Chapter - 2

The Angami and their Social Organisation

In this Chapter we shall examine the social organisation of the Angami. We shall

begin with an overview of the Angami.

1. The Angami - An Overview

The Angami are one of the major Naga tribes living in the present State of

Nagaland. On the basis of information available from the Census of India, the Angami

is the fourth largest Naga tribe. In 1991, there were 97,433 persons in Nagaland who

stated that Angami language was their mother tongue (Census of India, 1991:66). In

1991 the Angami constituted 8.06% of the total population of Nagaland.

The name Angami, like most names of tribes in North-East India, was given to

them by their neighbouring tribes or people. “Their original name is Tengima. The word

Angami is a distortion of the Manipuri word Gnamei. Angamis were called Tsungumi by

the Sema, Tsungung by the Lotha, and Mour by the Aos” (Das 1994: 63) In any case,

the name Angami has been in use for a long time, and now the Angami themselves use

it to describe themselves.

Hutton (1921:15) identifies four distinct groups among the Angami. They are the

Khonoma group, Kohima group, Viswema group and the Chakroma group. At present, it

is common to identify these groups on the basis of their geographic distribution. Those

living in Kohima and the surrounding villages are known as the Northern Angami, those

living to its west are the Western Angami, and those to the south of Kohima are the
Southern Angami, while those living on the slopes along the National Highway from

Kohima to Dimapur are the Chakroma Angami.

The traditional habitat of the Angami corresponds more or less to central and

southern parts of the present Kohima district and part of the Dimapur district. The area

is mountainous, with very high peaks and elevated ridges, irregular spurs and deep

valleys. "Summits of the lofty peaks are thickly wooded, clad with evergreen vegetation;

they abound in varied flora and fauna. The lower hills have become deforested owing

to the practice of both slash and burn and terrace system of cultivation" (Gazetteer

1970:2).

Agriculture is the main economic activity of the Angami Nagas, with settled

terrace cultivation as the principal method. Shifting cultivation plays only a minor role.

Angami economy has been changing ever since the colonial administration set foot in

the area (Sema 1992 : 93-138). As all other parts of the country, the Angami area is

now experiencing the consequences of advancing globalisation.

A majority of the Angami are Baptist Christians with an important Catholic

minority and some belonging to the Revivalist or other denominations. There is also a

substantial presence of families belonging to the original Animist religion. However, the

acceptance of Christianity has not completely wiped out traditional animist beliefs and

practices. For instance, Mathur (1992: 144) has observed that Christian Angamis have

not been able to lay off their beliefs and many of them still participate in the genna

which is a day of rest determined by the non-Christian priest in the village. Lotsüro

(2000 :177), a Naga scholar, is of the opnion that Christianity among the Nagas is

nominal and external. This view can be applied to the Angami as well.
 The Angami tribe was one of the first to experience the onslaught of colonial

intrusion and was also one among the first to raise the banner of revolt in the hills

against colonial occupation. One can say that, the area has seen some form or the

other of violent confrontation continuously ever since the siege of Khonoma by the

British in the nineteenth century (Sanyu 1996: 88-99). The Angami have played an

important and leading role in the Naga ethnic movement and conflict, especially under

the leadership of Z. A. Phizo, himself an Angami. In this conflict a large number of

Angami men fell in the battle with the Indian army in the 1950s and 1960s (Iralu 2000:

242-245). The on going Naga national movement is so complex that it cannot be easily

understood. But the fact remains that the Angami have been and continue to be a part

of the movement (Bhaumik 1996: 40-50). Today, the Angami are more circumspect in

their participation in the struggle probably due to the level of militarisation in the area

and partly due to the effort of development agencies (Misra 2000:11-17). In fact, at

present the Angami participate in the electoral politics that were introduced into the area

after the formation of the State of Nagaland on 1 December 1963.

It is important to note that the Angami tribal organisation is segmentary (Das

1993 :10). There is no centralised authority exercised by hereditary chiefs. There is not

even a permanent council at any level. Instead, tribal organisation in all its dimensions

is the result of an arrangement of interlocking segments consisting of patrilineal descent

groups. Though there are different types of tribal leaders, they are not hereditary but

chosen by the people through an informal process of consensus. Such leaders are

chosen for their experience, wisdom and concern for common welfare. We shall deal

with the nature of leadership in a later section.

change. However, their traditional social organisation continues to be strong. We shall

now begin by examining the basic features of the traditional social organisation of the

Angami.

2. The Angami Village and Its Organisation

A typical Angami village (runa) is generally large in size in terms of population. A

distinctive feature of an Angami village is that it is situated on the spur of the mountain

range or on the top of a hill, obviously for security reasons. In fact, a person cannot

approach a village without being sighted already at some distance. Concern for security

is also seen in the internal arrangement of the village. The residential site is on the

summit, and terrace fields immediately surrounding it. Fields used for shifting

cultivation come next, and the forest farther away from the residential site. Boundaries

between villages are well established by tradition. Consequently, an Angami village

has a well defined territory and a distinct identity. In former times, when head hunting

and inter village feuds were common, the village was the largest area of social relations,

and the residents of a village rarely ventured outside its territory. However, the situation

has changed to some extent in recent times because some residents have settled

outside the traditional residential site. But they continue to consider themselves as

residents of the village and return to the village for important events like agricultural

festivals and funerals.

The village has been an important unit in Angami history. As already noted,

geographically a village has a distinct identity. This has a bearing on economic

demarcated. In pre-British times, an Angami village was a distinct political unit, and

was a sort of sovereign state, though there was no institution of village chief. However,

the unity of an Angami village was always tenuous and weak in the past. It was only in

recent times that the village as a political and economic unit received recognition and

importance. As a result, at present an Angami village has a village council, a village

development board and similar other structures introduced by the Government. chiefly

through legislative measures. The most important of such measures is the Nagaland

Village, Area and Regional Council Act of 1970. As development funds are channelled

through these bodies, the unity of the village has become stronger.

The fundamental reason for the weak sense of village unity in the past was the

segmentary nature of organisation. There are no village chiefs in the strict sense,

wielding authority over the entire village. Instead, an Angami village is constituted by at

least two segments or moieties. Traditionally, an Angami village must have two

moieties called tepo and teva, which, according to legends, descend from two brothers.

The presence of the members of both the moieties in a village is essential because

each moiety has to perform different rituals in religious and social ceremonies for the

well being of the village (Sanyu 1996 : 68). But much more important than the

existence of the moieties is the division of a village into thenu (clans), each with its own

definite and permanent territory within the residential site.

The term thenu refers to the clan as a grouping as also to the territory occupied

by it. The British used the term khel to signify the clan territory, and at present this word

is commonly used. Thus, a typical Angami village has at least two khels, each with its
own clearly defined territory within the residential site and holding its own fields and

forests in the outlying area of the village.

A khel or clan territory is an autonomous unit within the village named after an

apical ancestor. In former times each khel was surrounded by a wall to protect it from

outsiders, including members of other khels in the village. Entry into a khel was only

through the gates which were guarded at all times and closed at night. In fact, the so

called “village gates” of the Angami are really khel gates (Marwah 1992 : 81).

Within the khel there are smaller social units based on patrilineal descent. We

shall deal with them in a later section of this Chapter. Here we shall note some of the

important physical features of the khel. Houses are built on such portions of land with

no particular regard to direction or position. In fact, houses are built to make maximum

use of the available land. Traditional houses have more or less the same structure.

Entry into the house is through a heavy wooden door, often decorated with mithun

heads, human heads and other conventional designs. The house of a ‘rich man’ who

has given a feast of merit has the additional decoration of kika (house horn) consisting

of two broad wooden planks arranged in the form a horns above the roof in the front

facade of the house.

Within a khel, two structures were prominent in the past. The first was the

kichuki (bachelor’s dormitory), and the second was the tehuba (sitting place).

The kichuki performed an important role in the socialisation and training of the

younger generations. In former times bachelors used to sleep at night in the kichuki. It

was also the place where the young men learnt traditional lore and the art of warfare.

At present, the kichuki has lost its significance in the process of socialisation. But the
buildings exist in the khels and are used for casual meetings.

A tehuba is a raised platform, more or less circular in shape, and built with stone.

It is situated on a higher points in the khel. In former times it might have been a place

for look-outs watching for the approach of enemies or strangers. But now a tehuba

serves as a sitting place where elderly men can sit together to chat, or convene a

meeting.

Every khel in the village has its own water springs from where drinking water is

collected. In former times, collection tank was build around or on the side of the spring.

It was a sacred spot ritually cleaned at the time of the harvest festival. But now water is

piped into the village from nearby rivers or large springs.

In the organisation of the khel, elders play an important role. They are not

hereditary chiefs, but men chosen by the people for their age, wisdom and concern for

common welfare or for merit gained by feeding the clansmen through the so called

“feasts of merit”. These are collectively known as elders.

As there was no village chief or body exercising over the entire village in the

past, inter-khel relations were based on the principle of cooperation and mutual

assistance. Such a situation could arise when a village was attacked, or when a village

planned a raid. Inter-khel disputes were usually settled by the elders of both the khels.

This tradition is continued in the present practice of distributing the funds received by the

Village Development Board to the different khels.

An important feature of Angami village organisation is the existence of age-sets

or peer groups. An age-set is a formally organised group of persons of the same sex

and of about the same age. Usually there are four or five such groups. The whole
population of the village is organised into age-set groups. But it is at the level of the

khel that an age-set group is most active. Most of the elders belong to the older of the

age-sets.

In the acephalous organisation of the Angami, the clan elders have decisive

voice in all matters of public life. They play a leading role in ritual activities. They also

constitute the council of elders and function as arbitrators in settling disputes. Usually

disputes are settled by means of peaceful compromise and oaths. The British

introduced the offices of Dobashi (interpreter) and Gaon-bura (village headman) and

gave them authority to settle disputes and to punish crimes. These offices continue with

their traditional functions. Usually every khel has a Gaon-bura at present. He is elected

by the members of the khel through consensus.

As already noted, a khel has a distinct territory of its own and is an autonomous

unit. It is also the effective social and political unit. It is within the khel that the

segmentary system of social organisation is operative. In fact, a khel is an organisation

of well defined smaller social groups.

3. Social Organisation

The fundamental principle of Angami social organisation is patriliny and

patriarchal structure, with descent and inheritance passing along the male line, and

authority exercised by the male. We shall deal with in heritance in a later chapter. Here

we shall examine the nature of patriliny and authority structure.

As already noted, a khel is the effective social unit. A khel is the territory of a

particular thenu (clan). A clan claims descent from an apical ancestor on the basis of
patrilineal descent. A clan, as also its territory, is fixed so that the clan and its territory

are inextricably linked, and the same term, thenu is applied to both.

According to Das (1993 : 123) a thenu is divided into segments called serra,

each of which is actually a cluster of patrilineages. Much more important is the division

of the thenu into smaller segments, the most important of which is the sarra

(patrilineage).

A serra is the widest known descent group in the village. All its members have

the same title or surname and trace their descent from one known founding ancestor. A

serra is also the basic unit of exogamy. On the basis of the classificatory system of

kinship terms, a person calls all men of his father’s generation is a serra ‘father’, all

women in of that generation ‘father’s sister’, and all men and women of his or her

generation ‘brother’ or sister. Similarly, all the women of his mother’s serra are his

mothers, and the men are his “mother’s brothers’.

A serra usually has a depth of seven or eight generations in the sense that it is

possible to trace it for so many generations in the past. Beyond that depth, it is

common that the serra has segmented from a prior one. Thus a serra develops through

the process of segmentation. Putsanu (sub-lineage) is one such segment, with a depth

of about four or five generations. Punumi (inner-lineage) is a segment of the Putsanu.

A punumi consists of not more than three generations. It is, therefore, the smallest unit

for collective action and cooperation. Hence it is the most significant unit in the

segmentary structure. All the males and unmarried females are members of the

punumi, a married females retains her right to return to her natal punumi if she is

widowed or divorced, and her children may be incorporated into it.

anchored to a subdivision of the territory within the khel or clan territory. Hence all the

members of a serra live in a particular territory. Within this specified territory of the

serra, each of its component lineages and sub-lineages has its own area or compound.

The smallest of such territory is the punumi compound. It is within this compound that

component households live in close proximity to one another.

The basic domestic group among the Angami is the misokeswe (household)

identified on the basis of a hearth. A dwelling unit may accommodate two households

if there are two miso (hearths) within the structure, a situation that comes into existence

when a son marries and continues to stay within the dwelling unit before constructing

his own separate dwelling. A misokswe is a distinct economic unit. It is a distinct

property owning unit, and a unit of both economic production and consumption.

Normally a misokeswe consists of a man, his wife and unmarried children.

Membership of the household is acquired through birth, adoption and marriage. At birth

a child acquires various rights and obligations and finds itself in a network of pre-

established relationships. Such relationships bind the individual not only to other

members of the household, the lineage and the clan, but even to the ancestors. This

link with the ancestors is an essential dimension in the intra-household relationships,

especially between the parents and the children.

Because of the patrilineal structure, the birth of a male child is greatly desired. A

son ensures continuity and stability to the household and lineage. Therefore any

number of sons are welcome. On the other hand, a daughter is regarded as somebody

else’s property to be handed over through marriage. In fact, it is considered the duty of
the parents to give away a daughter in marriage to another family. However, even a

daughter at birth acquires definite rights to be brought up in a suitable manner. Even

after marriage, she retains her right for economic support from her natal household. In

fact, in case of divorce or widowhood, she can easily return to her natal household. She

can also inherit certain types of property as we shall see in a later chapter.

Adoption is usually resorted to when a couple does not have a child, particularly

a male child, to ensure the continuation of the patrilineage. An adopted child has the

same rights and obligations as a natural child. It is preferable that the adopted child

comes from the same lineage or clan, though there are instances of adopting a

daughter’s son.

The household is invariably patrilocal. The man exercises authority over his wife

and children. There is a clear division of labour among the members of the household.

While the man is expected to work for the maintenance and improvement of the

economic status of his household, the wife must contribute her share in giving birth and

looking after the children to continue to household and the lineage. She must also

contribute to the maintenance and improvement of the economic status of the

household. Thus the relationship between a husband and his wife is one of cooperation

and mutual support, though the structure of the household is patriarchal and man has

the final word.

Parent-child relationship in an Angami household is very close because of the

belief that a child owes everything to its parents as it is begotten by them and because
they lavish a great amount of affection on them. In general, parents are expected to

their best for the well being of their children and to settle them in marriage. On the other

hand, children have the obligation of looking after their parents especially in their old

age and to perform their death rituals. The mother-child relationship is particularly close

because of its emotional content. However, it is the father-child relationship that is the

very core of the patrilineal and patriarchal Angami social structure. It is from the father

that the child receives its social personality and membership of the patrilineage, clan,

village and the tribe. The principle of patrilineage is so strong that even a child born out

of wedlock belongs to the father if its paternity is known.

From the above description of the social organisation of the Angami it is possible

to conclude that their organisation is segmentary in nature and consists of interlocking

segments of patrilineal descent groups. In this segmentary structure the village is at the

apex of the pyramid and the household is the basic unit. The principles of patrilineage

is so strong and it is only through the father that a member receives his or her identity,

and a female does not lose it through her marriage into a new patrilineage.