Death had been central to the Naga society and had formed a great part of their worldview. The diverse and vibrant culture of the Nagas could be observed from the pre colonial mortuary practices of the people. The funerary traditions are full of rituals and beliefs, and the variations are observed among the different tribes. The people incorporated the available materials in their environment into their traditions, and that became the part of their funerary culture. With the coming of Christianity, along with it, the western education, there had been several documentations on the socio-cultural life of the Nagas by both early ethnographers as well as the indigenous Scholars. However, the study of death and its associated aspects as an independent study had been very rare, so much so that some of the funerary traditions were very vaguely documented or not studied at all. The paper is not an attempt to provide a comprehensive study on the funerary rituals of the entire Naga tribes but an approach to understand the different types of treatment of death and its associated mortuary rituals. The aim of the paper is to give an overview of the mortuary variations, nature of the death, material aspects, and its co-relation with the society and individual. The paper will also explore the dynamic changes in the mortuary pattern and the possible influence and adaptability with the new waves of change. The paper would incorporate data collected from the various literary works on the Nagas as well as evidences gathered from various archaeological excavations conducted by indigenous archaeologists. The paper will also include data collected from personal field work and interviews done along the way.
