Living tradition, India
Mon and the Konyak country
The Konyak homeland of Nagaland, where the last men with face tattoos marking old headhunting rites still live.
Mon district in northern Nagaland is the homeland of the Konyak Nagas. Konyak men once received face tattoos to mark their passage into manhood and success in headhunting raids, and women were tattooed on the arms and legs. Headhunting ended in the mid-twentieth century, and the men who carry the face tattoos today are elderly. Villages such as Longwa, which straddles the India and Myanmar border, are visited for their culture.
Konyak tattoos
Konyak face tattoos are dark patterns across the face, often with lines on the forehead, cheeks and around the eyes, made with soot and plant sap. They were given in stages and were tied to the warrior role and to village rank. Konyak men also wore ornaments of brass, bone and beads. Tattooing faded as Christianity spread and headhunting was ended.
Festivals
The Konyak spring festival, Aoleang, held in early April, marks the sowing season with dances, feasts and traditional dress, and is the best time to see Konyak ornament. Nagaland's Hornbill Festival, held each December at Kisama near Kohima, brings all the Naga peoples together. Photographers have documented the last tattooed Konyak elders in recent decades.
Guides of Mon and the Konyak country
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source