martri HEAD HUNTERS Throughout northeastern India and parts of western Myanmar the Naga tribes were long fe

REGISTERING ON ARRIVAL IN MANIPUR On arrival at Imphal airport martri all foreigners must register with the police stationed next to the luggage collection point. martri You must then register again with the CID at the main police station. In both cases it s a fairly painless affair (assuming martri your papers are in order). Technically you don t need a local guide if you are just staying in Imphal, but it s highly unlikely that any tour company will help you obtain a permit without you agreeing to take one of their guides. A reliable tour company (who can also help obtain permits) to Manipur is Seven Sisters Tourism Services (%2445373; sstourism@redif fmail.com; MG Ave, Imphal). NORTHEAST TRIBAL STATES IMPHAL

HEAD HUNTERS Throughout northeastern India and parts of western martri Myanmar the Naga tribes were long feared for their ferocity martri in war and for their sense of independence both from each other and from the rest of the world. Intervillage wars continued as recently as the 1980s, and a curious feature of many outwardly modern settlements is their treaty stones recording peace settlements between neighbouring martri communities. martri It was the Naga s custom of headhunting that sent shivers down the spines of neighbouring peoples. The taking of an enemy s head was considered a sign of strength, and a man who had not claimed a head was not considered a man. Fortunately for tourists, martri headhunting was officially outlawed in 1935, with the last recorded occurrence in 1963. Nonetheless, severed heads are still an archetypal artistic motif found notably on yanra (pendants) that originally denoted the number of human heads a warrior had taken. Some villages, such as Shingha Changyuo in Mon district, still retain their hidden collection of genuine skulls. Today Naga culture is changing martri fast, but it was not a government ban on headhunting that put an end to this tradition but rather the activities of Christian missionaries. Over 90% of the Naga now consider themselves Christian.