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16-6-2001 Daily Record MY WIFE IS A NAGA And the in-laws were headhunters GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN and JACK MATHIESON EXCLUSIVE WHEN Scots salesman Troy Motherwell married his fiancee in the tiny Indian state of Nagaland, he did his best to keep it traditional. He donned full Highland dress, bride Chubainla Chang wore white and both sides invited their families. But there the similarities with a typical Scottish wedding ended - because Troy's bride was the daughter of the chief of Nagaland's 70,000-strong head-hunting Chang Clan and, like any proud dad, Ako Chang was determined to spare no expense. The couple tied the knot on a grass and bamboo dais covered by a massive bamboo replica of a warrior's helmet in front of 3000 guests. Some had walked for three days to get there.One man was a 100-year-old headhunter, resplendent in a necklace of brass skulls. Until well into the last century the Nagas believed the soul resided in the head and only decapitation could release it. They still have a collection of skulls. Three pigs were also sacrificed to wish the couple good fortune. Troy, 36, went to India to sell timeshares but fell in love with Chubainla, a member of one of the biggest clans in Nagaland. It's a tiny Indian state sandwiched between Tibet and Nepal in the Naga Hills on India's north-eastern border. Yesterday, his 64-year-old father David told how he spent the wedding in the town of Dimapur in a dream-like state. He said: "Here was my boy, born and brought up in Haddington, getting married to the tribal chief's daughter. Troy was absolutely gobsmacked. It was as close as you could get to a royal wedding. "Everyone wanted to see us because we were the only white men in the country. I met three government ministers in one day. They knew literally nothing about the West." The couple met six years ago and when they announced their engagement Chubainla's father was determined that only the best would do. Ako, a government state secretary , wanted 5000 guests but had to settle for 3000 because he couldn't get invitations out on time. The final list included a government minister and the state's most powerful businessmen. The dangers of political unrest have posed recent problems for visitors but the country has always been a tricky destination because of the Nagas' fame as headhunters. Permits to visit the country were only granted for the first time last September. But, despite their fearsome reputation, David said they could not have been nicer. He said: "They have been cut off from civilisation for so long that they are unusually polite. "Most speak reasonable English because of the influence of religion and mission schools. "And because I am a community councillor in Haddington, Ako was asking for my guidance on political issues like how to deal with water supply problems."
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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