The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

manuscript Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf notebook three

caption: a village official - first reaper
medium: notes
ethnicgroup: Konyak
location: Wakching
date: 19.8.1936
production:
person: Furer-Haimendorf
date: 8.1936-6.1937
acquirer:
person: School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London
text: The Ching-ten-kun-ba-hu
text: - Yong-mek's father was Kunba; Yong-mek is a boy.
text: The Ching-ten-kun-ba-hu builds as the first his field house. He even begins with the building of the houses, in village, though (114) his house is quite new - he will just as a formality put a new bunch of palm leaves on his roof.
text: When tattooing begins first on him as a member of the family, a little spot is tattooed just "for name" in his house before the other people are tattooed.
text: There is always a rivalry between Thephong and Aukheang which is the oldest - as ten houses of Sha-yong-hu are in Thephong and ten in Aukheang. But as any curses don't work on Yong-mek and his family, it is believed that they are the real village founders. (115) If for instance the Sha-yong-hu of Thephong say "we are the oldest" and build a field house first, it is blown away, but if Yong-mek does it, it remains.
text: At Ou-nie-bu only Yong-mek brings a little rice into his house, kills a chicken, and says: [konyak]