The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

manuscript notes made by W.G. Archer between 1946 & 1948, and miscellaneous papers and letters

caption: Sangtam women's dress and houses
medium: notes
person: Chuba
ethnicgroup: SangtamYimchungr
location: Chare Anangba Sangsomo (Sangsoma)
production:
person: Archer/ W.G.
date: 1946-1948
refnum: 5:35
text: 1. Sangtam women (& Yimchungr) wear cloth leggings when going to the forest 'to keep off the burs'.
text: 2. Like Ao, Lhotas and Konyaks, all the married women go bare- breasted in village.
text: 3. A Sangtam hair ornament - a yellow band worn like a fillet - female - as distinctive as the Sema yellow bead skirt.
text: 4. Granaries - with a porch supported by a frontal pillar.
text: 5. Y posts distinctive - the Y comes almost to the ground.
text: 6. Boar's tusks, ivory armlet common to all.
text: 7. Almost all rich Sangtam houses have at least one Chang mug for rice-beer decorated with the Chang tattoo - you suck the rice beer through a straw.
text: 8. Use of china-like shells - Sema men wear them convexly so do Sangtam women. Sangtam men wear them in the ear concavely.
text: 9. Sangtam women - Ao necklace.
text: 10. Chare side - strong Ao influence -
text: - houses on piles
text: - women pipe-smoking (much less common Chongtore side)
text: - gates - massive planks - mithan horn carvings on back.
text: (A 'chameleon' tube which takes its tone from its neighbours).
text: 11. Anangba - women with rosy pink cheeks.
text: 12. Intermixture with Changs? See Hutton's tour - Chuba's mother was a Chang.
text: 13. Sangsoma area - and indeed all N. Sangtams - the Sangtam house is half an Ao and half a Sema - the porch and first half is then earthen floor cf. Sema. The second half - a raised dais of bamboo slats or wooden planks (in case of Sangtams who have killed a mithan) - projecting porch with supporting pole is Ao.
text: 14. Round rice-pounders instead of the huge table like 'boats'.
text: 15. Body cloths - a great variety of patterns - here again much borrowing - Ao - Phom - Sema - all worn - the warriors' cloth however is distinctive - a series of red squares on a bluish background.