Naga Shell Necklace India 30inch

Naga jewelry is beautiful, complex, and yet orderly. 

The Naga, like many ethnic groups around the world, use their ornamentation to let others around them know who they are and what their status is in the community. They cast brass and bronze alloys to create trophy head-shaped pendants to reward a warrior for his abilities in headhunting.

The Naga people live in the northeastern mountainous area of India. The Naga, who share some cultural activities, are separated into different tribes known as the Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Khiamungan, Konyak, Kabui, Lotha, Mao, Maram, Memi, Phom, Rengma, Sangtam, Sema, Tangkul, Yimchunger and Zeliangrong. Nagaland has a population of approximately two million people. For centuries, the Naga lived an agricultural and head-hunting existence, but that changed once they came into contact with the British in the 1830s. The Nagas and the British engaged in warfare for many years until in 1922, the British gained control of the area and integrated it into their takeover of other Indian states. The British enforced a monetary and economic system over the Naga which in turn changed their cultural existence to this day. During British occupation, Christian missionaries from the United States and Europe converted many Nagas from animism to Christianity. The official language of Nagaland today is English.

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