NAGA HILLS. 147 Lhotás have no connection with the Angámís, who do not pass through their country in visiting the plains. The boundaries of the Nagá Hills District, as now settled, were finally gazetted in July 1882. Population, etc.—Neither the regular Census of 1872 nor that of 1881 was extended to this District. An estimate in 1855 gave the total population of all the Nága tribes at about 100,000. At the time of the Survey in 1871-72, an enumeration of the inhabitants dwelling under British authority, conclucted by Captain Butler, ascertained a total of 68,918; but no details are available, and the enumeration is admitted to be very inaccurate and incomplete. The Census of 1881 returned the civil and military population of Kohima village and station at 1380, namely, 1351 males and 29 females. Hindus numbered 1259; Muhaniinadans, 94; Christians, 25; and 'others,' 2. For the hill tracts generally, the estimated number of villages was returned at 231, and the population of Nágá tribes roughly put down at 93,000. For the purposes of revenue assessment, the number of houses in most of the Nága villages were counted in 1882, and the following estimates arrived at of the population-Angání Nágás, 35,000; Lhotá Nágás, 34,000 ; Semá Nágás, Sooo; Kachhá Nágás, 9000; and Rengmá Nágás, 8000 : total estimated Nágá population, 94,000. In addition to the Nágás, it is estimated that there are-Assamese, 1000; Aitaniyás, 400 ; Cacharís, 3500 ; Kukis, 2600 ; and Mikírs, 8800 : total 16,300, or an estimated grand total of 110,300 for the whole District. The Míkir tribe are remarkable for the extent to which they herd together; it is no un common circumstance to find three or even four families, in no way related to each other, residing under the same roof. The Nágiís. — Under the generic name of Nágá is included a large number of virtually independent tribes, who are in sole occupation of the hill country from the northern boundary of Cachar to the banks of the Dining river in the extreme east of the Province of Assam. The explanation of the term generally accepted is that which derives it from the Bengali nankta, meaning naked;' but some authorities are inclined to connect it with núga, the Sanskrit for 'snake,' an origin which suggests an association with the well-known aboriginal traditions of Central India. The various tribes of Nágás are all apparently sprung from a common stock of the Indo-Chinese family of nations, and all live nuch in the same primitive state ; yet they now speak different dialects, which are so distinct from each other that villages lying scarcely a day's journey apart can only communicate through an interpreter using a foreign tongue. The British District is inhabited by five tribes known as the Angámí, Rengmá, Kachha, Lhotá, and Semá Nágás. The Rengniás are a small and inoffensive clan, occupying the hill
