Portrait of Inaho of Melahomi
B&W photographic print. 'Inaho of Melahomi wears many-stranded shell necklaces. The crosses above his cowrie apron show he has taken part in a raid. The doccumentation suggest 'probably Ao', however, name and village rather suggest that he is the very Sema Naga man of which Hutton writes: "Bot...
| Date(s) of creation: |
1920s |
|---|---|
| Level: |
Item |
| Format: | Archive |
| Main author: | Mills; James Philip (1890-1960); colonial administrator and anthropologist |
| URL: |
http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOAA004666 |
| URL Description: |
Digital version available online at SOAS Digital Collections |
| Summary: |
B&W photographic print. 'Inaho of Melahomi wears many-stranded shell necklaces. The crosses above his cowrie apron show he has taken part in a raid. The doccumentation suggest 'probably Ao', however, name and village rather suggest that he is the very Sema Naga man of which Hutton writes: "Both Inato of Lumitsami and Inaho of Melahomi related to the writer independently how, when they were going up together from Phusumi to Lotesami, Inato managed to persuade Inaho to show himself in his tiger body. The latter lingered for a moment behind, and suddenly a huge tiger jumped out on the path in front of Inato with a roar and an angry waving of his tail. In a flash Inato had raised his gun, but the tiger-Inaho jumped in time to avoid the shot and disappeared. Since this Inaho has had an excellent excuse for refusing to show himself in tiger form to anyone at all" (The Sema Nagas, 1921, p. 206). The passage in Hutton refers to the phenomenon of the Naga 'tiger men', people who have a parallel soul in an animal body, mostly a wild cat. The photograph was taken in the garden of Mill's bungalow at Mokokchung, where many visitor used to come along.' |
|---|---|
| Main author: | Mills; James Philip (1890-1960); colonial administrator and anthropologist |
| Extent: |
1 photograph |
| Note: |
Naga (South Asian people) Ethnic group: Naga Ethnic group: Ao Naga Ethnic group: Sumi Naga |
| Access status: |
Open |
| Copyright: | Copyright held by J.P. Mills |
| Language: | No linguistic content |
| Scripts: |
Unwritten |
| Physical description: |
9.5 x 7 cm |
| Format: | Archive |