Ancient Naga Head Hunters

People around the world know that the forefathers of the present Naga people were head hunters. Head Hunting meant that man killed his enemy, cut off his victim's head, and carried home the head as a victor's trophy. Ironically, there were no murders or secret killings. There was no random killing of people just for head counting. There was a set of unwritten laws that guided the head hunters. Ref. SI. No 25, Page 131, Head Hunters' Code of Conduct, of this book. It is a unique book in a sense that its author-poet himself is a direct descendant of famous Naga head hunter-warriors. Stories in longer poems are true stories stranger than fiction. (a) Shorter narrative poems give pictures of head hunters' lives in general. (b) Longer poems narrate real-life stories of head hunters in details. To avoid any possible injury of hearts in the minds of today's descendants of earlier head hunters, I have converted all names of locales of the stories, characters or actors and actresses of the tales into fictitious names. Presentation of tales in fiction form also prevent raising again of any dormant illfeeling down in the human hearts of head hunters' descendants. Its author-poet had collected material of this book from the following sources: (i) Tales in shorter narrative poems are from those which he had learnt from old-generation people during his childhood and youth in his village, Merangkong, a hub of Naga folklore and culture. (ii) Details stories narrated in longer poems were collected from tale- bearing old men in different rural Naga villages elsewhere in Nagaland as well as from his birth village.

The author of this book. T.Penzu (Tsuknung Penzu) himself is a descendant of ancient Naga head hunters, who were noted warriors in their time. Penzu feels proud to be a rural man. He was brought up in a rural village, Merangkong, in Mokokchung district of Nagaland, belonging to Ao Naga tribe. Merangkong was a hub of Naga culture and folklore. T.Penzu is a self-made man, not a man with spoon on his mouth from a cultivator's family. He learnt while earning. Obtained B.A. degree reading in evening section of a college, while serving as a teacher in a high school in a small town. He claims himself a research field activiest in the field of Naga folklore and culture; and not a university-level-doctorate research scholar. For all his five books, his story materials were all collected, learning by heart in oral tradition' of transmitting from 'father to son' and ' old to new generation people'. That is the reason why names of particular 'resource persons' and bibliography are not given in his books in respect of materials collection. This is a unique book. its readers will rediscover an ancient world so far remained unknown by the world. it is thrilling to read it, and equal to having a rich treasure.