The Nagas

Hill Peoples of Northeast India

Project Introduction The Naga Database

manuscript - Christoph von Furer-Haimendorf, Naga notebook seven

caption: clans and founding of village and customs
medium: notes
ethnicgroup: Konyak
location: Namsang Nachamkong (Namsang Machamkong)
date: 17.3.1937
production:
person: Furer-Haimendorf
date: 23.9.1936-21.3.1937
refnum: School of Oriental and African Studies Library, London
text: (70) Namsang Machamkong 17/3/1937
text: Clans:
Ghiyanghu
Yinyonghu (Winyonghu)
Metahu
Hong ha hu
Shanglonghu
text: The clans are exogamous.
text: Winyogphu and Metahu came from from Wakching, Shanglonghu from Wanching and Honghahu from Namsang.
text: There is no Benba.
text: Ghiyanghu came from the Ao country, the village Nokpho (Mirinokpho).
text: (71) Tapngebangba (fieldhouse builder) to the title of a man of Ghiyanghu clan - he is also called Hashebangba (sower) Moibuba (fortune-caller); he builds the first field house and does the first sowing. There is no ceremonial first reaping.
text: Though the village was founded seven years ago, they have not done the foundation ceremony, because they had not the money to buy sacrificial animals. But it will be done this year in about a month's time. (72) The village founder, an old man of Winyonghu clan, will kill the chickens, pigs and dogs in the middle of the village. He will say: [konyak]. (73) The day when the animals are killed and the two next days are genna. There is not dancing but the drum is beaten. There is only one morung and it has no name. (74) The people of Namsang Machamkong neither weave cloth, nor make pots, nor make daos. They buy almost everything from the plains and from the Aos, even rice. They mainly live on selling pan leaves to the plains. There are no Neangbas. As marriage price they pay about five layas. They don't strew leaves at funerals.
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