Konyak tribe: The Last Headhunters of Nagaland

The Konyak tribe have a longstanding reputation for being ferocious headhunters in the isolated hills of northern Nagaland. The warrior celebrated a major life achievement with a lavish celebration for the one who enemy’s head at home. They were warriors who thought that having a strong offense was the best way to defeat rival tribes in combat.

Even when they don’t have spears or machetes in their hands, Naga warriors have threatening appearance. They frequently sport jewelry, like necklaces and nose ornaments made of animal tusks, teeth, and claws. Their inked torsos and faces exhibit evidence of their participation in headhunting and deadly fighting. As a mark of their valiant acts, it was customary to honor them with tattoos on their faces and chests.

Headhunting history of Konyak Headhunters

Their ferocious headhunting history was a component of their long history as ruthless warriors. Konyak tribe were, thus, feared — they beheaded their foes and brought back the severed heads as trophies. Opposing tribes and villages settled territorial conflicts through combat. The warriors then proudly adorned their walls and doors with heads.

In 1960, the Indian government officially outlawed headhunting. In the early 1960s, Naga headhunters stopped headhunting.

At present these headhunters who were once considered warriors among their clans, who are frequently elderly, can be identified by their big ear piercings made of animal horns and their battle caps made of a wild bear or goat hair, hornbill feathers, and hunted wild pig horns. The knives they used to kill people are still with them.

Nonetheless, the Konyak festivals are frequently a throwback to their headhunting days, where war dances with guns and knives feature prominently and some of the enemy skulls buried deep in the trees are exhumed to be displayed – they no longer resolve their disagreements with these weapons.

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