Naga Necklace

The Naga are a tribal group concentrated in the border areas of north-eastern India and eastern Burma. They were attracted to rare goods that could be bartered from outside their region. Beaded necklaces were very popular as a show of finery but also as a portable means of displaying and carrying wealth. The components that went into making necklaces were regarded as currency items themselves. Beads and necklaces were accumulated as heirlooms and were passed as dowries.

Among the Nagas, necklaces that are thick with so many strands typically were worn by women; men wore sparser necklaces. And the thicker the necklace, the greater the presumed wealth of the wearer and her family.