Naga peoples

The Nagas, Tibeto-Burman peoples of the Indo-Myanmar hills, form the majority of Nagaland and the Naga Self-Administered Zone, with kin across Manipur, Arunachal, Assam, Sagaing and Kachin. Divided into tribes of unclear number, each speaking its own often unintelligible Naga tongue, they share hilltop villages, terraced rice, log drums and a warrior past of headhunting ended in the last century. Baptist missions made Nagaland India's most Christian state; Naga nationalism then fought Delhi for decades, and ceasefires now hold an uneasy peace. Hornbill Festival dancers, Naga chilli farmers, Kohima musicians and the still-unsettled demand for Greater Nagaland keep the hill republics singing. Manipur, Arunachal and Assam villages keep distinct Naga tongues. Sagaing and Kachin townships vote in Myanmar elections. Tribal numbers stay unclear in every census. Naga groups share hill customs across the border. Distinct languages divide village from village. Unintelligible tongues still need translators at weddings. Majority status still shapes Nagaland politics.