The Last Headhunters of Nagaland
Documentary Photography Project | Northeast India
A documentary photography project on the surviving memory of headhunting traditions among the Naga tribes, suspended between history, myth, and contemporary transformation.
In the remote hills of Nagaland, in Northeast India, live the last surviving members of the Konyak tribe — once feared as headhunters. Today they are elderly men in their eighties, living quiet and dignified lives as fathers, grandfathers, and respected elders. Yet the tattoos that cover their faces and chests still speak of a radically different past.
Until the 1960s, the Konyak were among the Naga tribes known for the practice of headhunting during inter-village conflicts. These acts were not driven by cruelty, but by complex spiritual and social beliefs: the severed head of an enemy was thought to carry a vital force, capable of bringing fertility, prosperity, and protection to the village.
Tattoos were marks of honour and identity. Each warrior’s facial patterns recorded his achievements in battle, transforming the body into a living archive of tribal history. Ornaments made from animal bones, boar tusks, and beads symbolised courage, status, and a deep connection to the natural world.
Today, these men no longer carry spears or dao blades, yet their presence still commands respect. They sit in their traditional longhouses, smoking bamboo pipes and sharing stories of a time when bravery was measured by the number of heads taken. Their grandchildren play nearby, often unaware that the hands now resting gently on their shoulders once held weapons of war.
This series documents a vanishing culture — the final chapter of a warrior tradition that has given way to peace, memory, and the quiet passage of time.
