Konyak Tribe

About Konyak Tribe:

• The Konyaks can be found in the Mondistrict of Nagaland and also in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal.
• The term ‘Konyak’ is believed to have been derived from the words ‘Whao’ meaning ‘head’ and ‘Nyak’ meaning ‘black’ translating to ‘men with black hair’.
  • They can be grouped into two groups, namely “Thendu”, which means the “Tattooed Face” and “Thentho”, meaning the “White face”.
• The Konyaks are of Mongoloid origin and about 95% of the population follows the Christian faith now.
• Language: The Konyak language belongs to the Northern Naga sub branch of the Sal subfamily of Sino-Tibetan.
• Festivals: Festivals occupy an important place in the lives of the Konyaks. The three most significant festivals were Aolingmonyu, Aonyimo and Laoun-ongmo.
• They are skilled in the art of making firearms. They are also skilled in handicrafts like basket making, cane and bamboo works, brass works etc.
• The Konyak society is a patriarchal society and the eldest son of the family usually inherits the paternal property.

Q1: Who are known as Tribes?

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, a tribe is a collection of families bearing a common name, speaking a common dialect, and occupying or professing to occupy a common territory.

Source: Nagaland tribe seeks Assam boundary map ‘rectified’, writes to CM Rio