Ni Dieu Ni Maitre

Like Shillong, Kohima is built in the hills, but runs mainly along several ridges. the main street is one of the very few flat spots in the town. The main tourist draw here is the Hornbill Festival, held in October. Otherwise there seems to be little of touristic interest. I know, Shillong was in many respects similar, but there I had some really nice hiking opportunities right out the door of my hotel and did enjoy my trip into town there.

Hornbill Festival dress up party. The Nagas are nearly 90% Christian Baptists now and quite ‘Indianized’.

During my time here I did do quite a bit of up and down walking, and visited several of the supposed sites of interest, first the memorial to dead from the Battle of Kohima. Just small gravestones on a hilltop. The battle itself (which you can read about on wikipedia) was horrific as the Japanese attempted to move through strategic Kohima and onward into colonial India, to seize that entire country. They didn’t make it, and scads of Brits and Japs were slaughtered in a bloody, miserable protracted struggle on this very site.

Next up on a short list was the Catholic Cathedral, situated on one of the many overlooks above the town. Baptists are not into iconography, but the Catholics sure are… this place had a disneylandish aura about it.

14 larger than life stations of the cross as you walk around the spectacular viewpoint.

After spending a while here, I walked several k’s down to the town center. Bustling, but really no traffic jams, just loads of small shops and a mix of restaurants, some having plains Indian food. As mentioned, the Nagas are carnivorous, with their places featuring mostly pork dishes and a bit of chicken.

Here there is also a competing Baptist Cathedral, one of several around the town. I was told by a local that in Eastern Nagaland, bordering Myanmar, there is a still primitive tribe which sells human skulls, remnants of their days as headhunters… but you do hear stories.

Chickens and a duck for sale on the sidewalk.