colonial impact on naga s subsistence...

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South -Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (SAJMS) ISSN:2349-7858:SJIF:2.246:Volume 4 Issue 6

COLONIAL IMPACT ON NAGAS SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY

Dr. Tuisem Ngakang1

ABSTRACT: The traditional economy of the Nagas began to break down gradually as a result

of its contact with the colonial rule from the 19th

century. The land, which was the main

economic source of the Nagas was diversified as a result of a unified political order, western

education, common administration, communication, the introduction of currency and the new

religion introduced by the colonial state and the missionaries. Colonial rule in the Naga country

changed the occupational patterns of the latter. Employment avenues increased significantly

with the intensification of colonial education, missionary activity other forms of development.

Educated Nagas were employed as pastors, schoolteachers and assistants in the colonial

administration. Improvement in the transportation and communication accelerated the trading

activities to a large extend. These exogenous factors are seen as the important cause for the

breakdown of the traditional mode of subsistence production; despite these changes, it does not

have equal impact on all the economic spheres of the Nagas. The barter system and the mutual

exchange of labour were replaced by monetary exchange with the introduction of metallic

currency and later by paper currency.

KEYWORDS: Colonialism, monetization, Naga, subsistence economy.

1 Post Doctoral Fellow (UGC), University of Delhi, Department of History


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TRADITIONAL NAGA ECONOMY

Cultivation was the mainstay of the Naga economy. The very life of the Naga depended on his

crops. He spent most of his days in his fields, and all the religious ceremonies were related to

agriculture. Every household had land of its own and it earned its livelihood from it, till other

avenues of occupation were opened up. Traditionally two methods of cultivation were practiced

by almost all the Naga tribes: the first and the more popular was jhum (slash and burn)2, which

was widely practiced by almost all the Naga tribes, the second was called terraced cultivation3

which was practiced by a few Naga tribes like the Tangkhul Naga and the Angami Naga. Both

forms of cultivation received half-hearted attention from the government. In addition to rice,

some crops like cotton, pepper and pumpkins were all grown simultaneously, and were harvested

as they ripened. Every crop was grown for consumption; nothing was grown for export or for

market.

Naga industry was home-based and directed towards meeting essential consumption needs.

Though the main occupation of the Nagas was agriculture, they were also part-time craftsmen.

Handicrafts such as weaving or pottery making were done when agriculture work permitted. The

manufacturing activities centred around small-scale cottage industries like weaving, pottery,

basket-making, wood and bamboo carving, blacksmithry and the making of ornaments etc. for

household needs. Though there was no separate artisan class in Naga society, some of the crafts

were specialized (but not monopolized) by certain villages. For example, six villages of

Tangkhul (Talla, Ukhrul, Ngaimu, Shimtang, Tuinem, Phatang) were specially engaged in the

industry of cloth weaving1 Hudson wrote that, this industry was carried on by the women alone,

and the girls of the six villages were stopped as far as possible from marrying into a village,

where the industry was not practiced2. Only three clans of Hundung village and the village of

Nungbi made earthen pots from beds of clay close to their villages4. J.P Mills in his celebrated

monograph The Rengma Nagas wrote that Tseminyu was the only Rengma village, which made

2 Under jhum cultivation, one block of land was cultivated for one or two or at best three years depending upon the

fertility of the land. This same land was then cultivated after an interval of not less than 10 years by which time land

was fit for cultivation again. 3 In this method of cultivation, rice crops are grown in terraces and the soil is well irrigated by artificial water

channels. 4 Even today, Nungbi village is the only villages in Tangkhul who are specialize in pottery making, and thus they

monopolized this business. Basically, pottery making is a male-oriented handicraft. The baked pots acquire a black

color and look almost like metal.


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clay cooking-pots and only women made these3.

The indigenous or local market has been in operation even prior to their contact with the

colonial rule where they exchanged their produce and handicrafts and through which they carried

on local trade. The exchange of goods usually took places in local fairs and festivals. For

example among the Tangkhul Nagas, festivals were also occasions for the exchange of goods.

The exchange usually took place on the last day of the Lui-ra phanit (seed sowing festival)

among the Tangkhul Nagas. On this day, the village gate was opened for the neighboring

villages so that they could participate in the festival and exchange goods. The people from other

villages brought their goods and exchanged them with the goods of the host village.

STANDARD OF WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS: Even before the penetration of

standardized money as the medium of exchange, the Nagas had a more or less institutionalized

means exchange. For example, in the local market, the conch shell was one of the most precious

objects since most things were measured in term of the value of conch shells5. However conch

shells never entered the markets of plains people, they were usually exchanged within the

village. We have below an old Angami Naga table of barter, extracted from J.P Mills, The

Rangma Nagas:

1 male slave = 1 cow and three conch-shells

1 female slave = 3 cows and 4 or 5 conch-shells

1 cow =10 conch-shells

1 pig = 2 conch-shells

1 goat = 2 conch-shells

1 fowl = 1 packet of salt

5 In 1937, a conch-shell was reckoned as Re. 1 of plains currency, J.P Mills ,The Rengma Nagas, London 1937,

p.72


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The system of weight and measurement in the modern sense of the term was poorly

developed in the pre-colonial Naga economy. The size of a thing was described by gesture and

action, or by comparison. The length of a journey was estimated by the number of nights

required to sleep on the road. The day was divided off and alluded to with reference to the

particular act that was commonly performed at that particular period of the day. However the

Naga, with their contact with the plains people, gradually adopted the ordinary weights and

measures used by them.

SPHERES OF NAGA ECONOMY: The traditional Nagas economy can be best termed as

what Paul Bohannan called „multi-centric-economy (1959). Paul Bohanna defined „multi-centric

economy‟ as an economy in which a society‟s exchangeable goods fall into two or more

mutually exclusive spheres, each marked by different institunalization and different moral

values. Indigenously there were two economic spheres in traditional Naga society. The first

sphere was that of subsistence. In this sphere were included all locally produced foodstuff: the

staple yams, rice and cereals, all seasonal vegetables as well as livestock: chickens, goats, pigs,

cows, buffalos, mithun etc. It also included household utensils, such as earthen pots, baskets,

mortals, petals etc. and tools especially agricultural implements and raw materials for producing

goods. Within this sphere, goods were distributed through the village market or through inter-

village trade. Goods were exchange through barter, there was no cash money of any sort. The

second sphere of the Naga economy was one in which the market played no role. This sphere of

economy can be termed „prestige sphere‟ because this sphere of economy defines the status of

the person in the community, a person who own the properties of the second sphere have more

prestigious in the community. Properties in this sphere include land, terrace fields, ornaments

usually inherited by women from their mothers. The goods within this sphere were wet rice

terrace fields, movable property, mostly ornaments inherited by women from their mothers at the

time of marriage. None of these goods ever entered the market as they were inherited from their

ancestors and it was the sacred duty of women to hand them down to their daughters. Wet

terraced fields could be sold but in rare cases, as a last resort in time of need. Even on such

occasions the chance to purchase was first given to the nearest relative. The goods or properties

that belonged to this second sphere of economy could not be exchanged; these properties were to

be handed down from generation to generation.


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BRITISH ECONOMIC POLICY IN THE NAGA AREAS

Economically the British did little to improve the material condition of the Nagas, they have no

interest to bring the Nagas under their direct rule, the areas were brought within the ambit of

colonial administration in order to safeguard colonial economic ventures in adjacent areas from

Naga raids. Despite their halfhearted interest in the Naga areas per se, the introduction of better

means of transportation and communication and abolishing of inter-village feuds by the colonial

rule, the Nagas gained in many ways.

The British uninterested in the Naga areas was seen from the statement of Dalhousie, when he

emphatically declared after ten military expeditions between 1839 and 1850 against the Nagas

with no tangible result, he declared, “we had nothing to gain by annexing a wild people and their

barren hills”4. Consequently, the British fell back to a policy of non-interference until they

entered the Naga country and conquered it in 1866. The statement made by Dalhousie shows

that, the British had no direct interest in the Naga areas as far as economics was concerned. On

the other hand in 1885, Francis Jenkins, the Agent to Governor General of the North-East

Frontier Agency, sent Captain John Butler to the Naga Hills on a commercial assignment5. Butler

was assigned the task of finding lime, coal, salt, iron ores and hill products like indigenous tea,

coffee and timber which were likely to become articles of trade and commerce. Butler, on his

mission found indigenous tea plants in the Naga country. The government in an attempt to

encourage the Nagas to start tea cultivation purchased several maunds of wild tea6. In spite of

their interest in promoting tea cultivation, the government did not take any important steps in this

direction.

The government was cautious in extending its rule to the un-administered Naga areas, but when

the need arose they did not hesitate in extending colonial rule. The British usually extend its rule

to those Naga areas, which were proximate to the administered districts of Assam, where they

thought Naga raids were a nuisance to the trade and commerce of the plains areas. The Naga

areas were assumed by the British to be an important strategic place to pursue the colonial

economic interest in the region as a whole. Thus the economic policy of colonial state in Naga

areas cannot be seen in isolation from Assam, Manipur, Burma and China. The Naga areas were


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assumed by the British to be an important strategic place to pursue the colonial economic interest

in the region as a whole. Referring to the Naga areas, C.G. Stewart, the Assistant Quarter-Master

wrote in 1906 to General Mullaly that, “The strategical importance of this area lies in the

possibility of establishing railway communication between the valley of the Irrawady and

Assam. A preliminary survey via the Hukong valley has been made, and it is believed possible to

do so. The only possible alignment is via the Hukong valley. Any development of affairs in

Yunan or Siam will lend considerable importance to the construction of such a railway, although

at present it may be said to be not required”7.

The Naga areas, which were an appendage to Assam had some promise for the British.

Referring to the Naga areas, B.H Butler, Secretary to the Government of India in 1908 wrote

regarding the extension of direct rule to the Naga country that “there is no foreign power on the

side of them, who is absorbing them. They lie between Assam and Burma. I think we must

extend when we find coal or minerals and British capitalist go up and possess the land. But I

would strongly resist any proposal for extension of responsibility merely to prevent those

savages from killing one another”8. This statement indicate the economic ambitious of the British

in the region, and their policy of not bothering with the internal affairs of the Nagas.

The British did not have any interest to control the Nagas per se yet the constant failure to keep

the Nagas from raiding led the British to extend their rule deeper into the Naga country. The

government‟s policy of trade in Naga areas was driven by the perception of civilizing them

through trade. The government was of the belief that by promoting border trade, they could tame

the Nagas and keep them from raiding the settled districts of Assam. This policy was noticeable

from the dispatch of the President in Council to Captain Butler in 1846,“…the utmost that can

for many years be expected to be accomplished towards ameliorating the condition of the Naga

tribes is to create such respect for our power as will restrain them from preying upon one another

and our own more peaceful subjects, and to encourage by all means their intercourse with the

more settled population of the plains by giving them motives of it on their part in the profit and

advantage which they may derive from bringing the products of their industry to barter for

articles which they want, and which are only to be had in the markets of the low country”9. Some

important steps taken by the British to facilitate Naga trade with the settled districts of Assam by


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opening weekly markets in the hills, building roads to connect with the Ahom government and

posting police guards near the markets. The achievement of the government‟s effort was seen

from the remark made by Moffat Mills in 1854. Mills remarked that, “The Nagas are very keen

barterers, but at the same time just and open in their dealings. They are a fine race of man,

warlike and independent and jealous of their liberty. In our intercourse with these people it has

been our policy to control them by coercion; the great benefit they derive from trade with us, as

also the grant of small khats at the foot of the hills to some of the clans, make it their interest to

behave properly and attend to all requisitions made them by the officer in charge of political

relations with these tribes”10

. During this time, four hats were already established at the foothills

of the Nagas. The government was also planning to open up more hats at Dimapur and other

frontier areas, they expected more trade to spring up between the Nagas and the plains people of

Assam. By this time a good number of Nagas visited the British military post in Nowgong

frequently to procure salt and beads11

.

Since their needs were few, the Naga managed to be self-sufficient. They produced their own

requirement of food-stuff and basic clothing, thus they didn‟t need to buy much except salt, iron

and some things which they could not get from their own country. Major articles of exchanges

during this period included, cotton, cloth, ginger, pepper and betelenuts for salt, rice, dhan,

medicine, kerosene, umbrella and Manipur liquor. The main articles of import for the Nagas

were salt and their cotton formed the chief item of export12

.

The British in dealing with the Nagas followed the policy of non-interference until they entered

the Naga country and conquered in 1866 and Samaguting as the headquarter. Latter the extension

of the rule to Kohima, the heartland of the Angami Nagas in 1878 was also guided by the

colonial interest in controlling the Nagas. On justifying the shifting the Headquarter from

Samaguting to Kohima, Ridsdale, the Chief Commissioner of Assam to Secretary to the

Government of India, wrote that, “… The site selected has strong strategic advantages, is at a

very healthy elevation, and has facilities for ample water. While its situation in the heart of the

Angami is favorable both for controlling these tribes and for encouraging the development of

trade and civilized intercourse”13

Thus, the colonial economic interest in Assam indirectly

determined the gradual expansion of British rule into Naga areas.


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The government paid half-hearted attention to the terrace method of cultivation. The

government did its best to restrict jhum cultivation as it considered it unscientific and wasteful.

As a measure to restrict jhumming cultivation, the government proposed to take certain measures

to popularize the method of terrace cultivation.6 Sir, Charles Elliot issued an instruction to the

political officers of the Naga area to encourage terrace cultivation. In addition to terrace

cultivation, he also recommended free distribution of seeds.14

Some new crops which were

unknown to the Nagas prior to British rule like potatoes were also introduced. Potatoes were first

introduced into the Naga Hills district by the Deputy Commissioner in 1869-1870.15

Even

though the government did not approved of jhum cultivation, it could not put strict restrictions on

it, because the colonial want to earn the confidence of their tribal subjects and did not want to

risk the displeasure of the Nagas.

With the consolidation of Kohima as a colonial headquarters in the heart of the Naga country,

the Nagas received more attention of the government in the matter of agriculture. The Assam

Agriculturists‟ Loans Act XII of 1884 was introduced into the Naga Hills District.16

This Act

aimed to provide annual loans to promote agriculture. The annual loan provided by the Act was

also means to extend and encourage terrace cultivation. The British officers in the district paid

personal attention to the task of encouraging the Nagas to take up more scientific farming.

The government along with the introduction of agricultural loans introduced agricultural

demonstrators. The Nagas who were skilled in terrace cultivation were employed by the

government to teach this technique to the tribes who were new to the method. The government

also provided at least one gun to each village to protect their crops from wild animals.17

In spite

of the government‟s great efforts, there was hardly any progress in the matter of terrace

cultivation. After almost seven decades of the introduction of the Agriculturists‟ Loan Act in

1884, the Census of India in 1951 reported that wet rice-terrace cultivation remained second to

jhum cultivation.18

Real progress in the agriculture occurred only after 1961 when an Interim Government was

formed in Nagaland. The Directorate of Agriculture came into being at the state level of the


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Indian state of Nagaland,7 and it laid great emphasis on the improvement of the agricultural

system. Notable efforts were made to encourage wet rice terraced cultivation with the formation

of Nagaland. The government encouraged construction of irrigation and cannels, since the fields

in wet terrace lands have to be flooded throughout the year. The Nagaland government provided

financial assistance to the farmers for making terrace fields which amounted to up to 50% of the

expenditure.19

Farmers were also provided with technical advice through demonstration to ensure

the successful undertaking of terrace cultivation. Fertilizers and insecticides were also provided

by the government to increase the output of crops.

MONETIZATION AND CHANGE IN THE ECONOMY

One of the most important economic contributions of British rule in the Naga areas was the

monetization of economy. Though barter as a means of exchange continued, by the end of the

19th

century transactions in cash began to grow. There is some evidence of the use of

rudimentary currency by some Naga tribes prior to their contact with the colonial rule, but it had

purchasing values only within the tribes20

. The use of money in the modern sense of the term

comes to Naga areas only with British rule. . Prior to the British the Nagas were entirely ignorant

of the value of cash transactions. All the exchange was made through barter. Godden extracted

from the report by Moffat Mills in 1854 which said that, “…formerly they (Nagas) did not know

the use or value of money, now many are become expert traders…desirous of proceeding on to

Calcutta to purchase cornelian, beads and muskets…”21

Gradually the money nexus became

widely developed among the Nagas when they became involved directly in developmental

activities as coolies, which enabled them to earn cash, thus changing the economic pattern of the

region. The employment of educated Nagas in various government services as school teachers

and interpreters also helped in accelerating the spread of the money economy.

Trade activities has increased tremendously with the introduction of the money economy yet

7 Nagas of other state like Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar remain to be neglected till date, no

improvement has made to the agriculture sector.


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other factors brought by the colonial agency has contributed to a large extend in the changing the

economy of the Nagas.

The occupation of Samaguting (Chumukedima) as the civil station was not only politically

important but it was a landmark for the Naga economy as well. With the occupation of

Samaguting, it became the centre where Nagas procured their needs and where a few Marwaris

and Muslims set up shop. Here Nagas became familiar with the use of cash. The currency also

facilitated exchange between the Nagas and Marwaris merchants. It was standard practice for

Nagas to come to the markets in the foothills with indigenous product like fruits, leaves, cotton,

ginger, pepper, bettlenuts etc. 8

W.W. Hunter wrote of the trade of Nagas in Samaguting, “that the people have learnt to

appreciate the advantages of payment in coin and to acquire a liking for the comparative luxuries

enjoyed by the dwellers in the plains”. And he predicted that, “it will doubtless continue to

increase every year”22

. His prediction was correct as seen from the fact that in 1875-1876, nearly

1900 Nagas passed through Samaguting for the purpose of trade in Dimapur, Golaghat and other

places23

. The stationing of the civil and military headquarters to Kohima in 1878, in the heart of

the Naga Hills provided an opportunity to the Nagas to sell their surplus grain and other articles

to the army which enhanced the cash economy of the Nagas. The Nagas were also earning cash

as labourers in the developmental activities taken up by the British in the district. The broadening

of the use of money in the district is seen from the volume of imported goods. The Assam

Administration Report reported that volume of imports in 1881-82 and 1882-83 at Rs. 32, 000

and Rs.35, 612 respectively24

.

With the intensification of colonial rule, the British imposed taxes upon the Nagas. The tax was

demanded in the form of money. Thus it became necessary for the Nagas to go into trade or

make their own contacts with the traders from the plains people of Assam and Manipur in order

to get cash. The Nagas brought down the articles like cotton, ginger, pepper etc. to Nowgong and

other towns of Assam and Imphal in Manipur. They purchased manufactured goods, mainly

British mill made cotton goods, cotton yarn, glass, bead metal, metal ware and other essential

commodities9 apart from salt and iron. The Naga traders return from the fairs with a good

8 Technology backwardness and poverty of resources kept the tribes depending on adjoining areas for commodities

including the implements of agriculture, husbandry and weapons 9 Essential commodities, because the driving force of the economy was the satisfaction of immediate wants

and not the search for profit.


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amount of cash in hand. Perhaps an initial interaction with cash unknown in the hill economy

enhanced its relative value and created an acquisitive tendency. Though this cannot be in any

way related to the accumulative tendency under capitalism, money certainly had some appeal for

the tribes as a sort of treasure.

The cash economy of the Nagas were reinforced when 2000 Nagas who were sent to France as

a labour corps in First World War for service for the allied forces returned with cash

remuneration. William Pettigrew, the first missionary in Manipur recruited for the labour corps

amongst the Manipuri Nagas. The labour corps from Manipur consisted of 2000 men of whom

1,200 were from the Tangkhul Nagas25

. They were paid and discharged on August 1918, and

returned safely from France to their homes.

The next significant change was brought about during the Second World War10

. In the Second

World War the Nagas earned more cash by participating in the war as guerrillas, spies,

interpreters, workers on roads and some of them even participated in the war as regular fighting

forces. The stationing of Allied forces in the Naga areas also helped in accelerating the money

economy of the Nagas. Nagas earned more cash as labourers working on the construction of

roads and other developmental activities taken up by the Allied forces. The Nagas were

compelled to supply rice, vegetables and other daily needs to meet the consumption requirement

of the British forces.

CONCLUSION:

There are some other factors, which are non-economic in nature also contributed to the change in

the economy of the Nagas in the late 19th

century and early 20th

century. With the stationing of

British forces in Kohima in 1878 and the incorporation of Naga Hills within the British

administration, peace and order were also established. People moved more freely without fear of

losing their lives from feud. Better security of life provided by the colonial administration and

the improvement of means of transportation and communication encouraged trading expeditions

through out the year. Trading activities were made possible by the improvement of the law and

order situation. Prior to British rule many able-bodied men had to guard the village and fields

10

Naga areas were one of the main battlefields of the Japanese invasion in the Second World War. Kohima was

equally important to both the Allied power and the Japanese. To the Allied power the defense of Kohima was vital

from the point of defending the whole subcontinent. To the Japanese, the siege of Kohima was necessary to make

their conquest in South-East Asia secure.


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against the enemy, but with the political control of the district by the British, people could work

peacefully in the field and trade could be carried out without fear. This resulted in the economic

development of Nagas to a certain point.

Practically there was no road worth calling a road in the district at the time of the occupation of

Kohima by the British. But dramatically, in the short span of two and half decades of British

rule, there was a remarkable change in the transportation. B.C Allen remarked that, “…the

means of communication in the district are sufficient for the requirement of the inhabitants”26

. In

1903-4, 73 miles of cart-roads and 470 miles of paths were maintained in the district. The cart

road from Dimapur to Manipur ran across the hills, connecting Kohima with the Assam-Bengal

railways27

.

With the introduction of the colonial peace and better means of transportation and

communication, the Nagas not only broadened the trade among themselves and bordering plains

people, but also ventured to trade with distant cities of India. Some of the Naga tribes from the

village of Khonoma, Mozema and Jotsoma reached Bombay, Calcutta and even Rangoon in

trading expeditions28

. Even though the main purpose of building roads may have been to gain

easy access to the villages for administrative convenience, their existence facilitated trade in the

area.

Though colonial rule encouraged trade this trade was limited. Trading activities was confined

to a few articles and were confined to those Naga areas which were geographically close to the

plain areas. The tribes inhabiting the interior part of the district far away from the settled plain

areas of Assam did not get the opportunity to trade. The articles traded were also limited to basic

necessities for household consumption such as clothing, foodstuffs and domestic animals29

. The

potential of economic resources based on forest products and animal husbandry remained

neglected and unexplored during the colonial period.

Despite the various exogenous factors associated with changes in the Naga society, it has no

impact on all the sphere of Naga‟s economy. The colonial encounters are seen as important

factor in breaking down the traditional economy. Yet, these factors did not have any impact on

the second sphere of economy.

The few markets scattered in Kohima and Dimapur weren‟t permanent and were entirely

dominated by non-Nagas like Marwaris merchants. The Marwaris monopolized the sale of

kerosene oil, iron, salt and thread30

. The Nagas and other tribes from Manipur produced fine and


56


strong clothes which could be worn for a long time, but this trade was adversely injured by the

work of Manipuris who supplied tribal clothes at a lower price and thus managed to undersell

native manufactures31

. The British did not attempt to protect or promote the entrepreneurship of

the Nagas.

Another important factor responsible for restricting the growth in trade and commerce in the

Naga areas during the colonial rule was the impact of Inner Line Regulation Act 1873. Under

this Act, no outsiders were allowed to enter Naga areas without taking an inner line permit from

the Deputy Commissioner of the district. This system is still in operation today. This Act

indirectly restricted the free flow of trade to the Naga areas.

1 Hudson T.C, The Naga Tribes of Manipur, London, 1911, p.45, also see J. Johnston, My Experience in Manipur

and the Naga Hills, 1896, p.184 2 Ibid. p.47

3 Mills, J.P, The Rengma Nagas, p.68

4 Pioneer, 24

th March 1870, Cited in Alexander Mackenzie, The North-East Frontier of India, First Published in 1884

entitled “History of the Relations of Government With the Hills Tribes of the North-East Frontier of Bengal”. 5 Foreign Deptt. Pol-A, February 1845, no.148

6 Foreign. Deptt. Po-A, August 1844, no.34

7 Foreign. Deptt. Pol-A, 1907, no.103

8 Foreign Deptt. Extl.-A July 1908, no.123

9 Foreign Deptt. Pol-A, 1846, no.32

10 A.J Moffat Mills, Report on the Province of Assam 1854, quoted by Verrier Elwin, The Nagas in the 19

th Century,

1969, Oxford University Press, pp. 599-600 11

A.J Moffat Mills, Report on the Province of Assam, 1854, Reprinted in 1980, Gain Publication, Delhi, p.cxxiii 12

Allen B.C, Gazetteer of Bengal and North-East India, Reprinted in India 1979, p.479, K. Mittal Publication, Delhi, p.60 13

Foreign Deptt. Pol.-A 1878, Ref.no.27. Letter from S.O.B, Ridsdale esq, C.S, Secy to the chief Commissioner of Assam to Secretary to the Government of India, Shillong 1

st March 1878.

14 Foreign Deptt. Pol.-A, January 1882, no.135

15 W.W. Hunter, Statistical Account of Assam, Vol. II, p.191

16 Assam Agricultural Deptt. Report,1886

17 S.D.O Dairy, District Record Office, Mokokchung, March, 1912

18 Census of India, 1951, Vol. XII, Assam, Manipur and Tripura, Part 1-8, Table,p.62-63

19 Zunheboto Dist. Gazetteers, Nagaland, 1979, pp.

20 J.P Mills, The Rengma Nagas, 1937, Reprint 1980, Spectrum Publications, Guwahati, p.72, The Eastern Rengma

used to use as currency “dao” of a special type called khara nyu imported from Tangkhul country, where they were made 21

Gertrude M. Godden, Naga and Other Frontier Tribes of North-East India, The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol.26, 1897, p.42 22

W.W. Hunter Statistical Account of Assam, p.197, Vol .II


57


23

Foreign .Deptt.. Pol-A, September 1876, no.143 24

Assam Administration Report, 1882-83, p.10 25

Dena Lal, History of Modern Manipur, New Delhi, 1991,p.108 26

B.C Allen, Gazetteer of Bengal and North-East India, Reprinted in India 1979, p.479, K. Mittal Publication, Delhi 27

Ibid. 28

Ibid. pp.59-60 29

W.W Hunter, opcit., p.193 30

B.C Allen, opcit. p.478 31

J. Johnston, My Experience in Manipur and the Naga Hills, 1896, p.184

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