ABSTRACT
The author spent three weeks in the village of Sheahagh Chingnyu in Nagaland, interviewing some of the last surviving headhunters in the district. The Konyaks of Nagaland had established a warrior culture over many centuries, with the threat of enemy raids part of the daily way of life. He found that Konyak conception of leadership, perhaps surprisingly, was founded on concepts such as kindness, reciprocity, a feeling of community and moral courage. Kindness in particular was seen as a critical virtue, as it was considered the basis upon which leadership relationships are built and sustained.
