Border village of Longwa

Going to Longwa

I had booked my sumo for 0730 to Longwa for an overnight stay.  Last night Aman, who runs the homestay, mentioned the possibility of taking me there instead.  He was meant to confirm it to me before bed but it didn’t happen.  At 0600, I didn’t have much time for breakfast and the walk down to the sumo.  I checked with the Aloka (sister-in-law) who woke him up.  Once he confirmed that he was going, I could relax as the exact departure time wasn’t important.

Sunrise at Mon village

I chatted to a Karnataka group (Sheily, Tejas & friends with a total of 7 adults and one child) over breakfast.  They were headed to Longwa too and tomorrow to Mokokchung.  They were very friendly and offered me a ride to Mokokchung, provided I could cancel my homestay in Longwa and return to Mon for a second night tonight.  That was easily done.

We left around 0815.  I rode in Aman’s car as it was more empty but would change over to Tejas’ on the way back, since Aman was staying only for about 10 minutes to drop stuff off.  The journey took only 1h30 instead of the 2-3h that had been indicated.  It was forested all the way with some military presence, including one walking with a rocket launcher.

Aman’s purpose today was to deliver a piece of roofing material to relatives across in Myanmar.  The nearest town over there is 2 days away by motorbike so supplies are typically sourced from India.  He also had a tank of petrol in the vehicle for them.

I took the opportunity to chat to Aman about various things:

• Nagas chew betel nut with lime (calcium) powder, just like people of the Malay archipelago.
• Nagas do eat dogs, just like the Christians (or non-Muslims) of the Malay archipelago.  The older generation don’t, as there was a time when dogs ate corpses that were left out for nature to consume.  The young never saw that time and love dogs.
• Nagaland and Nagas aren’t named after snakes or dragons.  The word comes from “nakha” which means pierced ears.  Even men have pierced ears.
• People of the North-East are not well treated when travelling to the main part of India.  He perceives this as part of the culture of looking down on non-Hindus like Christians, Muslims and lower caste Hindus.
• The British never made it to Northern Nagaland; only the south where they fought with the Japanese.  This part was only incorporated into India after independence.
• Nagas here practice shifting cultivation.  They slash and burn land and grow rice there for two years before moving on to clear new land.

Touring Longwa

Longwa is split down the middle by a dirt road.  On one side is India and on the other, it is Myanmar.  Facilities like schools in India were concrete while that in Myanmar were just shacks.  Many people were dressed in pyajama bottoms; I love comfort over style.

Aman said the soldiers wanted to check my identification so it was good I made a last-minute decision to get it.  They didn’t need a copy or take any details though.

We climbed up a small embankment where soldiers stood watch.  There was an old man with facial tattoo behind.  We were told he was one of the last headhunters.  The tradition was outlawed in 1953 and the last recorded occurrence was in 1963.  We took some pictures with him (for a fee which Tejas paid).

The headhunter, now in his eighties, wore a necklace.  The five faces on it indicated that he had taken five heads!

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From there Aman led us to the Angh’s (Chief’s) House.  It was a long house that straddled the border.  Inside one of the rooms were a couple of old men smoking opium.  We exited through the kitchen to the outside where Tejas bought a few souvenirs.

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Aman had outstayed his 10 minutes and was keen to show us around.  He was quite taken but the congenial nature of Sheily and Tejas.  We rested with tea and biscuits before driving and walking up to a viewpoint.  Aunty Satya walked all the way up and down where as the older men in the car didn’t.

On the way back, Aman took us to the village of Tangyu where he showed us what they believe to be the Centre of the Earth.  It was a arranged collection of stones that was found that way without human intervention.  In the morung (communal hut) was a statue that somehow consumes rice left in front of it.

Nearly reaching Mon, we crossed a bridge/river which marked the Myanmar/India line until it was demarcated differently in 1971.

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Spanner in the works

We reached Wangsa Cottage around 1630 and I had my dinner at 1730.  The Indian group had ordered theirs for 2000 which was rather late, having skipped lunch.

After dinner, I thought it was a good idea to ring my hotel in Kohima to confirm my booking as it is during super-duper peak season, being a festival.  They said that they declined my booking many months back.  The respectable website that I had booked it through, Makemytrip.com had no record of the decline and still had it as confirmed.  The would liaise with the hotel and provide a resolution within 24 hours and rebook me as necessary (and impossibility as their site have no rooms left in town).

It was a slightly later night with this spanner-in-the-works and also socialising with the great bunch from Bangalore.