Ceremonial hat

Atfestivals and ceremonies, Naga men transformed everyday objects such as hats,baskets or spears into elaborately designed ornaments. While some tribes wererelatively uniform in their hats, the Konyak-Naga were guided by the principlethat the more striking and imaginative, the better. This led to surprisingsolutions and expressive qualities in ritual headgear.

Theapplication of animal materials follows the desire to appropriate thecharacteristic features of certain animals - for example the strength andcourage of the leopard or boar, the invincibility of the elephant or the beautyof the hornbill. The red of the dyed goat's hair conveyed the idea of strengthor blood, but also of the fire that consumed enemy villages. The feathers ofthe hornbill on the hats are a sign of social status among all Naga groups,albeit with different meanings depending on the group. Among the Angami, forexample, a feather once referred to a captured head, among the Ao to asacrificed buffalo. Among the Khiamniungan, two feathers indicated that thewearer had hurled the first spear at a slain enemy, while among the Sangtamthey were an indication that the third of a total of five feasts of merit hadbeen held. Today, personal taste determines the choice.