NAGA TRIBES OF SRI LANKAPresented By Vedant and Rishikesh

INTRODUCTION OF SRI LANKASri Lanka,  officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri

Lanka and known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon,  is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, and languages. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.

INTRODUCTION OF NAGA TRIBEThe Naga people appear until the third century BCE as a distinct group in the

early Sri Lankan chronicles as well as early Tamil literary works. In the third century BCE they started to assimilate to Tamil language and culture, and lost their separate identity. The Naga people were snake- worshipers. The word Naga was sometimes written in early inscriptions as Nāya, as in Nāganika which can be identified in the Nanaghat inscription of 150 BCE. Mahabharata, the second oldest Indian epic, has a reference to the Naga tribe that ruled the northern part of Sri Lanka. In its account of Arjuna’s pilgrimage to the southern shrines and holy waters he crossed over to Sri Lanka to take a bath at Keerimalai and worshiped at one of the ancient Saiva temple Naguleswaram. He married a Naga princess. Mahabharata mentions Nagas as a highly civilized people living in India and Sri Lanka. 

ORIGINSUntil the third century BCE they appear as a distinct group in the early Sri Lankan

chronicles as well as the early Tamil literary works.  In the third century BCE they started to assimilate to Tamil language and culture, and lost their separate identity.

Ancient Naga tribesH. Parker, a British historian and author of "Ancient Ceylon" (1909) considered the

Naga to be an offshoot of the Nairs of Kerala. The Oliyar, Parathavar, Maravar and Eyinar who are widespread across South

Indian and North-East Sri Lanka are all Naga tribes.The Ezhavas are a community in South Kerala and are related to the people of the

Jaffna peninsula. Ezhavar and Nairs share the same heritage and practice the serpent culture. The palaeolithic excavations in Jaffna and Kerala region show similarities.

RamayanaThe Nagas lived among the Yakkha, Raksha and

Deva in Lanka according to the Manimekhalai, Mahavamsa and Ramayana. Meghanatha the son of Ravana was married to Sulochana a Naga princess in Lanka. The allied Nagas fought on the side of the Meghanatha and were defeated by Garuda.

Naga territoryThere is a reference to the town Naka Nakar in Tamil

Brahmi inscriptions belonging to 200 BCE, which is believed to be denoting Kudiramalai.

An early copper coin discovered at Uduththurai port carries the name Naka bumi in Tamil, referring to the Naka Dynasty of the North.

The ancient Sri Lankan history book Mahavamsa mentions a dispute between two Naga kings in northern Sri Lanka.

KUDIRAMALAI POINT EARLY COPPER COINS

HISTORYOF

NAGA TRIBENaga NaduBy the time Buddhism had reached Tamilakam, the twin epics of ancient Tamil

Nadu Silappatikaram (5-6th century CE) and Manimekalai (6th century CE) were written, speaking of Naga Nadu across the sea from Kaveripoompuharpattinam, and their civilization which was even more sumptuous than those of the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas.

Manimekalai speaks of the great Naga king Valai Vanan and his queen Vdcamayilai who ruled the prosperous Naga Nadu with great splendour and a rich Tamil Buddhist tradition. Their daughter, the princess Pilli Valai had a liaison at Nainativu islet with the early Chola king Killivalavan; out of this union was born Prince Tondai Eelam Thiraiyar, who historians note was the early progenitor of the Pallava Dynasty. He went on to rule Tondai Nadu from Kanchipuram. Nainativu was referred to as Manipallavam in ancient Tamil literature following this union. Royals of the Chola-Naga lineage would go onto rule other territory of the island, Nagapattinam and Tondai Nadu of Tamilakam. The Talagunda inscriptions of Kadamba Kakusthavarma also refer to the coastal Thiraiyar tribe as forming from this Chola-Naga alliance.

Cīttalai Cāttanār, the author of the Manimekalai  reflected the perception at the time that Naga Nadu was an autonomous administrative entity, kingdom or nadu stretching across coastal districts, distinguished from the rest of the island also ruled intermittently by Tamil kings.

Ptolemy in his 1st century map of Taprobane mentions Nagadiboi. By the time Buddhism had reached Tamilakam, the twin epics of ancient Tamil Nadu Silappatikaram (1st century CE) and Manimekalai (3rd century CE) were written, speaking of Naga Nadu across the sea from Kaveripoompuharpattinam, and their civilization which was even more sumptuous than those of the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas.

Ptolemy mentions in 150 CE that King Sornagos, a descendant of this lineage, ruled from the early Chola capital of Uraiyur during this time. Kaveripoompuharpattinam received many adulatory comparisons to the Naga capital Kanderodai (Kadiramalai) in the classical period.

Early CholasThe Manimekhalai and archaeological inscriptions refer to the Chola-Naka alliance

and intermarriage as being the progenitor of the Pallava Dynasty.

CULTUREArchitectureThe Naga used to have kingdoms and temples in Sri Lanka. The Nagas built a

temple in Medawattha, Mathara called Nagavila today. It used to hold a statue of Lord Buddha sitting on the Muchalinda, the Cobra. Naga maidens used to perform dances there.

IrrigationIt is also believed they were great irrigation engineers who built water

storages. The Yoda Wewa dam and reservoir system in Mannar, Sri Lanka is considered by some (Such as Author, Mudaliyar C. Rajanayagam) to have been built by the Nagas based on the extensive ruins and the presence of villages with surrounding the port with Naga name (e.g. Nagarkulam, Nagathazhvu and Sirunagarkulam).

THE YODA WEWA DAM NAGAVILA TEMPLE

Snake worshipNaga people were snake-worshipers. According to Rasanayagam,The origin of their name cannot certainly be traced to serpents or

serpent-worship, for they were so named long before the advent of the Aryans in whose language alone the word signified 'serpents'.

The word Naga was sometimes written in early inscriptions as Nāya, as in Nāganika - this occurs in the Nanaghat inscription of 150 BCE.

The Mahavamsa describe the Nagas as super natural beings whose natural form was a serpent, but they could assume any a form at will. Similarly, Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus since ancient times have regard the Cobra as a divine being by the passing down of Naga traditions and believes. Further cobra can be found entwining itself round the neck of the supreme Hindu god Shiva as serpent king Vasuki. Cobras can also be found in images of Lord Vishnu. They worship serpents by offering milk and eggs. They do not keep garuda’s (falcon) pictures in the house because it is an enemy of serpents.

DECLINE OF NAGA IDENTITY AND ASSIMILATIONAlliancesThe first two administrative centers of the kingdom of rajarata, namely

Tambapanni and Upatissa Nuwara, were totally based on kings from Sinha clan in India.

In Pandukabhaya's era all native groups appear to be centralized into one administration center which later converted into the Anuradhapura Kingdom. Disputes between the Sinha clan and the local community were the onset to this centralisation. Pandukabhaya(437 BC), a prince who had both Sinha and Yaksha origins, was able to unify the tribes and battle with the Sinha rulers. Later Pandukabhaya was able to defeat the Sinha clan, and to establish a kingdom which could unify the natives and the Sinha clan.

SINHA CLAN

BuddhismIn 250BC Arahath Mahinda came to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism. Sri

Lanka was officially converted to Buddhism. Yaksha, Raksha, Naga, Deva groups who were divided according to what they worshiped lost their identification after all converting to Buddhism.

BUDDHISM

NAGA CUISINE Naga cuisine, of the Naga people, features meats and fish, which are

often smoked, dried or fermented. The various Naga tribes have their own cooking varieties, but they often interchange recipes. A typical Naga table consists of a meat dish, a boiled vegetable dish or two, rice and a chutney (Tathu). Nagas tend to prefer boiled edible organic leaves. Some common dishes are "fermented bamboo shoot" (made from the tender shoot of the Bamboo tree) with fish and pork. Axone(soyabean boiled, fermented and either smoked or sun dried) with smoked pork and beef. Smoked meat is produced by keeping the meat above the fire or hanging on the wall of the kitchen for anywhere between 1 day to 2 weeks or longer, which could last for the whole year ahead. Anishiis fermented taro leaves made into patties and smoked over the fire or sun dried . Naga food tends to be spicy (chillies). There are different varieties of chillies in Nagaland. The ginger used in the Naga cuisine is spicy, aromatic and is different from the common ginger. The garlic and ginger leaves are also used in cooking with meat. Sichuan pepper is a popular spice used by the nagas.

THE DRESS CODE OF THENAGA TRIBE

The most prominent item of Naga dress is the shawl. It is different for every tribe and besides, there are varieties  and sub-varieties in every group. A warrior's shawl or shawl of a man who has performed the Feast of Merit, is different from that of an ordinary villsager. 

The common pattern among the Angamis is red and yellow (now being replaced by  green)  bands, on black cloth called Lohe. The western Angami villages have their own distinctive pattern. Lothas have a streamlined  gradation of shawls indicating the number of gennas performed by the wearer. Thus a man who has performed  the first genna wears the phangrhup, its strips being widened, after the second genna. The third genna entitles the man to wear the Ethasu, while after the series of feasts is completed and the stone-dragging done the man can wear the Lungpensu, which is a dark blue cloth with five stripes of light blue and with narrow marginal stripes on each side.

 

The Ao warrior shawl called the Tsungkotepsu with figures of mithun, tiger, elephant, human head, cock, Dao and spear is strikingly picturesque. Each of these figures is symbolic; mithun represents wealth of the wearer, the elephant  and tiger denote his prowess in hunting and the human head signifies success in taking heads. These patterns are painted in black on a white band, while the cloth itself is of dark blue colour.

 Among the Changs, the unmarried boys and girls wear the Kaksi nei, while the newly married couple sport the Silang nei. Another variety of Chang shawl, the Tobu nei has zig-zag patterns in alternate red and black on a blue band. 

The popular Yimchunger shawls are the Aneak khim which is black, and Mokhok khim which is white. Rongkhim, a particularly  attractive variety of Yimchunger shawl, may be worn only by one who has taken heads in war,  it has prominent  rectangular red design, red colour signifying the blood of the enemy.

In the past  it was possible to identify, by simply looking at the shawl of the wearer, the tribe he belonged to and occasionally even the group of villages he came from, his social status and the number of gennas he had performed. But nowadays  this identification is not possible.

Apart from the shawl, the normal working dress is a kilt  which is generally of black colour. It may be embroidered with cowries in which case it is looked upon as a distinctly male dress. The cowries are rubbed on stone before being embroidered so that they may stick well, and they are always sewn by  the man using the cloth and never by his wife or anybody else. The cowrie decoration is quite popular among the Nagas and it imparts to the kilt the character of toga virility, signifying his success in love or war.

MARRIAGE TRADITIONIN THE NAGA TRIBE

The Angami are monogamous. There are two forms of marriage—one ceremonial, the other nonCeremonial. The ceremonial form is desired as a symbol of status and consists of an elaborate ritual involving the services of a Marriage broker, the taking of omens, and the negotiation of a marriage-price (usually nominal). The nonceremonial form involves the taking of a woman to the house of a man where they remain kenna (forbidden) for one day. Divorce is allowed and is common. The wife gets one-third of the couple's joint property, exclusive of land. The divorced and widowed are permitted to remarry (though a widowed woman may not remarry into her deceased husband's house). Polygamy is not allowed and women are allowed freedom of choice in the selection of mates. By contrast, the Lhota are polygynous, a husband having as many as three wives. Young girls are preferred and bride-prices are high; they are paid in installments over ten years. Divorce among the Lhota is also common

Arranged marriages are the norm with women having no Freedom of choice in the selection of a spouse. A husband may also allow his brother or nearest relative on his father's side to have conjugal access to his wife when he is absent for any length of time. The Semas are also polygynous.

A Sema husband may have as many as five to seven wives. Sema women have freedom of choice in mate selection. As is the case among the Lhota, marriage-prices are high. Marital residence practices seem to differ among the various Naga tribes. Part of the Angami marriage ceremony involves the giving of land to the new couple by the bridegroom's parents. The new couple work and eat on this land. This may be an indication of a patrilocal postmarital residence pattern. Part of the Ao betrothal process involves the husband's construction of a marital home (location not indicated) with materials gathered from the fields of his parents and the parents of his wife.

FESTIVALS OF THE NAGASThe Nagas are proud of their rich cultural heritage which is also

reflected in their festivals. The Naga festivals are multifaceted cultural phenomenon. Their festivals are related to their religion which is again associated with their economic vocations, social and cultural ethos. Their festivals are celebrated in relation with different stages of agricultural activity. Festivals are characterized by community feast and rice-beer. Offering is made to the supreme god Tingkao-Ragwang, the ancestors, the spirits and the deities in all festivals. 

TYPES OF THE NAGA FESTIVALSThe Nagas perform more than seventeen festivals throughout the year. Gan Ngai,

Rih Ngai, Nanu, Gantham Luithan Bapmei, Napko, Ginkimei, Ten Ngai, Nap Kaodai, Nagungkapmei, Chakak and Ponghi are the major festivals of this tribe. 

Some festivals are described below: 

Gan Ngai Gan Ngai is the greatest festival. Earlier it used to be celebrated for seven days but now it is celebrated for five days. It is a post harvesting festival which is celebrated in the month of December-January every year.

Rih-Ngai Previously Rih-Ngai lasted for three days but now it is celebrated in only on one day. It is a war festival in which a ritual is held for purifying the village and men folk who are the village warriors. This festival is not accompanied by any song and dance. Nanu or Nanmu.

Gantham This is a spring festival where all the deities are worshipped by offering animals. It is celebrated for the welfare of the people.

 

Napko or Napao This festival is celebrated by the villagers as a whole or by an individual family. It is designated as soul of paddy. In this festival a pig is sacrificed and its flesh is distributed to every household in the village. Distribution of small piece of liver of that sacrificed pig is made to each family to offer to the family hearth. Agricultural activities begin after the celebration of this festival. 

Gingkimei This religious festival is celebrated to satisfy the goddess of wealth. There is a belief that by offering the concerned goddess the bad spirits are driven from the house and the village. A pig is sacrificed and its meat is cooked which is distributed to every house hold. It is distributed at the front door. 

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