Aoling Festival, Nagaland

The Aoling festival is a festival celebrated in Nagaland, one of the seven sister states in North-eastern India. Every year in the first week of April the Konyak tribe gather in Mon to celebrate the arrival of spring and pray for a good upcoming harvest. Nagaland, which is located on the border with Myanmar, is known for its headhunting, which was still happening as recently as 1969 when the Christians came to Nagaland. When a member of the Naga tribe beheaded someone they were given a tattoo on their chest as a trophy of the event. Nowadays, the Naga people can be seen with piercings and facial tattoos and brightly coloured tribal patterns selling handicrafts and smoking opium deep in the hills of the Indo-Myanmar state.