The second day under the celebration of 40th Foundation Day of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya was marked with inauguration of two exhibitions, annual lecture, Art and Craft and food delicacies apart from band performance and tribal dances of Nagaland on Tuesday.
An exhibition on tattoo culture of Nagaland, entitled as ‘The Konyak’s: The last of the Tattooed Head-hunters’ was inaugurated by former Director, KS Negi, Reena Diwan, Phejing Konyak and the photographer Peter Bos.
The Konyak’s: The last of the Tattooed Head-hunters: The series of photographs capture the vanishing tattoo tradition of the Konyak Naga tribe of Nagaland State, North East India, also known as the head-hunters, a body art that has been practiced for generations due to its relation with head hunting. This visual art was a form of beautification for the wearer that marked the different stages of the cycle of life from boyhood to manhood and from girlhood to womanhood. Tattoos mark physical journeys and life events which represents different messages about the tattoos and its wearer.
IGRMS mounted this exhibition with support from Phejing Konyak and the photographer Peter Bos. Phejin Konyak is the great granddaughter of a tattooed headhunter Ahon, who was one of the first interpreters during the ‘Diaries of Two Tours in the Naga Hills’ 1923 written by JH Hutton, the first ethnographer to venture into the Naga Hills during the time of the British Raj.
Phejin lives in Shiyong village, Mon District, Nagaland, India. Peter Bos is a professional portrait photographer from Eindhoven, The Netherlands. He travels to remote corners of the world. His main focus is capturing the essence of unique cultures, through strong and moving portraits. His work method is personal; he submerges into the local society, establishes good relationships and has a one on one approach.
The Naagas- The Naga village is generally built on a commanding features which quite often happened to be the top of a hill – the selection of site was largely influenced by consideration of defensive strategy their traditional life revolved around the village. Naga dance and music are intrinsic part of Naga life mostly eulogising bravery, beauty, love and generosity. It is full of vigour and vitality, Naga dancing is always in a group.