A History of Assam c21.81

c21.81

The people whom we call Nāgas are known to the Assamese as Naga; they belong to a diversity of tribes, each speaking its own language and calling itself by a distinctive name. The collective designation by which they are known to the Assamese seems to be derived, as suggested by Holcombe and Peal, from *nok* which means "folk" in some of the tribal dialects. When strange parties meet in the plains, they are said to ask each other *Tem nok c* or *O nok e*, meaning "what folk are you." The word is also found in village names, such as Nokpan, "people of the tree," and Nokrang, "people of the sky." In this connection, it is worth noting that the Khonds call themselves "Kui Loka" and the Orāons "Ku Nok." The lengthening of the first vowel sound in the Bengali and English rendering of the word is probably due to the old idea that it connected snake worship.