The tribes of Nagaland
The Ao Tribe
Mokokchung district (Ungma, Mopungchuket) · Festival: Moatsü (first week of May)
At the Hornbill Festival: The Ao morung brings the sangtong and log-drum display, and Ao dancers in black-and-red are among the arena’s most rehearsed performers.
Traditional dress and craft
Ao shawls are a language of rank: the tsüngkotepsü warrior shawl with its medallion bands, and women’s striking red-and-black skirts.
What to know about the Ao
The Ao are Nagaland’s education-and-church heartland, the first people Christianised in the hills, and among the oldest settled (Ungma is centuries old). Moatsü marks the sowing season.
Meet the Ao in person
Visit their morung at the Hornbill Festival (December 1–10, Kisama), afternoons are for conversations, not performances. Or travel to Mokokchung district (Ungma, Mopungchuket) for Moatsü in first week of May, the same culture at home scale. Our [tribes guide](/journal/hornbill-festival-tribes/) covers every community, and the [festivals calendar](/journal/festivals-of-nagaland/) maps the year.
Hornbill Festival packages from ₹3,999, every tribe, one arena, everything included.