Molungyimsen Village

Molungyimsen Village is a historic Ao Naga village in Mokokchung District, Nagaland, located about 40 km from Mokokchung town. It is notable as the site where American Baptist missionaries Dr. E. W. Clark and Mary Mead Clark established the first Christian mission in Nagaland in 1872. The village is regarded as the birthplace of Christianity in Nagaland and retains Ao cultural heritage, traditional houses, and mission-era monuments.

Visitors can expect a quiet hill village setting with traditional Ao Naga houses, narrow village lanes, and surrounding forested hills and agricultural fields. Key points of interest include the Clark Memorial and Baptist mission site, the village church, and viewpoints over the valley. The village offers insight into Ao Naga lifestyle, heritage and early Christian history, with opportunities for village walks, photography and interaction with local residents.

Molungyimsen is historically significant as the location of the first American Baptist Mission in Naga Hills, established in 1872 by Dr. Edward Winter Clark and Mary Mead Clark with the help of Assamese evangelist Godhula Brown. The first Naga converts were baptized here, and from this village Christianity spread throughout Nagaland. The village is therefore considered the birthplace of Christianity in Nagaland.

The village is a prominent Ao Naga cultural centre, reflecting traditional Ao customs, community life and architecture. It holds religious significance for the Baptist Christian community of Nagaland as the origin of the Naga church, and continues to be a place of heritage and pilgrimage for cultural and faith-based visitors.