Longwa: Στο χωριό των "κυνηγών" κεφαλών που καπνίζουν όπιο όλη τη μέρα

Οι κάτοικοι του μικρού χωριού Longwa της Ινδίας, στα επικίνδυνα σύνορα με την Μιανμάρ, μάχονται με τον εθισμό που έχουν στο όπιο. Σχεδόν το ένα τρίτο των κατοίκων καπνίζουν την ουσία, με πολλούς να έχουν πουλήσει όλα τα υπάρχοντά τους για να χρηματοδοτήσουν τη συνήθειά τους.

Ο Αυστραλός φωτογράφος Raphael Korman ταξίδεψε στο χωριό και έμαθε για το έθιμο των αποκεφαλισμών που ήταν σύνηθες μέχρι τα τέλη της δεκαετίας του 1960.

Το όπιο έπεσε στα χέρια των ντόπιων από τους Βρετανούς αποικιοκράτες, λίγο πριν το 1940. Από τότε, αποτελεί ένα χαρακτηριστικό του χωριού. Χαρακτηριστικό είναι πως ο Buwong, όπως ο ίδιος δήλωσε στον φωτογράφο, καπνίζει όπιο όλη την μέρα.

"Περπατούσαμε για 2-3 νύχτες μέχρι να φτάσουμε σε κάποιο από τα αντίπαλα χωριά. Ηταν δύσκολο, τρώγαμε πολύ λίγο. Όταν φτάναμε, πρώτα χτυπούσαμε τα χωράφια, όπου αποκεφαλίζαμε γυναίκες και άνδρες. Μετά πηγαίναμε στο χωριό. Αν ήταν πολλοί τότε τρέχαμε μακριά και περιμέναμε για την επόμενη φορά" εξήγησε Buwong, αρχηγός του χωριού, στον Αυστραλό φωτογράφο.

Οι κάτοικοι φορούν τεράστια κοκάλινα σκουλαρίκια να τρυπούν τα αυτιά τους και «χαρακιές» στο πρόσωπο να προδίδουν την εξάρτηση των περισσότερων από το όπιο.

The Chief of Longwa flanked by his caretakers. All are habitual opium users. Opium was introduced to the Konyak tribes by British Colonialists. Apparently, the British gave opium to the Konyak tribesmen in an effort to suppress their affinity for headhunting. Today, headhunting is a distant memory, however the effects of widespread opium addiction remain. ------- Follow link in my profile to view the whole story ------- #villagelife #opium #addiction #nagaland #india #natgeo #guns #jungle #reportage #documentary #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #sonya7ii #nofilter #sonyalpha #documentaryphotography #mon #natgeotravel #_soi #gupmagazine #travel #colonialistlegacy #SoulTravelers

A photo posted by Raph Korman (@raphaelkorman) on Nov 5, 2015 at 11:55pm PST

In Shingachengu, Eastern Nagaland, India, the trophies from past headhunting expeditions are still on display. Headhunters would go to neighbouring villages and kill women, men and children, remove their heads then return back to their village. The objective of the headhunting missions was to expand landholding. Headhunting stopped in the late 1960s/early 1970s . ------ For more info follow the link on my profile ------ #nagaland #india #vanishingtribes #natgeo #skulls #headhunters #tribal #reportage #documentary #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #sonya7ii #nofilter #sonyalpha #portrait #documentaryphotography #burma #natgeotravel #portrait_shot #_soi #vice #gupmagazine #soultravellers

A photo posted by Raph Korman (@raphaelkorman) on Nov 6, 2015 at 7:44pm PST

My name is Wangloi, I am the Jnr Chief of Shingachengu village, Nagaland. I know I am more than 90 years old, but I can't tell you exactly. I have killed 5 women and men. Q: How have things changed in your village? A: Years ago, even for the warriors, life was very scary. Everyone was afraid of the enemy village. Nowadays, there is no fear, life is completely peaceful Q: When did you fight with enemy villages? A: Just after I got married the Christian missionaries came and all the fighting stopped. Prior to that, we were always fighting. The fighting was generally over land. Q: How did Christian missionaries stop all the fighting? A: When the missionaries came they brought peace. They first went to the village chief, then they established relationships with villagers by giving education and clothing. Like this, they stopped fighting #nagaland #india #vanishingtribes #natgeo #portraitart #headhunters #tattoos #tribal #reportage #documentary #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #sonya7ii #nofilter #tattoo #sonyalpha #portrait #documentaryphotography #burma #natgeotravel #portrait_shot #_soi #vice #gupmagazine

A photo posted by Raph Korman (@raphaelkorman) on Dec 1, 2015 at 7:09am PST

My name is Wangloi. I am the Jnr. Chief of Shingachengu village, Nagaland. I am a Konyak tribesman and a lifetime ago I was a headhunting warrior. I killed 5 women and men. After bringing their heads back to our chief, his wife tattooed me. She tattooed me for 1.5 days, from sunrise to sunset - it was very painful. I am more than 90 years old now, but I can't tell you exactly - I have no birth records. I want to meet with my old friends and reminisce about the past but they are all dead. I am really looking forward to meeting with them soon. #documentary #vanishingtribes #natgeo #reportage #photojournalism #nagaland #_soi #india #portrait #portraitart #documentaryphotography #tribal #adventure #travel @natgeo @natgeotravel #tattooart #tattooed #tribaltattoo

A photo posted by Raph Korman (@raphaelkorman) on Sep 9, 2015 at 7:00am PDT

The Last Headhunters of Hongphoi Name: Gokpon Age: 94 Occupation: I just sit in the Marong (the Marong is a men-only meeting hall with social, civic and traditional functions). People killed: 3 Mode of killing: Shooting Village of victims: Tang and Sang -------- Technical stuff: Shot on Sony A7ii | Zeiss FE55mm F1.8 | Big white rice bag used as a light reflector -------- ...for more info check link in my profile.... #nagaland #india #vanishingtribes #natgeo #portraitart #headhunters #tattoos #tribal #reportage #documentary #photojournalism #sonya7ii #nofilter #tattoo #sonyalpha #portrait #documentaryphotography #stevemccurry #burma #portrait_shots #portrait_photography #portraitperfection #natgeotravel @stevemccurryofficial

A photo posted by Raph Korman (@raphaelkorman) on Nov 3, 2015 at 2:55pm PST

Around 35km East of Mon is the village of Longwa. In Longwa, opium addiction is widespread #villagelife #opium #addiction #nagaland #india #natgeo #jungle #reportage #documentary #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #sonya7ii #nofilter #sonyalpha #documentaryphotography #mon #natgeotravel #_soi #gupmagazine #travel #colonialistlegacy #portrait #portrait_shots #candidshot

A photo posted by Raph Korman (@raphaelkorman) on Nov 5, 2015 at 9:20pm PST

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