NAGA ORNAMENTS AND THE INDIAN OCEAN

Abstract

Naga communities in northeastern India and Myanmar have lived in isolation from the sea for centuries, but in their traditional ornaments they wear stone beads from the Gulf of Kutch and shells from the Bay of Bengal. Large-scale use of such cultural materials from the sea raises more questions than answers. There are many groups and sub-groups among the Nagas and each group/sub-group has its own unique traditional attire and ornaments, each element of which is closely bound up with the customs of that group. This paper attempts to explore the ornaments and costume accessories of the Nagas with special emphasis on the material originating from the Indian ocean. The paper is confined mostly to the ethnographic record from the 19th and 20th centuries.