| caption: |
journey back to Mokokchung |
| text: |
As one nears a village, groups of stone monoliths rise from the paths. These are erected by rich men to celebrate their wealth and status. The huge stones are dragged up by the whole village which is feasted by the donor. In places some wooden sledges hacked from great tree trunks were lying by the stones they had borne. |
| text: |
In Chizami a number of Angamis have other memorials; two stones are carved to represent the man and his wife and beside them are several lines of small stones some of which are carved like heads. The latter represent the number of heads the man has taken, while the ordinary stones represent the number of women he has enjoyed. We counted one hundred and ten stones beside the figure of one lady-killer and the villagers told us that no one bothered to erect stones if his score was less than thirty. There is an engaging frankness in this glorification of the art of love! (67) |
