Critical Reflections on the Konyak Naga Ethnography

Abstract

The Konyak Nagas who inhabit the state of Nagaland in Northeast India have generated considerable anthropological interests since the colonial period. This eastern Naga tribe was mentioned in several colonial reports, but they came into prominence in anthropological literature, following Fürer-Haimendorf’s ethnographic monograph The Naked Nagas: Head-hunters of Assam in Peace and War. Fürer-Haimendorf had conducted fieldwork in Wakching village in the present Mon district between 1936 and 1937, setting off a new genre of ethnographic writing on the Naga tribes. Sifting through Fürer-Haimendorf’s writings, this article attempts a critical analysis of Konyak society and culture in light of recent developments in ethnographic studies. As argued, the Konyak Nagas are far removed from the colonial representations, but they still suffer from exotic imageries in the popular imagination that, in turn, has influenced ethnographic works. This article reflexively analyzes the Konyak Naga ethnography against the backdrop of a rapid sociocultural change facing the community.