A
sketch of Angami Naga tribesman from 1875.
The territory of the Angamis is made up of
the present Kohima district, which is divided into four regions:
·
Southern Angami (Japfüphiki-Viswema,
Khuzama, Kidima, Kigwema, Jakhama, Phesama, Mima, Mitelephe, Pfuchama, Kezoma,
Chazuba, Chakhaba, Kezo Town) in the south of Kohima on the foothills of Mt
Japfü.
·
Western Angami (Jotsoma, Khonoma, Mezoma,
Sechuma, Secü-zubza, Kiruphema, Peducha, Mengoujuma, Thekrejü, Dzülake) in the
west of Kohima.
·
Northern Angami (Kewhima, Chedema, Meriema,
Chiechama, Nerhema, Chiephobozou, Tuophema, Gariphema, Dihoma, Rusoma, etc.) in
the north of Kohima.
·
Chakhro Angami (mostly small villages
around Dimapur district, with large villages being Medziphema, Chumukedima,
Sovima, Razaphe, etc.; other villages include Piphema, Tsiepama, Kirha,
Pherima, etc.)
Culture and religion
The Angami
Nagas are hill people depending basically on cultivation and livestock-rearing.
The Angamis are known for terraced wet-rice cultivation;
because of this labor-intensive cultivation, land is the most important form of
property among them. They are one of the only two groups of Nagas out
of the seventeen who practice wet-rice cultivation on terraces made on the hill
slopes. This allows them to cultivate the same plot year after year. They
depend, to a very small extent, on slash-and-burn cultivation.
Angamis were traditionally warriors. The
Angami men spent the majority of their time in warfare with hostile villages
and taking heads. Since 1879, when the British succeeded
in annexing their territory, the inter-village feuds have come to an end. With
the introduction ofChristianity in the region several Angamis changed
their faith to Christianity.
Social stratification is not observed in the Angami
community. Traditionally, property was divided equally among sons with
daughters also receiving a share; in modern families it is shared among
children. The youngest male in the family inherits the parental home, Kithoki, which means he is
responsible for their care until they pass away.
The Angami Christians are divided into five
major denominations: Baptist, Christian revival, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal and Seventh-day Adventist.
Baptists constitute more than 80% of the total Angami Christian population and
all the Baptist churches in their region are under the Angami Baptist Church Council.
Although more than 98% of the Angamis are
Christians, they are one of the last Naga tribes having an animist population.
The Angami animists practice a religion known as Pfutsana. According to the
1991 census, there were 1,760 Angami practitioners, but 10 years later the
figure had halved to 884.[4] Currently
there are several hundred adherents of the Pfutsana religion, scattered in nine
villages of the southern Kohima district.[5] A religious
organization, 'Japfuphiki Pfutsana', was founded in 1987 to streamline
indigenous religious practices among the Angamis.
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion of Nagaland. The state's population is 1.988 million, out of which 90.02% are Christians.[41][42] The census of 2001 recorded the state's Christian population at 1,790,349, making it, with Meghalaya and Mizoram, one of the three Christian-majority states in India and the only state where Christians form 90% of the population. The state has a very high church attendance rate in both urban and rural areas. Huge churches dominate the skylines of Kohima, Dimapur, and Mokokchung.
Nagaland is known as "the only predominantly Baptist state in the world."
Reference: Wiki
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