SOCIETY
In earlier days, Inter-village feuds between the
tribes were the order of the day. So the selection of the sites for the village
was largely influenced by considerations of defensive strategy. They were
usually built on top of the hills, well fortified with stone walls, sharp
pointed bamboo spikes, heavy wooden gates and deep ditches around. The remnants
of such defenses can still be seen in villages like Kohima or Khonoma. The villages were named after some local characteristic of the site or
after their chief or the person who establishes the village.
The organization of the village community differs from
tribe to tribe. The Angami, Lotha, Rengma and Ao villages have a
democratic structure. Among the Angamis, although the chief is chosen for his
wealth, physical prowess and skill in diplomacy, the decisions are taken
collectively by all the villagers. The Semas have a system of
hereditary village chief. The chief is the overlord of the village and all others are
'mighimis' or dependants. The chief
looks after him, gives him land, helps him financially, protects him and even
arranges a bride for him if the mighimi is not in a position to pay the marriage
price. On the other hand, the mighimi looks upon the chief as his father,
works for him, fights for him and obeys him in all matter of village
administration. They are also under an obligation to work for 12 days in
a year in the chiefs field and it is an offence to leave the village without the
chiefs permission.
The Chang polity resembles that of
Semas, but the Chang chief do not have
the monopoly of the land so are not as powerful as their Sema counterparts.
The Konyak chief called
'Ahngs' are sacrosanct bodies. They wear special dresses and are richly ornamented and they are given great
respect and are considered sacred.
Among the
Aos, the village community is governed by a
Council
of Elders (Tatars) each village is a small republic and they are thoroughly
democratic.
It was customary for the eldest son of a
Sema chief to establish a village of
his own out of his fathers estate. Incase, the village did not admit to
further division, the son could go to another area, clear or conquer that place and
establish his authority. Thus the Sema society encouraged expansionist
colonization. After forming a new village, the colonists sacrificed a
pig at the site and poured into the village well water stolen from
the well of a prosperous village.
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