India's Last Headhunter Tribe

[Kazimiera]

Photos of India's last headhunter tribe

Source: http://www.earthables.com/indias-las...be-1656455574/



Talented Photographer Trupal Pandya traveled to a small village in northeast India located between Nepal and Myanmar. His purpose was to document a unique way of life that will soon be lost forever. The Konyak Naga Tribe has been around for centuries and remains well known for their fierce head hunting traditions.

Historically, 'Headhunters' were rewarded for killing an enemy and then bringing back the head. This was considered a rite of passage deserving the headhunter a facial or chest tattoo, as well as a new carved head to hang from his traditional necklace. The numbers of heads hanging from warriors' necklaces indicates how many people they have killed.



One tribe member explained, "Heads were to us what money is to your generation. They brought us respect and meant getting a better girl for marriage. And our tattoos symbolized our achievements."



Regulations enforced in the 1970s put a stop to many of these bloody rituals, although the very last headhunter is still alive and well today. 86-year-old Ching Kum hunted the very last head in 1990 during a battle with a neighboring Chang tribe.



76-year-old Luhbong Wang shared with the photographer, "In earlier times we used to hang the heads of our enemies on the walls of our houses, but now we are not allowed. So we have replaced them with the skulls of animals that we kill to provide for our families."



This old school way of life is greatly threatened by modern influences. Most youthful tribe members have already gone off to find jobs elsewhere, lured away by modern fashion, technology and the promise of a better life. Not only is headhunting a thing of the past, but also the tribe's traditions and ceremonies are slowly but surly fading away.

[Maguzanci]

It's a tragedy how that the predominant majority of them were converted from their tribal animistic religion to Christianity and how the younger generation are attracted by modernization and no longer preserve the tradition. When they were headhunters killin' and sheeyit, they were a lot mofo and badass than dey are now!!

[crazyladybutterfly]

how would they preserve their tradition without more wars?

[Astronaut]

It's a tragedy how that the predominant majority of them were converted from their tribal animistic religion to Christianity and how the younger generation are attracted by modernization and no longer preserve the tradition. When they were headhunters killin' and sheeyit, they were a lot mofo and badass than dey are now!!

preserving head hunting culture ?