Angami village at Kigwema and Rajadhani

Thommen Jose

Kigwema village, a few kilometres from Kisama is a settlement of Angami tribe. Akieno's sister took us on a tour to this traditional village with two modern Christian churches. We could see two traditional Angami-Naga homes with crossed horn gable (kikeh) which were not in use but rented to foreign tourists upon request. These houses are adorned with mithun skulls sporting a spooky appearance. The village is divided into four colonies with a morung (boy's dormitory) in each colony. Most of the houses are roofed with corrugated metal sheets. Until the common cemetery came up, the graves were built in front of the houses. There are huge water tanks in each colony where people shower, do laundry and fetch water for their houses. Peace settlement inscribed stones recording the settlement fee - number of mithuns - generated curiosity amongst us. These recent settlements were to end fierce head hunting practice which continued until 1980s. Today the Naga people sport jeans and shirt and wear their ethnic dresses and full warrior costumes only for festivals. The kids at the village are extremely friendly, lent me their circular wheel rotated by a metal hook for a joy ride. Adults seemed to be very serious and tight lipped, the need for being accompanied by a local guardian was very obvious.


We had the company of few wonderful people at the home stay. Joe, a globe trotter from Alaska, Fabienne, an avid traveller and Indophile from Brussels, Len, a gardener from Oregon, US accompanying his friend Becca, a teacher who was born in India retracing her early childhood in India.  Becca's father, a Baptist missionary  worked in Naga and Garo hills in 1950s and contributed linguistically to tribesmen. Swapping culture and travel stories, all of us made ourselves at home around the heater (charcoal filled a metal basket) at Akieno's sitting room.

Though we wanted to spend two weeks in Nagaland, the economics of Hornbill Festival was not suitable for our budget. We hitched a 'rocky ride' with Joe to the town- sitting on rocks in a Tata Mobile. Spent some time gazing at the delicacies unique to Nagaland- dog meat and other crawlies. Hiring a cab from Kohima to Dimapur after 5pm took 2hrs of haggling with taxi drivers, ended up paying Rs.300 per head. A police officer's intervention was too late. At Dimapur an ATM was guarded by five army men, this town cannot be considered totally safe after dark. Sleeping at the railway platform was  checked in our wish list while randomly waiting for a train. We never knew we would be travelling in Rajadhani to Dibrugarh! That too without tickets, but paying a small commission to the Ticket Inspector.

"You get angry, when you are hungry or in a hurry" - a traveller's wisdom by Joe

Hornbill-Festival of Festivals

Named after an endangered bird, Hornbill Festival is an annual celebration at Naga Heritage Village at Kisama, 12km from Kohima from Dec 1st to 7th displaying traditions, culture, costumes, valor and camaraderie. 16 various tribes across Nagaland come together in traditional warrior costumes carrying their hunting paraphernalia. Dancers from other 6 Northeast states perform like true professionals. Marathon, cycling, Northeast riders meet, World War II Peace Rally, flower/horticulture/photo exhibitions and shopping stalls - other crowd pullers. Indira Gandhi stadium at Kohima host the music festival on the evenings, the rock festival has 20 bands over 4days. To soak in the whole experience of Hornbill Festival, spend at least 3 days; make sure you reach before 9am on day one.

On Nov 30th, to get glimpses of behind the scene preparations, we visited Kisama village. The flawless rehearsal for inaugural ceremony was exemplary for the meticulous preparation by the event management personnel. Gala opening ceremony on Dec 1st is a must see. Iconic Naga log drum by Chang tribe, unity dance and Tetse sisters' songs justified the sobriquet of Festival of Festivals. Konyak tribe's gun salute was shocking followed by troupes of bagpipers. Naga chilli eating completion drew large crowds, winner hogged 14 chilies- rated one of the hottest in the world, 1001304 on Scoville Heat Unit which indicates the amount of capsaicin. A 7kg piglet was released to be caught by agile Naga men- a daily event.

Dancers from 6 states enthralled audience on Dec 2nd. Cheraw dance by Mizoram, Dhol Dholak from Manipur, Dahal Tungri by Bodo girls were dazzling. Pork fat eating contest was nauseating to watch, winner consumed more than a kilo in 60sec! Naga cultural dances by tribes evoking various emotions - ferocious head hunting, meditative healing

practices, festive harvesting and exorcist burial ceremony - every tribe provided a visual feast. Every village amon the 1400 village in Nagaland gets a turn to perform here, some may take 30years to come back to Kisama.

The Hindu

Vivid pictures showcasing culture and heritage are abundant at the morungs, walk around and interact with the people. Many speak English and have been to South India. Mighty  wrestlers flexed their muscles at the Naga style wrestling. Relish the blisteringly authentic Naga food at the morungs - khalora and rice beer were our favorite. While you are not admiring pastiche of bamboo architecture, indulge in shopping for a piece of household tool at the bamboo pavilion. You can't carry in your bag? Indian Post has a stall inside the village to ship it at a cheap rate. Notably Indian tourists are less in number compared to the foreign tourists, Hornbill is organized eyeing on the dollar and euro signs.