GENUINE ANTIQUE NAGA HEAD HUNTER'S BEAD NECKLACE

This is a necklace, about 20” long, worn by a Naga headhunter. The Nagas live in the Himalayas, in what is now Assam, near Tibet. They are a mountain "wild tribe" and practiced head hunting until about 1890. It was required that a Naga man kill an enemy (any guy from the next village would do) before he could marry. You can imagine the slaughter that took place. His primary weapon was the spear, after which he used his sword or axe to remove the head. Personal adornment was very important and the headhunter carried a beautiful hair decorated spear, wore a rattan hat mounted with fetish trophies and necklaces such as this. This necklace dates about 1830 and is distinctively Naga. It came through an English family who inherited it from ancestors who grew tea in Assam. Condition is as shown.