Old Naga Necklace Pre 1860 Beads India

Naga jewelry is beautiful, complex, and yet orderly. 

Glass beads make up the primary parts of Naga jewelry. Most glass beads used by the Naga are made by Indians from Assam. Occasionally, some older beads may be featured in Naga necklaces such as Venetians and Czech beads from Europe. Additionally, the Naga use carnelian beads and cowrie shells from Knambhat or Cambay in Gujarat.

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.

Beads were worn by all Nagas men and women alike. Bead ornamentation was worn constantly, they were viewed as being an essential part of a person. Beads are the first jewelry worn by a Naga baby, telling world this child is now a part of the community. In some Naga groups, the removing of beads from a person body meant that they were now a non-being. So it was important to at least have one string of beads on at all times for good luck.

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.

152451