Kohima, 2013. Tribal members wait to perform at the Hornbill Festival, a government organized cultural gathering attended by all the tribes. Even at such tourist events, there are plenty of armed police to ward off trouble. In the past these woul

Kohima, 2013. Tribal members wait to perform at the Hornbill Festival, a government organized cultural gathering attended by all the tribes. Even at such tourist events, there are plenty of armed police to ward off trouble. In the past these would be Indian mainlanders but recent years have seen the more Naga police as a concession to the community.

Mon, 2013. Morning mist over the hills.

Mon, 2013. Morning mist over the hills.

Mon, 2013. In the Konyak village Sheangha Chingyu, skulls taken by the tribal raiders are kept in a small “museum” built in 2013 to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity. Once proudly displayed outdoors, the bleached-white skull

Mon, 2013. In the Konyak village Sheangha Chingyu, skulls taken by the tribal raiders are kept in a small “museum” built in 2013 to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity. Once proudly displayed outdoors, the bleached-white skulls now staring out from wooden shelves indoors —seven rows high, 130 in all.

Mon, 2013. Village boys play on a heap of stones that replaced the pile of skulls in front of the king's house when the Naga Christian elders asked that the skulls be buried. Supposedly there is one stone for each head. A church now stands across

Mon, 2013. Village boys play on a heap of stones that replaced the pile of skulls in front of the king's house when the Naga Christian elders asked that the skulls be buried. Supposedly there is one stone for each head. A church now stands across from the mound.

Kohima, 2013. In other parts of India, gaudily decorated trucks might feature the likenesses of Hindu deities like Vishnu and Lakshmi. Near Kohima, the capital of the predominantly Christian state of Nagaland, they have portraits of Jesus instead.

Kohima, 2013. In other parts of India, gaudily decorated trucks might feature the likenesses of Hindu deities like Vishnu and Lakshmi. Near Kohima, the capital of the predominantly Christian state of Nagaland, they have portraits of Jesus instead.

Mon, 2014. In Mon Village, many random hoses carry water pumped up the hill from a reservoir below.

Mon, 2014. In Mon Village, many random hoses carry water pumped up the hill from a reservoir below.

Mon, 2014. Mai Wang, a 16 year-old high schooler, sits with his grandmother. Her head ornaments indicate her royal status as a wife of a now-deceased king; his mohawk-ish hairdo show the trendiness of Korean pop culture among the Naga youth.

Mon, 2014. Mai Wang, a 16 year-old high schooler, sits with his grandmother. Her head ornaments indicate her royal status as a wife of a now-deceased king; his mohawk-ish hairdo show the trendiness of Korean pop culture among the Naga youth.

Mon, 2013. It takes gunsmith Wangchet Konyak about one week to make a musket by hand. Almost every gun in the village was made by him or his grandfather, and the men all carry them with them when they go out in the forest. None of his children h

Mon, 2013. It takes gunsmith Wangchet Konyak about one week to make a musket by hand. Almost every gun in the village was made by him or his grandfather, and the men all carry them with them when they go out in the forest. None of his children have offered to take up the craft after he retires.

Dimapur, 2014. As part of the 1997 ceasefire agreement between the Indian government and the NSCN-IM, the most powerful and established of the various Naga insurgent factions, the underground group is allowed to maintain camps of armed forces, incl

Dimapur, 2014. As part of the 1997 ceasefire agreement between the Indian government and the NSCN-IM, the most powerful and established of the various Naga insurgent factions, the underground group is allowed to maintain camps of armed forces, including its political headquarters, Camp Hebron.

Mon, 2014. After a day of working on a village building, villager men drink rice whiskey and melt opium (easily available from across the Burma border) to smoke.

Mon, 2014. After a day of working on a village building, villager men drink rice whiskey and melt opium (easily available from across the Burma border) to smoke.

Mon, 2014. For the first birthday of the village shopkeeper’s son, the family is throwing a celebration to feed the entire village. As part of the Baptist service, the previously traditional animist ritual sacrifice of a mithun buffalo has now be

Mon, 2014. For the first birthday of the village shopkeeper’s son, the family is throwing a celebration to feed the entire village. As part of the Baptist service, the previously traditional animist ritual sacrifice of a mithun buffalo has now been adapted to contemporary Christian faith.

Dimapur, 2013. On the border next to Assam is Dimapur, once the flatland center of the non-Naga Dimasa Kachari Kingdom, now Nagaland's largest city. With the state's only rail station and airport, this is the gateway Nagas must depart through t

Dimapur, 2013. On the border next to Assam is Dimapur, once the flatland center of the non-Naga Dimasa Kachari Kingdom, now Nagaland's largest city. With the state's only rail station and airport, this is the gateway Nagas must depart through to access the rest of India.

Mon, 2014. As per tradition, former headhunter Wangkah, 83, got his face tattooed after his first raid and his body tattooed after he took his first head. He received the Jesus clock after his conversion to Christianity.

Mon, 2014. As per tradition, former headhunter Wangkah, 83, got his face tattooed after his first raid and his body tattooed after he took his first head. He received the Jesus clock after his conversion to Christianity.

Mon, 2013. Sunday school youth worship team lines the walls of the revival tent for a village's 50th anniversary jubilee celebrating its conversion to Christianity

Mon, 2013. Sunday school youth worship team lines the walls of the revival tent for a village's 50th anniversary jubilee celebrating its conversion to Christianity

Dimapur, 2014. Naga musicians Abiogenesis perform experimental indigenous folk-fusion music

Dimapur, 2014. Naga musicians Abiogenesis perform experimental indigenous folk-fusion music

Kohima, 2013. At the meat market, a dog carcass is blowtorched to get rid of the hair. Dog meat is popular among some of the Naga tribes.

Kohima, 2013. At the meat market, a dog carcass is blowtorched to get rid of the hair. Dog meat is popular among some of the Naga tribes.

Mon, 2014. Slash and burn cultivation to plant cardamom trees for sale of the spice to neighboring Assam. This is a recent government economic initiative, as the Konyak don't use cardamom in their own cooking.

Mon, 2014. Slash and burn cultivation to plant cardamom trees for sale of the spice to neighboring Assam. This is a recent government economic initiative, as the Konyak don't use cardamom in their own cooking.

Dimapur, 2014. Akuonuo Khezie, an Angami Naga from Kohima, does a fitting with designer Ikali Sukhau, a Sumi Naga. Akuonuo competed for Miss India in 2007 after winning Miss Nagaland. While her fellow contestants from the mainland got Bollywood

Dimapur, 2014. Akuonuo Khezie, an Angami Naga from Kohima, does a fitting with designer Ikali Sukhau, a Sumi Naga. Akuonuo competed for Miss India in 2007 after winning Miss Nagaland. While her fellow contestants from the mainland got Bollywood contracts and domestic advertising campaigns, Akuonuo signed with Ford Models in New York , where her East Asian looks would be less detrimental to a modeling career. Now she runs a performing arts school in Dimapur.

Mon, 2014. The Aoleang planting celebration includes dancing, mock battles, prayers and songs. The village youth organize the annual event, intent on preserving and appreciating remnants of pre-Baptist culture before they disappear.

Mon, 2014. The Aoleang planting celebration includes dancing, mock battles, prayers and songs. The village youth organize the annual event, intent on preserving and appreciating remnants of pre-Baptist culture before they disappear.