Konyak Nagas singing Aoleang song, Nagaland

The Konyak are a Naga people, and are recognised among other Naga by their tattoos, which they have all over their face and hands. They are called the land of Angh's. They have the largest population among the Nagas. The Konyaks can be found in Myanmar, in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal, and in the Mon district of Nagaland, India. They are known in Arunachal as Wancho Konyak. The Konyak language belongs to the Northern Naga subbranch of the Sal subfamily of Sino-Tibetan.The word 'Konyak' is derived from 'Kaonyak which means 'blackhead' or 'human'. The connotation is that the look of human appears black with head black. The Konyak land is situated in the north eastern part of Nagaland. The land is a mountainous region with rich products of natural forest. The climate of the land is temperate. The days are warm but nights are cold. Most of the Konyak villages are situated on the mountain top.

There is no written record or script that the scholars can go through to trace the history of the Konyak people. It is believed that their ancestors had come from the place called Longhong, hill of stones. Or the forefathers might have come from South East Asia. Historians are also of the opinion that the Konyak might have come across the Patkai mountain range and reached the Konyak land. They then settled at Chinglong Wangdonghong, the present Chinglong village site near the river Aoying and Yengmun known as Longpheng- Phinyu-Hong. In course of time, they spread themselves in the adjoining areas.

The Konyak society is mostly patriarchal. An Angh can marry more than one woman but only the son of the queen can become the Angh after father's death. The other wives are concubines and so their children are deprived of Anghship. Three features are very prominent among the Konyak which are Head - hunting, tattooing and Murung or Bachelor's dormitries.

The most important festival among the Konyak is AolingMonyu which is celebrated in spring season and the occasion is related to the sowing of seeds. The feastival starts on 1st April and continues till the 6th April. Another festival called LaoLongmo is celebrated in August after the harvest.

Source: http://nagaland.faithweb.com

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