Sunday, April 04, 2021

The Gun Culture of the Konyak Naga

 I recently learned of the Konyak Naga hill tribe of northern India and Mynamar (Burma). Apparently, guns are a big part of their culture and they make them themselves.

The Konyaks' guns seem all to be single or double-barreled muzzleloading shotguns with percussion locks. They make their own powder and caps.

There are a couple Youtube channels with information about the Konyak Naga gun culture that I've been watching lately.

This video has an overview of their gun culture:


Target shooting at a pig's skull suspended from a tall pole (apparently the object is to cut the string holding the skull):



And this one shows how they make percussion caps:


Finally, this video shows how they make gun powder:


I find this fascinating just because I am into black powder and muzzleloaders, but it also gives a glimpse of what's possible with primitive tools, a lot of skill, and patience.

1 comment:

Paul said...

Wow! Those nipples look like the ones I've seen here in Colombia. The method of loading is similar to the method used in Brazil way back when. Interesting to note the similarities around the world when it comes to primitive firearms.

This video on loading shows the similarity to the Brazilian method. I'd be interested to see how they load something other than blanks. Need to watch the target shooting video I suppose.

https://youtu.be/uRdZZaD-nWA

"Keep your powder dry, son, or you'll have to dry it in a broken pot before you load."