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| Dzukou Valley located at the border of the states of Nagaland and Manipur |
The undulating state of Nagaland India is extremely charming and
beautiful. A home to as many as sixteen tribes, the state has much to explore.
The virgin terrains of the state are breathtakingly enchanting. Nagaland, the
land of the hospitable and warm Nagas, lies in the corner of India’s
North-East-bordering Myanmar. Historically, the Nagas have always been brave
warriors. They consider the safety and security of their guests as an honour
and prestige and will never allow any harm to be done to any of their
guests/visitors.
Nagas are by race of the Mongoloid stock and speak Tibeto-Burman
group of languages. Although most of the Nagas have now become Christians, they
still preserve the remnants of their early animist culture and ancient
traditions. Topographically, Nagaland is mostly a hilly region with a pleasant
and salubrious climate throughout the year.
LAND
The state of Nagaland has an area of 16,579 km2 with a
population of 1,980,602 as per the 2011 census making it one of the smallest
states in India. The state is mostly mountainous except those areas bordering
Assam valley. Mount Saramati is the highest peak in Nagaland with a height of
3,840 metres and its range forms a natural barrier between Nagaland and Burma.
The Naga Hills rise from the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam to about 2,000 feet
and rise further to the southeast, as high as 6,000 feet.
Rivers such as the Doyang and Diphu to the north, the Barak
river in the southwest and the Chindwin river of Burma in the southeast,
dissect the entire state. 20 per cent of the total land area of the state is
covered with wooded forest, rich in flora and fauna. The evergreen tropical and
the sub-tropical forests are found in strategic pockets in the state.
About one-sixth of Nagaland is under the cover of tropical and
sub-tropical evergreen forests—including palms, bamboo, and rattan as well as
timber and mahogany forests. While some forest areas have been cleared for jhum
cultivation, many scrub forests, high grass, reeds; secondary dogs, pangolins,
porcupines, elephants, leopards, bears, many species of monkeys, sambar, harts,
oxen, and buffaloes thrive across the state's forests. The Great Indian
Hornbill is one of the most famous birds found in the state.
PEOPLE
The Nagas are not composite people. They speak many languages. They
differ widely in dress and other cultural traits, as well as in physical
features. They belong to Mongoloid stock but yet there are great differences in
the details between one tribe and other, as well as between different people of
the same tribe. Some are tall, some are short. Some are yellow in complexion
and some are even brown. There is no caste system among the Nagas, but each of
the Naga tribe is divided into several or as many as twenty clans. Clans are
mainly based on forefathers or such other things by which one group of people
is differentiated from others. The bigger the tribe, the more is the number of
the clan.
CULTURE
Colourful life and culture are an integral part of the 16
officially recognized Naga tribes of Nagaland. These 16 tribes are different
and unique in their customs and traditions. These customs and traditions are
further translated into festivals which revolve around their agricultural
cycle. Songs and dances form the soul of these festivals through which their
oral history has been passed down the generations.
Folk songs and dances are essential ingredients of the
traditional Naga culture. The oral tradition is kept alive through folk tales
and songs. Naga folk songs are both romantic and historical, with songs
narrating entire stories of famous ancestors and episodes. There are also
seasonal songs which describe various activities done in a particular
agricultural season. Tribal dances of the Nagas give an insight into the inborn
Naga reticence of the people. War dances and other dances belonging to
distinctive Naga tribes are a major art form in Nagaland.
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