| caption: |
first visit to Konyaks in 1936 |
| text: |
When in 1936 I embarked upon the study of the Konyak Nagas on India's northeast frontier, the interests of most anthropologists were still focused on preliterate and comparatively isolated societies, and I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity of recording an ancient cultural pattern and way of life which was to be disrupted and transformed much sooner than I or anyone else could then have foreseen. Today the society of the Konyak Nagas no longer exists in its traditional form, and the turbulent political situation in Nagaland--one of India's foremost trouble spots--has barred the area to scholars ever since India attained independence. |
