| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 India | |
| Nagaland | 226,625[1] |
| Languages | |
| Ao language (Mongsen, Chungli) | |
| Religion | |
| Animism (historical), Protestantism (chiefly Baptist) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Naga people | |
The Aos are a major Naga ethnic group native to Mokokchung District of Nagaland in Northeast India.[2] Their main territory is from Tsüla (Dikhu) Valley in the east to Tsürang (Disai) Valley in the west in Mokokchung District.
The Ao Nagas refer to themselves as Aoer, which means "those who came" from across the Dikhu river.[3]
They were the first Nagas to embrace Christianity, and by virtue of this development, the Aos availed themselves of the Western education that came along with Christianity.[citation needed] In the process the Aos pioneered among the Nagas in many fields.[citation needed] Christianity first entered into the Ao territory when an American Baptist missionary, Edward Winter Clark, reached an Ao village called Molungkimong in 1872.According to Edwin W. Clark's accounts, when he first set foot in Mulong village in 1872, Mulong, which was under the protectorate of Chungtia village, had to seek permission from the latter for his stay which was promptly allowed by Chungtia village. Subsequently, he went on to spread Christianity all over Nagaland..[citation needed]
- ^ "A-11 Individual Scheduled Tribe Primary Census Abstract Data and its Appendix". censusindia.gov.in. Government of India. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ Mills, JP. Ao Nagas (1926).
- ^ Dhanaraju, Dr. Vulli (2019). "Cultural History of Beliefs and Rituals: A Study of Ao-Naga Tribe of Nagaland, India". History Research Journal. 5.