Tuensang district General information
TUENSANG is one of the eight districts of Nagaland. It lies in the easternmost part of Nagaland, and is named after the village which is situated closed by the district headquarter. The District is populated by 5 (Five) major tribes namely, Chang, Sangtam, Khiamniungan, Yimchunger, Phom and a part of Sumi.
Tuensang is bordered by Myanmar all along its eastern side. On the North lies Mon district. Tuensang touches Assam on its north on a narrow strip between Mon on the east and Mokokchung in the West. On the South of Tuensang lies Phek District and on the west are Zunheboto and Mokokchung districts. The district has approximately 180 Kms of international border with Myanmar.
Physiography
Physiographically, Tuensang district is covered with hills, high ridges deep gorges and narrow valleys.
The altitude of Tuensang, the District Heaquarter is 1371.60m above sea level. It covers an area of 4228 square kilometers which is about 25 % of the total area of the State of Nagaland. It has a total population of 4,14,801 having a population density of 98 per sq.km as per 2001 census. There are 234 recognised villages and few unrecognized villages in the district.
PEOPLE
Tuensang District is inhabited by the tribes of Chang, Sangtam, Yimchunger, Phom, Khiamniungan and part of Sumis. There are people of other tribes living in the district, among whom Ao and Sema are in majority. Apart from the tribal people there are innumerable non-tribal from all over the country and outside as businessman and government employees in the district.
The indigenous inhabitants of this district have Mongoloid features as other Nagas. All the tribes however, differ from each other to some extent in physical makeup as also in customs, traditions, culture and language. Each individual tribe has its own rich culture and tradition.
LANGUAGE
All tribes of the district speaks their own language. Some tribes have got some variations in their languages and therefore, one tribe may speak more than one dialect. Two villages belonging to the same tribe speaks, apart from the common tribal language, different dialects which are quite distinct from each other in all respect. It is not possible for one tribe to understand the language of another, so the need for the use of a third language arises. Consequently, Nagamese becomes the link ‘language’ in the district.
RELIGION
Each tribe has its own religious beliefs and practices. The primitive form of beliefs and practices, however, are now being rapidly replaced by Christianity even in the remote areas. About 90 % of the people of this district has embraced Christianity.
FESTIVAL
Every tribe has got its own festivals. Most of the festivals are associated with agricultural operation like cutting the jhum field, sowing, harvesting etc. Some festivals have restrictive features and some are festive in nature. Some festivities may take place on family basis while there are some in which the whole village takes part in feasting and enjoyment. Not only the festival of each tribe are different, but the dates of the festivals differ from tribe to tribe and village to village according to convenience and other factors. Most of the tribes have permanently fixed the dates of their major festivals officially
AGRICULTURE
The people of Tuensang District are mostly agriculturists. Whether they live in rural or urban area their heart and soul depend on agriculture. The percentage of Government job holders or other occupation is quite small. So still agriculture is the main-stay of the people. Since the entire source of subsistence is the land, people value it much.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Tuensang district is situated in a very peculiar way. Its land mass forms a long slice, of which one end (Tamlu-Namsang area) is touching Assam and the other end (Kiphire-Pungro area) is forming international boundary with Myanmar. Tamlu-Namsang area is adjacent to plains of Assam and its altitude is about 200m above sea level whereas the other end contains the highest peak of Nagaland called Saramati, with an altitude of 3840m above sea level. In between is situated the Tuensang District Headquarter whose altitude is 1371.60m. Because of this variation, in altitude, vegetation of this district is equally varied and variegated. Forest of the district is tropical to sub-tropical.
The forest of the lower range of Tamlu-Namsang area and other parts of the district may be classified as “Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests” mixed with “Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests”. The forests found above 1000 metres of altitude are classified as “ Montane Sub-Tropical Forests”. Those forests are further divided into “Sub-Tropical Broad Leaved Hill Forests” and “Sub-Tropical Pine Forests”. Broad Leaved Hill Forests are found in Longkhim, Tuensang and Noklak areas. Sub-Tropical Pine Forests are found in Shamator, Kiphire and Pungro areas.
Important trees found in the district are, Bonsum, Bogipoma, Khasi Pine, Oaks, Amari, Gamari, Hollock, Nahor, Uriam, Alder, Kachnar, Sasi, etc.
Because of heavy rainfall in these area the forests are full of undergrowth shrubs. More than dozen species of ferns and numerous species of orchids are found in this district. Rhododendrons are found flowering pleasantly in March- April.Various variety of canes bamboos are also found in abundance. Trees of Dalchini and Tejpata are found scattered in the district.
Tuensang district is quite rich in its variety of fauna. Some important animals found in the district are; Tiger, Panther, Jungle Cat, Himalayan Bear, Bison, Sambar, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Slender Loris etc. Indian Horn Bill, Tragopan Pheasant, Grey Pheasant, Jungle Fowl, Green Pigeon, Doves etc are important birds found in the district.
MINERALS
A number of natural occurrence have been located in the district such as Asbestos, Coal, Limestone, Marble, Magnesite, Chromite, Pyrite, and Oil. But lack of communication and poor accessibility are the main constraints that stand against a systematic search for minerals in the district.
ASBESTOS:- Low grade asbestos has been reported to exist near Ipungro village in Kiphire sub-division.
COAL:- Coal has been found in Dikhu River area west of Namsang Chingchung. It has also been located near Konya Village.
LIMESTONE:- High quality limestone is found in Nimi Village under Kiphire Sub-Division, small deposits of limestones are also found near Thongsonyu Village along Indo-Burma border. MAGNESITE:- Small deposits of magnesite have been located near Ipungro village.
CHROMITE:- Chromite has been found near Phokpur village in Kiphire SDub-Division. A finding of this mineral has been reported at place 1 Km south of Pang village of Shamator.
PYRITE:- It is found near Thonsonyu and Ipungro villages and also in Zungki River.
SLATE AND PHYLLITE:- Slate and phyllite occur near Nimi, Thonoknyu and Pang Villages.
OIL:- Oil seepage has been found near Namsang- Chingchang village of Tuensang – Mon border area.