Kene (Naga Folk Wrestling)
Traditional wrestling of the Tenyimi tribes in Nagaland and Manipur. Wrestlers grip a waist belt, and whoever touches the ground with a body part above the knee loses.
Quick Facts
IndiaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
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About Kene (Naga Folk Wrestling)
Kene, also called künüh or keneh in Naga, is a traditional wrestling of the Tenyimi group of tribes in northeast India. In Nagaland it is practised by the Angami, Chakhesang and Zeliang, in Manipur by the Mao and Poumai. It has no founder, being a tribal tradition. Wrestlers tie a coloured cloth around the waist, hold each other by it and try to pull the opponent down. Whoever touches the ground with any body part above the knee loses: chest, shoulder, back, buttocks or thigh. The traditional form has no weight categories, and men of all builds compete for a single title.
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According to the Naga press, organised wrestling grew out of the midday break of labourers building the road from Kohima to Imphal in the late thirties and early forties. The first tournaments were held from 1965 to 1967 by the Federal Government of Nagaland, in 1969 the Naga Wrestling Board was founded, today's Nagaland Wrestling Association, and the first NWA tournament was in Kohima on 20 May 1971. Since 1974 the Naga Wrestling Championship has been held every two years, and since 1982 the association has had a written constitution. According to the association, it is now the state's most lucrative sporting event: the thirtieth edition in March 2026 drew over 15000 spectators and the champion received 600000 rupees and a plot of land. In between, the Open Naga Wrestling Championship is held, open to other tribes, with weight categories since 2021 and, since 2025, for the first time with women. Every December wrestling also takes place at the Hornbill festival in Kisama.
History
According to a study by Tsukru and Limbu, kene is the original wrestling of the men of the Tenyimi tribes in Nagaland and Manipur. According to EastMojo, its organised form grew out of the midday break of Tenyimi labourers building the road from Kohima to Imphal in the late thirties and early forties, when village leaders held matches. The Eastern Mirror tells the beginnings a bit differently: it says the first friendly Naga tournament was held in 1939 and 1942 near the hospital in Kohima while the ground was being levelled under British administration. Women were then not allowed to watch the wrestling or enter the arena, and did not go to the fields on match days.
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The first organised tournament was held on 22 March 1965 in the village of Shukhumei in the Shepoumaramth area of Manipur, by the Federal Government of Nagaland, and the tournament in Phezu Jotsoma in 1966 was the first organised in Nagaland itself after the state was formed. In 1969 the Naga Wrestling Board was founded with Wezülhi C. Krom as its first president, later renamed the Nagaland Wrestling Association. The first NWA tournament was held on 20 May 1971 on a field in Kohima and had no individual champion, the first individual championship took place on 15 March 1972 and was won by Velahu Puro. In 1974 the tournament moved to a two-year cycle owing to its demands. The association approved its first written constitution on 28 May 1982, the rules were first written down on 26 March 2008 and revised in 2013. According to former president Khalo, the association affiliated with the Nagaland Olympic Association and the Wrestling Federation of India in 1999, or in 2002 according to the Eastern Mirror. At the Hornbill festival on 5 December 2008 the Naga style met the Korean ssireum.
How it differs
Unlike belt wrestling and freestyle, traditional Naga wrestling has no weight categories, which the association's president called a difference to be addressed. The association therefore introduced belt wrestling, a style close to the Naga one, for other tribes, recognised by UWW and with weight and age classes. We have not been able to find comparisons with related tribal wrestling of Manipur or Mizoram, only Naga-Mizo meetings in Aizawl in 1978 and Kohima in 1980.
Technique
Wrestlers wear a coloured cloth with knots tied around the waist, blue or red, hold the opponent by this belt and try to pull him down. Former police director Besesayo Kezo calls the belt mhi and describes the throws as work with leverage, off-balancing and a side sweep. A bout begins on the referee's whistle, opponents are drawn by lot and the contest is open to all men. The loser is the one whose chest, shoulder, back, buttocks or thigh touches the ground, that is, any part of the body above the knee. Opponents address each other as khrietho-u, in the Tenyidie language beloved friend, and according to the association the sport follows traditional unwritten laws. Today wrestlers wear shorts instead of the earlier loincloths, and the association cites standardised rules, but according to Kezo there is no uniform written code and grips, scoring and categories differ between tribal areas. At the 2025 Open championship decisions were made with the help of video, and a protest against the referee cost 10000 rupees.
Training
At the Naga Wrestling Championship, according to Tsukru and Limbu, there is a qualification of at least four stages: through clan or khel, village, area, tribe and district, with the top twenty of each district advancing. Wrestlers train for about two months in the season in camps led by retired wrestlers, and in the tournament season they often deliberately gain weight on a high-calorie diet, because heavier and taller fighters achieve better results. In 2008 a branch of the Sports Authority of India wrestling academy opened in Nagaland, and the association runs its own academy at the I. G. Stadium in Kohima. According to former champion Vekhriyi Chüzho, there is no suitable training hall and the sport remains seasonal.
Ranks and progression
Kene has no grades or belts, only the title of tournament champion. The traditional championship has no weight categories, and wrestlers of all ages and builds compete for a single title. The Open Naga Wrestling Championship introduced categories: in 2021 up to 80 kg and over 80 kg with the title Ultimate Champion, in 2025 a men's open, up to 90 kg and up to 75 kg and women's up to 60 kg and over 60 kg, with weigh-in the day before. From 1972 to 2016 the championship had 21 champions, three of whom won twice, and the winner's prize rose from 1000 rupees in 1978 to 500000 rupees in 2016 and 600000 rupees in 2026.
Today
The Nagaland Wrestling Association alternates two-yearly between the Naga Wrestling Championship, reserved for three traditional tribes, and the Open Naga Wrestling Championship, open to other tribes and people from outside the state. The thirtieth traditional championship, on 7 March 2026 at the Khuochiezie ground in Kohima, had 54 wrestlers, eighteen each from the Angami Sports Association, Chakhesang Wrestling Association and Zeliang Wrestling Association, with, for the first time, an up-to-fifteen tournament and a provisional units championship. Kezhaseluo-o Pienyü won, defending his title, with over 15000 spectators, says EastMojo. The winner received 600000 rupees and a plot of land, the second 300000, the third 200000 and the fourth 150000. The association's provisional units Rengma, Sumi, Lotha, Pochury, Chang and Sangtam received 100000 rupees each from the Chief Minister's fund.
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The fifteenth Open championship, on 28 March 2025 in Kohima, had 129 wrestlers from ten tribes and for the first time a women's competition with 29 wrestlers. The association's vice president says the traditional championship will stay without women and new scoring. Every December the Hornbill International Naga Wrestling Championship is held at the Hornbill festival in Kisama. The association's president says the tournament earns over 70 lakh rupees, the state's most lucrative sporting event, and top wrestlers make five to six lakh a year. In 2022 the state allocated thirteen acres for a wrestling hall, and in March 2026 the Wrestling Federation of India announced help with equipment. For international recognition, the association says, the style would have to meet UWW conditions: women, a scoring system and categories.
Did you know
A study of 170 wrestlers of the association from 2017 to 2020 found an average height of 172.74 cm and weight of 79.51 kg, overweight in 51.8 percent and obesity in 34.1 percent, and heavier and taller wrestlers achieved better results. Duolhounyü Chase, who wrestled in 1971, recalls twelve to thirteen bouts per wrestler in the early years. The Chakhesang village of Thipüzu built a temporary covered stadium for about 5000 spectators in January 2022 for an area tournament. The champion of the thirtieth edition in 2026 received, besides money, a plot of land measuring 100 by 100 feet in Chümoukedima.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Naga wrestling kene won?
Opponents hold each other by a cloth belt tied around the waist and try to pull each other down. Whoever touches the ground with any body part above the knee loses, meaning the chest, shoulder, back, buttocks or thigh.
Does kene have weight categories?
The traditional Naga Wrestling Championship does not, men of all builds compete for one title. The Open Naga Wrestling Championship introduced weight categories in 2021 and added women's categories in 2025.
Who organises Naga wrestling and where is it held?
The Nagaland Wrestling Association, founded in 1969 as the Naga Wrestling Board. The main championship is held in Kohima every two years, in between the Open championship, and every December a tournament at the Hornbill festival in Kisama.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.