Connie Shakespear
Connie Shakespear’s ’Diary’ is a record of her travels as she accompanied her husband (a Captain in the Naga Hills Military Police) through the Naga Hills district of N.E. India in 1900-1902. The book documents the indigenous people and their life in Naga villages as well as elements of the British administration at that time. As the wife of a soldier in the Indian Army Connie has attitudes and perspectives typical of her background but she was also an unusual ’memsahib’ who took a keen interest in the country and the Naga people among whom they travelled. The result is a unique written and photographic record of Naga villages and their people at the turn of the 20th century as well as the self-portrait of an intrepid Victorian woman traveller, one who could both observe and engage with the Nagas. Through this personal journal, with her interest, close observation and documentation, Connie presents a window on a world of tradition that was about to change. She describes the country and the people with whom she engages giving an insight into their customs and the lifestyle of the villagers. She recounts her interactions with them and their own curious observation of herself and her party with sympathy and humour. Her sketches and photographs, taken with the new technology of handheld cameras for amateurs, cover Naga morungs, graves, villagers in traditional clothing as well as the villages and landscape. She also covers her life in Kohima which is the British administrative base for the district, located at the periphery of the British Raj. With ten chapters of text, sketches and photographs the diary is primary source material for those with an interest in anthropology, history and photography of the period and at the same time provides a lively read for those interested in the travels of Victorian women and the places they ventured.
