I'm liking the Aztec/Mayan idea; Azlant's design is pretty heavily based on the stereotypical 'feathered serpent' look, so there's a lot there that we can get into as well if desired.  Another thing to consider is the style of religion that they had - lots of rituals to appease their gods.  While I don't think that Jaku or any of the others would set themselves up as such (or wish for anything close to the level of violence that those rites had), there are plenty of ways that a few nagas could remain well-fed in such a society.<br/><br/>As for not being found, it can a combination of extremely dense jungle hindering attempts to find them along with the fact that their search parties keep going missing (and not always because of us!)