In India, Mo Naga is a unique character in the tattoo world. In a country 6 times the size of France and populated by 1.5 billion inhabitants, with an ancient tattoo culture in many nooks and crannies of the territory, Mo is the only one I know for whom the preservation of a heritage counts as much, if not more, than the artistic dimension of tattooing (Abhinandan Basu would be a second, although very differently). Mo is on a mission, he's a saddhu, a tattoo sannyasin. His mission: to preserve and promote its ancestral Naga culture of North-East India, and this mainly through tattooing, but not only.
Because the grass is always greener (and better :) ) on the other side of the fence, the vast majority of tattooists and tattooed Indians look elsewhere, outside their territory, even if the phenomenon begins to change. In India, at the moment, what you will find the "most Indian" among the common tattoos are gods of the Hindu pantheon and / or their symbols (Ganesh, Shiva, Aum ...) as well as the family portraits on some body parts (often mom and dad tattooed on men's pecs). The Sikh community loves to have the khanda tattoo, the main symbol of Sikhism. As for the tribal, it attracts few people ... unless it is pseudo-Polynesian.
Mo doesn't care what the majority thinks. He has his mission, he has found his way in the world, and follows it with confidence. In 1994, and while his home state, Manipur, was in a civil war, young Mo was sent to Delhi to continue his studies under better conditions. Then in 1999 he returned to the northeast of the country, to Guwahati, capital of Assam, where his parents had since settled. Then at the end of his general studies he went to Hyderabad, capital of Telangana, to study design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Then Mo tells me : « In 2004 during 1st year of college my friend saw someone get tattoo. He was inspired. Since he is not an artist he convinced me try my hand on him. At that time I was exploring different mediums of art and design, so I got intrigued. Since then I have been tattooing. Something that started as a simple exploration of art became an exploration of life. I never in my wildest dream thought I'd become a tattoo artist. I just followed the voice. ». Once his hand caught in the big machine, a first step was taken for Mo. The road was going to hold some surprises for him but it would bring him closer than ever to what he holds most dear in him: his culture and the safeguard and promotion of it. Mo continues his story : « In 2007, during my research for my final college project I stumbled upon a Konyak face tattoo. I was blowned away! Naga tattoos were never taught so I had no idea about it. From that moment my interest and priorities slowly shifted towards the study of Naga tattoo culture. By end of 2008 I made up my mind to give at least 5 years of my life in the study and preservation of Naga tattoo. Soon 5 became 10... and still going on. Turns out this is a lifelong project. I now believe that it wasn't me but it was actually tattoo who chose me. However my interest to work for Naga culture was instilled from childhood. I plan to get back to product and textiles design in the future when I have enough time. These are all as important as the tattoos in Naga culture. » His plan would make him grope for vast distances. Long is the way. There is what we envision and there is what life has in store for us. Our actions influence fate, but often so little. Usually we are just a straw in the storm. So life was going to wander Mo a bit. Mo continues his story : « After honing my tattooing skills and theoretically studying Naga tattoos for 4 years, in 2012 I felt ready to finally go and start meeting tattooed elders in Naga villages. So I moved to Guwahati which is the gateway to Northeast India and started Headhunters' Ink in 2012. From there I started visiting the remote villages of Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh for research. » In February 2015, I met Mo in Guwahati, a first meeting that would bring others. When I visited him at the « Headhunter's Ink » Headquarters in the capital city of Assam, he was funding a bit of his project by teaching tattooing. A Finn was even there, Risto, as well as two local students, Gopal and Ringven.
Then after a few months he did the big leap and settled in Dimapur, commercial capital of neighboring Nagaland, in the heart of Naga territory (the administrative and official capital is Kohima). But nothing really took off, neither with local customers, nor with foreign aficionados. The Filipino phenomenon of Whang-od Oggay has not yet happened in Nagaland. Ethnographic studies were not taking off either. It is time and money. Mo had one but not the other. Vicious circle, the snake bites its tail. Mo : « In 2015, after 3 years in Guwahati I moved Headhunters' Ink to Dimapur in Nagaland. This is where I invasioned Headhunters' Ink to be for good. Unfortunately 2015-2016 turned out to be the most difficult years for me. There was zero work and soon I became completely broke. My work was not received in Nagaland as expected. ». So in 2016 Mo decided to return to the capital, Delhi, in order to continue tattooing, to rebuild financial health, but also to pursue his destiny to promote Naga art, and launch his new project "Godna gram - The tattoo village”. This place and project are dedicated to the preservation and promotion of all types of traditional Indian tattoos. Mo tells : « I had to return to Delhi for survival and start all over again from the scratch. Headhunters' Ink is strictly about Naga tattoo so by principal it could not be anywhere outside Naga territory. So I had to keep it on hold and start my other project Godna Gram - The tattoo village in Delhi in 2016. There are many other tattooing tribes in India and for anybody who wants to follow my path to revive and promote their own tattoo culture The Tattoo Village aspires to be a platform to support and help. I know how difficult it is to promote and work for the preservation of an art form which the society finds no value in anymore. Tattoo is not recognised as an important art form. It is not even listed in the art and culture of India. We want to help change this state through the village. The Tattoo Village is invisioned as a centre for tribal art and design culture. »
Then in early 2020 the coronavirus made its appearance in the Indian peninsula. On the evening of March 24, 2020, at midnight the severe confinement began, accelerating the new decision-making for Mo to return to settle in his village of origin, in Manipur. Continuing his main mission, today Mo is also developing an organic vegetable garden and connecting more than ever to his ancestral land. Back to the basics, our physical and spiritual foods. Long way to go still ... « My ultimate dream has always been to practice my art and design in my ancestoral land. So finally I have made my move. I am home now. In 2019 I started moving to a Naga Hilltop in Manipur where currently I am building The tattoo village. Soon I hope to invite others and start sharing and learning without any worry about rent and bills. Headhunters' Ink and The Tattoo Village are bringing something exiting for the tattoo world. Watch out! » Good luck and long life to you my friend.
From January to March 2020 I was practicing the geographic random movement, according to my whims, in the northern half of India. In Delhi, far from the nerve center of the Big city, in a relatively quiet residential area, I went to meet Mo once again. In Delhi Mo was tattooing (and painting canvases) in his Zen monk apartment. I came across at the right time, as he was about to undertake a Naga tattoo on guy from Delhi. Due to the night which was beginning to envelop the city, as well as the long drive back to my hotel room in the central and populous district of Delhi, Pahar ganj, I could not fix the whole session on the digital film, but I was able to photograph a large part of it. Here is the progress in about fifteen photos :
Because of the Coronavirus Mo has not tattooed for several months. He goes back to his activity in September 2021, and will tour India in order to raise money to keep on going with his current project, in Naga territory. Its first stop will be Delhi, next September. You can find and contact Mo Naga via "Headhunter's ink" & "The tattoo village" on Facebook and Instagram Mo also appears in three books : 1) Some of his motifs have been selected to appear in the book “Tattoo masters flash collection: Part 1” published by Reuss.
2) He was also chosen along with two other Indian tattoo artists (Abhinandan Basu and Manjeet from Delhi) to be among the 100 tattoo artists from around the world selected for Anna Felecity Friedman's book “The world atlas of tattoo”.
3) He also appears in my book « L'Inde sous la peau » (India under the skin).
