District de Mon

Mon District (ˈmɒn) is a district of Nagaland, a state in India. It is the third-largest district in Nagaland in terms of area. The district has a population of 250,260 people. Mon Town is the headquarters of the district. After independence in 1947, Tuensang was created as a separate administrative centre and in 1952, it became a sub-division of North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) under a separate Assistant Political Officer. Later, in 1957, the Tuensang subdivision was bifurcated from North-East Frontier Agency and merged into the Naga Hills-Tuensang Area along with three Districts of Kohima, Mokokchung and Tuensang. The present Mon District was carved out of the erstwhile Tuensang District in 1973. The name Mon originates from its district headquarters. Till 1971, the present Mon District was a subdivision of Tuensang District. Mon District is the northernmost district of Nagaland. It is surrounded by the state of Arunachal Pradesh to its north, Assam to its west, Myanmar to its east, Longleng District to its south-west and Tuensang District to its south. The town of Mon is its district headquarters. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Mon one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the three districts in Nagaland currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). According to the 2011 census Mon District has a population of 250,260, roughly equal to the nation of Vanuatu. Mon has a sex ratio of 899 females for every 1000 males, and an average literacy rate of 56.99%. Mon District is the home of the Konyak Nagas. The Konyaks are famous for their tattooed faces and bodies. The most colourful festival of the Konyaks, Aoling (Aoleng), is observed during the first week of April every year. Konyaks are the largest ethnic group among the Nagas. They speak the Konyak language, a Sino-Tibetan language, with each village having their local dialect. The Konyaks were the last practising headhunters among the Nagas which continued into the 1960s.