| caption: |
Chapter One. The Material Background |
| caption: |
Thenkoh and Thendu groups distinguished by face tattoos or lack of them |
| text: |
The bisection of the Konyak tribe into two groups distinguished by cultural and linguistic features was first recognized by J. H. Hutton and J. P. Mills. They described the two sections of the tribe as Thenkoh and Thendu, expressions which, like the word 'keniak,' occur in the language of Tamlu and Tanhai, and refer to the most conspicuous feature of the Thendu men, namely, their elaborate face tattoo, and the absence of such facial decoration among the Thenkoh people. The equivalent names in the language of Wakching are Sheangtu and Sheangshong, but in order to avoid confusion, the names introduced by Hutton and Mills will be retained throughout this book. |
