Tribe members famously used to hack skulls off bodies of rival tribes and proudly display them in the villages to celebrate the killer’s achievement, with the number of hunted heads indicating a warrior’s power.
The Konyak Naga were historically a feared warrior tribe known for headhunting, a practice banned in the 1960s that was believed to bring prosperity and protection to the community. The practice is now carried on in their tradition through facial tattoos and adornments, with elderly former headhunters still alive today in Nagaland and Myanmar.
