Tuophema Village

Tuophema is a northern Angami village of a little over 500 households, about 45 km north of Kohima, reached by NH61 as far as Botsa and then a climbing side road. Local history dates its founding to 1461 CE; among the few early structures still standing is the old gate on its northern side. The village runs a tourist complex of huts where visitors stay and experience Angami hospitality.

Staff arrange walks through the old and new quarters, past Baptist churches, an amphitheatre and an empty memorial house built for the village founder. A small museum opened in 2006 displays Angami clothing, headgear, weapons, jewellery and ritual objects. A gazebo by the dining hall looks over the valleys towards sunrise and sunset, and the night sky is very clear. Sekrenyi, the Angami purification festival, falls on 25–27 February, with the cleaning and guarding of the village well and the dzuseva rite, in which men wearing new shawls sprinkle themselves with water to wash away misfortune.