In colour again there is much variation, and though the height at which
a village is situated seems most definitely to affect the complexion of
its occupants, it will by no means entirely account for the variation
in colour to be found both between different tribes and again between
different individuals within the tribes. Generally speaking three
distinct colour types may be traced, corresponding more or less to the
“straight-haired light brown race,” the “wavy-haired brown race” and
the “crisp-haired dark-brown race” into which Ratzel divides the races
of Indonesia. [16] Generally speaking the predominating colour among
the Naga tribes is red. A really dark skin, such as that of the Central
Indian or Santali coolies who work on tea gardens, is spoken of with
contempt and aversion, and the Changs go so far as to say that the only
decent colour for a man is red, disliking white less than black, it is
true, but nevertheless regarding it as decidedly unpleasing and
classifying Nagas only as Mat-mei, “real men,” of whom a red skin is an
attribute. With this red or light brown skin wavy hair is usual. In
villages at a high altitude the skin is often so fair that the pink of
the blood can be seen in the cheeks and a blush is easily detected. On
the other hand, a fair and sallow complexion and straight hair are
often to be seen in all tribes and at all altitudes, being apparently
independent of climate and little affected by it, but much more
prevalent among Manipuris and Kukis, in Ao Nagas and in the Konyak
tribes, than among other tribes. It is less common in Lhotas and hardly
to be seen at all among the Angamis, who are a very pronounced red,
while among the Semas, who are a darker brown than the Angamis though
in some high villages very fair (when washed), the sallow type is rarer
than among Lhotas. Everywhere and in all these tribes alike the
children are apt to have rusty-coloured reddish hair, which usually
turns black [17] as they get older.
Much rarer than the sallow type is that associated with a decidedly
dark brown skin and fuzzy hair suggesting the Negrito type. [18]
Individuals of this type may be met with occasionally in all tribes,
but they are nowhere very common, though perhaps least rare among
Phoms, Konyaks and Aos. The fuzzy hair is always a subject for
derision, being regarded as most unsightly (straight hair is by all
looked on as the most becoming), and more so perhaps even than a dark
skin.
Cephalic indices, as far as data are available, suggest a connection
between Aos, Manipuris and the Ahoms and perhaps some other
sub-Himalayan tribes of Assam, which might be due to a common infusion
of Tai blood.