tribe. During the festival, animals are hunted by the men of the village and prepared by the women of the Angami tribe for the dinner. The festival is very vibrant and featured with lots of cultural programs and delicious dishes.

Mimkut festival – annual harvest of maize crop

The Mimkut festival is celebrated on the occasion of the annual harvest of the maize crop (Mim). The origin of this festival is connected with a Kuki story of ” Mim”. this story explores the Love and bond of two brothers who were abandoned by their mother. The people of the Kuki tribe celebrate this festival by giving tribute to the dead soul in the form of wine, token of maize, jewellery, clothing, and bread.

The festival is celebrated by the Kuki tribe in Nagaland. The festival is very popular in Nagaland and celebrated in the month of December.

Hega Festival – a kind of valentine’s day

Hega festival is celebrated to appreciate feelings towards God and offer privileges to them. People at this festival do pray to the almighty to shower them with blessings in the form of luck, courage, and money.

Hega festival is also a very popular festival in Nagaland. This festival is celebrated by the zeliang community of Nagaland by simply praying to God and thanking him for blessing them. It is also celebrated as a kind of valentine’s day by the zeliang people, as young couples get engaged and weddings are done during Hega festival. It is a festival which is celebrated every year in the month of February and carried out for about 5 days continuously.

Bushu Festival – offer harvest to diety Sibrai

Bushu festival is divided into three steps and that’s why the duration of celebrating the festival varies with respect to time. This festival is celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony organized by the Kachri tribe. The festival is organized, after when the harvest and cultivation are completed in the latter weeks of January. During this festival, people enjoy delicious food, drink, dance, and sing.

Tsukenyie Festival – tribute to harvest in agriculture

Tsukenyie festival is celebrated for about 4 days from the 6th of March every year. Each day of this festival is marked as a traditional ceremony or ritual program. The festival Tsukenyie is celebrated by the chakhesang tribe in Nagaland. This festival is full of bright colors, peace, happiness. This festival also a kind of New year. At this occasion, tribal people of chakhesang do eye-catching performances of dance and singing that’s the main highlight of the Tsukenyie festival.

Moatsu Festival – a festival of harmony and unity

Moatsu festival is celebrated by the Ao Nagas tribe of Nagaland. This festival is celebrated after the fields have been cleared, weeds have been discarded and seeds are sown. It seems to be a kind of reward for people who have worked for several hours to clear those fields.

 In this Moatsu festival, tribal people pray to the almighty to look after their lands and be blessed with a great harvest. The festival is celebrated with full harmony and unity. People of the tribe celebrate the Moatsu festival by doing traditional dance and singing cultural songs.

Yemshe  Festival – a celebration of combined efforts

Yemshe festival is quite a popular festival in Nagaland. This is also one of the most popular harvesting festivals celebrated in northeast India ( Nagaland). This festival is celebrated by the people of the Pochuris Nagas tribe. The people of Pochuris Nagas celebrate the festival Yemshe by doing different traditional dances on folk music in their cultural dresses. This festival is quite important for the people of the Pochuris  Nagas, hence they celebrate it with full joy and warm feelings. This festival is celebrated in the last week of September and the first week of October. It is one of the most widely known harvest festivals in Nagaland. It is a kind of appreciation ceremony for the efforts put in the fields by the people of the Pochuris tribes.

So these were some of the festivals or events that Nagaland people celebrate. Be a part of the famous festivals of Nagaland whenever you get a chance.