KOHIMA, December 4 (NEPS): When Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal came to Kohima to grace the grand Hornbill Festival 2016 on December 1 he came with a message to remind the people of Nagaland that their Ahom King married a Naga girl many centuries back. Thus, the name of Naginimora Town under Nagaland’s Mon District bordering Assam came into being, he informed. Although many people heard about the name of “Naginimora” under Nagaland’s Mon District, many have not known still the actual story of it as to how it came about. According to elderly Konyak people, they said that one of their women was married to an Ahom Raja (King) in between the 16th and 17th Centuries. The name of the Ahom King was Godadhar Hingho who came and took refuge in Wakching Village and grew up in their Morung. Later he even took the local name (Konyak) as “Pongyong Tekshai.” Later, the Ahom King fell in love with a Konyak girl called Watlong Wangya from Tanhai Village under Mon District. He finally married her. She became the “Queen” and known her as “Dalimi” in Assamese, the Konyak elderly people said. The Naga Queen’s final wish was that after her death, her body should be buried in Konyak land. The Ahom Raja fulfilled what his Naga Queen wished for by finally burying her death body in Konyak land and that place was since known as “Naginimora.” Today Naginimora has an ADC Head Quarters under Nagaland’s Mon District. There are historical artifacts used by the Ahom King and his Konyak Naga Queen in Tanhai Village. A historic monolith was erected in Tanhai Village in memory of Ahom King Godadhar Hingho and his Konyak Naga Queen Watlong Wangya. Assamese people and the Konyaks used to organize many cultural programs at Tanhai Village in commemoration of the Ahom King and the Konyak Naga Queen. The State Government should develop this historic Tanhai Village particularly by constructing a Museum to showcase the historic pieces used by the Ahom King and Naga Queen. This Village could become one of the most attractive tourist circuits in the region, besides it will strengthen the bonds between the Assamese and the Nagas.
