The main indigineous inhabitants of Kohima district are the Angamis, and the Rengmas.The town of Kohima is located on the top of a high ridge and the town serpentines all along the top of the surrounding mountain ranges as is typical of most Naga settlements.Today the town’s population compose of all the 16 tribes of Nagaland.The population of the Angamis and Aos are the largest in present day Kohima urban area.

Kohima is so called because “Kew Hi” is the name of a plant grown on the mountainside. “Kew Hi Ma” means “the men of the land where the flower Kew Hi grows”. Earlier, Kohima was known as “Thigoma”.

‘Kohima village’ called ‘Bara Basti’ or ‘large village’,which is the largest village in Asia forms the northeastern part of Kohima urban area today. The Bara Basti is divided into ‘khels’ or localities. There are four of them,namely- Tsutuonuomia, Lhisemia, Dapfutsumia and Pfuchatsumia. They are termed shortly as T, L, D and P Khel respectively.