Konyak community

6th September, 2024 Geography

Konyak community

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context:

The Konyak Union urged Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to help remove discrepancies on Google Maps as two villages of Nagaland, established six decades ago, have been shown in Assam.

Key Details about the Tribe

Particulars	Description
Tribe Name	Derived from ‘Whao’ (head) and ‘Nyak’ (black), translating to ‘men with black hair’.
Distribution	They are mostly found in the Mon district of Nagaland as well as in Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar and Assam.
Groups	The tribe is broadly distinguished into two groups –Thendu, which means the ‘Tattooed Face’ and Thentho meaning the ‘White face’.
Origin	The Konyaks are of Mongoloid in origin.
Religion	About 95% of the population follows Christianity. Before the advent of Christianity into Nagaland, the Konyaks were the believers of “Animism” worshipping different objects of nature.
Language	Linguistically, the Konyaks come under the Naga-Kuki group of the Tibeto-Burman family with each village having its own dialect.
Unique tradition	A unique feature of the Konyak tradition is the practice of the Angh system. There are two different kinds of Anghs among the Konyaks, Pongyin Angh or Anaghtak Anghyong (the Great King or Monarch/Chief) and Angh (small king).
Festivals	The three most significant festivals were Aolingmonyu, Aonyimo and Laoun-ongmo.
Skills	Skilled in making firearms, handicrafts such as basket making, cane and bamboo works, brass works, etc. The tradition of gunpowder making by the Konyak tribe is locally known as the ‘Ghat lineup’.
Society	The Konyak society is a patriarchal society and is dominated by male chauvinism.