Aoleang Monyu
The Konyak spring festival welcoming the new sowing year.
Aoleang Monyu is the greatest festival of the Konyak Nagas, celebrated over six days in early April in the remote hill villages of Mon district on the Myanmar border. It marks the end of the old year and prayers for a bountiful new sowing, and is the fullest expression of Konyak culture — feasting, folk songs, and warriors and elders in spectacular headgear of hornbill feathers, boar tusks and beadwork.
For the traveller willing to make the hard journey to Mon, Aoleang is an unforgettable encounter with one of India's most distinctive tribal cultures, including the last generation of tattooed former head-hunters.
Know before you go
- Held in Mon district; Longwa and other Konyak villages celebrate vividly.
- Roads to Mon are rough — allow buffer time and use a local guide/homestay.
- An Inner Line Permit is required; always ask before photographing elders.
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Sekrenyi
25 February 2026
The Angami purification festival of song, ritual and feasting.
Moatsu
1–3 May 2026
The Ao festival of rest and renewal after the sowing.
Hornbill Festival
1–10 December 2026
The 'festival of festivals' — all sixteen Naga tribes in one place. The Northeast's single biggest draw; book months ahead.