The Tribes and Wildlife of Assam

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Starting at dawn, you will visit Kolkata’s glorious flower market, then embark on a full day of sightseeing, focused on the city’s colonial heritage. Architectural highlights will include Dalhousie Square, with its High Court, Town Hall, Writers’ Building, and General Post Office; the Anglican St. Paul’s Cathedral, noted for its imposing gothic design; and the superb Victoria Memorial, in the Indo-Saracenic revivalist style. In the evening you will have the chance to compare what you’ve seen with indigenous development on Kolkata’s ghats, visible from the deck as you sail out on the Hooghly River. B,D

The Kaziranga National Park, which covers 430 sq km of hills, grassland, and forest, is the oldest national park in Assam. Recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, it is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence.

The importance of Kaziranga is indisputably in its biodiversity. The park is home to a remarkable 80% of the world’s greater one-horned rhinoceros (approximately 1,800 of them), the largest species of rhino, which was once common across India, but was hunted almost to extinction. Identified by a single black horn up to 60 cm in length, and with an armour-plated appearance, these rhinos are solitary creatures, and thus require a large and undisturbed habitat if they are to thrive and breed. Their growing numbers in Kaziranga are a testament to the park’s conservation efforts.

Elsewhere in the park, you can expect to see significant numbers of Asian elephants, wild buffalos, swamp deer, water buffalos, langurs, gibbons, and civets. A tiger reserve was established here in 2006, and according to the latest census there are around 120 of these big cats. The population density is one of the highest in India, and the number of tigers is steadily increasing, the steady population of herbivores serving as an adequate prey base.

Bird watchers will be impressed by Kaziranga, too. Some 400 species, both resident and migratory, have been recorded in the park. Pelicans, storks, and darters live alongside the water bodies, and you can also expect to see the lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, and Baer's pochard. The Asian openbill migrates here in the winter months, so you might well see them too.

Today you will have two different means of transport available to you for exploring the park. In the early morning, you will ride into Kaziranga on the back of an elephant, an experienced mahout driving the elephant whilst you take advantage of your increased height to look at creatures staring back at you from the tree canopy. Later in the day, you will travel by jeep to reach the park’s western ranges, further away from the lodge, and there is also the chance to visit a neighbouring tea plantation, tasting some of the delicious Assam tea grown there. B, L, D.

A five-hour drive away from Jorhat is Mon, and on the leisurely and scenic drive, comfortably air-conditioned, you will wind your way through a succession of fascinating villages and ever-changing scenery. Moriani, on the border of Assam and Nagaland states, is famed for its protected evergreen forests and the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary; Sonari is a centre of tea and timber production; and we will stop too at Sibsagar, the ancient capital of the Ahom Kingdom.

The Ahom kingdom (1228–1826) was centred on the Brahmaputra River valley, and although it took its name from the Ahom tribe, it was a multi-ethnic dynasty. The first Ahom king, Chao Lung Siu-Ka-Pha, came from Yunnan in China, crossed the mountains with an entourage of some 9,000 people, and occupied the area between the Burhidihing and Dikhau River. Having built successful alliances with the local Barahi and Maran tribes, he founded the first Ahom capital at Charaideo.

Sibsagar, meaning

Your early morning drive today brings you through the territories of a number of different tribes — the Chang, Yimchunger, Khaimniungan, Sangtam, and Phoms Naga — and as the journey progresses you will see and learn to identify the different architectural styles and building techniques in their respective villages, as well as their distinctive costumes.

On arrival at Tuensang, you will check-in for a night at the Tented Camp. Tuensang is the oldest and biggest settlement of the Chang Naga tribe, and in the afternoon you will have a guided tour of the Old Tuensang, nearby. A large part of Tuensang district of Nagaland remained outside the British India administrative unit and became part of Indepenedent India only in 1947!

The Chang Naga were known to colonial administrators as the Mazung. The origins of the name Chang are unknown, but it is possible that they migrated here from the east, chang meaning “eastern” in the local dialect. Other theories is that they came from Changsangmongko, settled at Changsang, or came from a place with a holy banyan tree (chognu being the local word for banyan). There are four main Chang clans, each of which has a distinctive religious function within the community, and a set place within the social hierarchy.

Prior to the arrival of the British, the Chang, like the Konyak, practiced head hunting. Whoever acquired the most heads became the lakbou (chief), and settled village disputes. Today, village leaders are informally elected by the community, and the village council fixes festival dates and decides which fields are to be planted. B, L, D.

Time permitting we will invite Iris Yinzin ( a naga artist and history lecturer in Tuensang college to tell us about her paintings on canvas made from hand woven nettle firbre.

You will spend the full day learning about the Ao Nagas, and visiting their villages. The day’s tour will start in Mokokchung with a visit to the bazaar, where you will see all manner of local produce, as well as handicrafts and household items. If you are interested, the Ao will enthusiastically show you their churches, and they will also regale you with stories of their community’s longevity: the average lifespan of a Mokokchung villager in 2014 was thought to be at least 85 years and the eldest member of the village is well over 100 years old!

You will also have the chance to visit the villages which surround Mokokchung, Chuchuyimlang, Mopungchuket, Ungma, and Impur. These settlements are far smaller and less developed than Mokokchung, and their inhabitants’ way of life is probably closer to how it would have been in the past. Impur was established by the American Baptist Missionaries where first church building was erected in Nagaland and first translation in Ao language were printed using Roman typeset.

One thing that has changed significantly, and for the better, is access to education. In 2007, Mokokchung District (which includes these small villages) was declared to be the first fully literate district in Nagaland. Access to education here, including at a college level, is better than almost anywhere else in India, and this has had a knock-on effect on other development indices. With 1,004 females for every 1,000 males, for example, the district has the 7th healthiest sex ratio of the 538 districts in India. B, L, D.

After breakfast, it is a two-hour drive to Kohima, one of Nagaland’s municipal councils, and the state’s de facto capital. On the way, you will stop at Nagaland State Museum, just outside Kohima towncentre. There is a realistic diorama for each of the region’s main tribes, and well-curated displays on topics such as Naga architecture, social hierarchy and custom, and costume. Be sure to look at the ceremonial drum modelled on a dug-out war canoe, and, if you are interested in natural history, visit the collection of stuffed birds and animals housed in the museum’s basement which is often overlooked.

Kohima is perched at an altitude of 1,444 m above sea level. It is a pretty hill station, with panoramic views of the rugged Naga Hills. It is the land of the Angami Naga tribe, traditionally warriors, but now known for their terraced wet rice cultivation. You will visit the village of Khonoma, an hour outside Kohima, the last base of the Naga warriors who rebelled against the British in the 19th century. Their memorial gate, overlooking the village, is thought to be 700 years old, and it is decorated with traditional carvings.

The martial skills of the local people are not just something of the distant past, however. During WWII, Kohima witnessed the fiercest fighting in India: a 50-day slogging match between Allied forces and the Imperial Japanese Army. As many as 11,000 men were killed or injured, and though the Allied forces were ultimately saved by the arrival of reinforcements, it was a horrific period for both sides. Though little known outside India, the Battle of Kohima, a number of foreign military historians have referred to it as “the Stalingrad of the East”, and in 2013, the National Army Museum voted the Battle of Imphal and Kohima to be

Returning to the Hornbill Festival for a second day, having already got your bearings, you will be able to learn more about the cultures and traditions of the different tribes in Nagaland, and surely take some incredible photographs.

In addition to the staged cultural performances of music and dance, you can expect to see a wide range of different ceremonies, and competitors fighting it out in bouts of Naga wrestling and archery, the Hornbill National Rock Contest, a chilli eating contest, and a motor rally. Who knows, you might even be tempted to compete yourself!

At the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition, you will see (and can buy) the most beautiful arts and crafts. The food stalls and herbal medicine stands are a feast for all your senses, as are the flower shows and sales. Artisans specialising in paintings, wood carvings, and sculptures will be giving demonstrations at the festival, and also selling their work. B, L, D.

On one of the evenings in Kohima we can also invite Ms Easterine Kire, Naga author for a reading from her latest book, ‘When the River Sleeps’ which won the The Hindu Literary prize for 2015, and dinner with the group. She is a well-known Angami Naga writer who has also participated in Jaipur lit festival.

Departure for your home country.