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Naga describes a group of culturally and linguistically linked, but distinct tribes living on the border between India and Burma who had the reputation for being fearsome headhunters.
The Rubin Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, Fiercely Modern: Art of the Naga Warrior, explores the societal evolution of the Naga people through their material culture. The exhibition includes clothing, jewelry, weapons, shields, and ceremonial objects as well as large-scale black-and-white photographs from one of the oldest collections of Naga art, assembled in the 1930s by the anthropologist Christoph Fürer-Haimendorf and now in the collection of the WeltMuseum Wien in Vienna, previously known as Museum für Völkerkunde. The exhibition will also include a video of ceremonial drumming. On view from April 26 through September 16, 2013, Fiercely Modern tells the story of how the Naga organized their society and celebrated their festivals with stunning displays of power and artistry.
The Naga are a group of culturally and linguistically linked tribes who live in the mountainous regions of northeastern India and northwestern Burma (Myanmar). As headhunters, they were feared and avoided by their neighbors, allowing them to develop a distinctive material culture—in which objects they created are of impressive aesthetic value and possess great symbolic importance to the community—and a complex
system of norms and taboos. The main tribal groups of the Naga include the Angami, Sema, Ao, Kalyo- Kengyu, Konyak, Lhota, Rengma, Tangkhul, Chang, Sangtam and Sema.
The British colonization of India in the 19th century and then the 20th- century conversion by Baptist missionaries of nearly the entire Naga population to Christianity resulted in drastic changes in their way of life. Today the Naga live between two extremes: they maintain a highly developed aesthetic culture informed by ancestral traditions but are a fractured society, disrupted and transformed by outside influences. Though now fervent Christians, the Naga’s ancient customs and habits remain alive under a layer of Christian devotion.
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“Fiercely Modern explores the intricate cultural heritage of the still little-known society of the Naga and provides an important opportunity to consider its trajectory within a larger historical context,” said Jan Van Alphen, Director of Exhibitions, Collections & Research at the Rubin Museum. “Through a thorough examination of the distinctive, value-laden objects, traditions, and intangible heritage of the Naga, we are able to draw parallels among the many disparate communities of the wider Himalayan region and tell a more comprehensive story of the headhunting cultures in Asia as far as the Philippines, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.”
Enlarged black-and-white photographs of Naga people in ceremonial clothing will provide the context for the objects on view. Fürer-Haimendorf acquired the original photographs and the majority of the objects presented in this exhibition during his field research in 1936-1937. As a sympathetic chronicler of the Naga throughout his life, he supported a greater understanding of non-Western cultures and argued for the political rights of marginalized groups. His complete collection has been preserved in the WeltMuseum Wien.
-> Fiercely Modern – Art of the Naga Warrior – Download the Audio Tour (English) for free from iTunes U
- Review in The New York Times: All the Trappings of Victorious Headhunters - Naga Peoples Made Beauty From the Ugly in Northeastern India
The Naga People
Landlocked and inaccessible to outsiders, because of India’s travel restrictions, Nagalim, homeland of the Nagas, has been practically isolated from the outside world. This being the main reason why the international community knows little about a war that has taken the lives of approximately 200.000 people.
Nagaland; ca. 1963. B&W, silent
The 16mm cine footage was digitised by Digital Himalaya Project staff.
Nagaland – Journey Through the Choir of Clouds (a film by Jim Ankan)
- The Rubin Museum of Art is a dynamic environment that stimulates learning, promotes understanding, and inspires personal connections to the ideas, cultures, and art of Himalayan Asia. They have a lot of other interesting shows going on and coming up as well. This one for example:
Allegory and Illusion - October 16, 2013 – February 10, 2014 – Allegory and Illusion: Early Portrait Photography from South Asia presents approximately 120 photographs and a selection of albums, glass plate negatives, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visites, and postcards illustrating the rich tradition of portrait photography in India, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Nepal from the mid-19th century to early 20th century. Read on…
Image: Installation Shot of “Fiercely Modern: Art of the Naga Warrior” by David DeArmas. Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rmanyc/8952187063/in/photostream/