The Ao Naga Tribe of Assam: a Study in Ethnology and Sociology

Abstract

THE AOS, the people studied in this latest addition to the excellent series of monographs published by the Government of Assam, occupy the country lying between the Lhota and Sema Nagas on the south, and the various Naga tribes, collectively known by the Aos as “Miri,” in what is mainly independent territory on the north. The Aos are composed of two racial groups, the Mongsen and the Chongli, which Mr. J. H. Hutton in his interesting introductory analysis suggests may have fused comparatively recently, the Mongsen representing a pre-Ao population. The author modestly does not claim for his book that it is any more than an introduction to the study of the people. He has covered a wide field in his account of the culture, social organisation, and religion and magical beliefs of the people, but not in that intensive manner which we have become accustomed to look for in this series. What is, perhaps, the most valuable part of the book, especially from the practical point of view of the future of the people, is the final chapter recording the changes in their culture which have been brought about by contact with outside, and especially European, influences. It is both a guide and a warning.