The Naga tribes are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and

northwestern Myanmar. They form the majority of the population in the Indian state
of Nagaland and the Naga Self-Administered Zone of Myanmar. Significant populations
of Naga tribes also reside in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam in India.
The total population of the Naga tribes is approximately 2.9 million, with
over 2.5 million residing in India.
The Naga tribes speak distinct Naga languages, often unintelligible to each other.
These languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language
family.The majority of the Naga tribes practice Christianity, predominantly
Baptist, with a minority practicing Buddhism and Animism.
The Naga tribes have a rich cultural heritage, evident in their colorful
shawls designed and woven by women, and in the headgear that both sexes design.
They use a wide range of materials in their jewelry, including glass, shell, stone,
teeth or tusk, claws, horns, metal, bone, wood, seeds, hair, and fiber. Craftwork
includes the making of baskets, weaving of cloth, wood carving, pottery, metalwork,
jewelry-making, and bead-work.
The origins of the Naga tribes are disputed among anthropologists and
historians. Some believe that the Nagas moved southeast from Sinkiang (China), with
some trekking along the Brahmaputra into present Arunachal Pradesh and others
pushing to Myanmar (Burma) and Indonesia.
The Naga tribes include more than 20 tribes of mixed origin, varying
cultures, and very different physiques and appearances. Some of the major Naga
tribes are Angami, Chang, Konyak, Lotha, Phoms, Rengma, Sema, Pochury, and Zeliang.