About Garo people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Garos are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent, notably found in the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, and some neighboring areas of Bangladesh, notably Madhupur, Mym

ensingh, Netrokona, Jamalpur, Sherpur and Sylhet, Rangamati who call themselves A·chik Mande (literally "hill people," from a·chik "bite soil" + mande "people") or simply A·chik or Mande - the name "Garo" being given to them and used by non-Garos. Historically, Garo name was used for wide range of people in southern bank of Brahmaputra but today, Garo means Hill tribes who call themselves A'chik Mande. They are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya after the Khasi and comprise about a third of the local population. The Garos are one of the few remaining matrilineal societies in the world.

Religion

A large part of the Garo community follow Christianity, with some rural pockets practising traditional animist religion known as Songsarek. The book The Garo Ancestors Religion: Beliefs And  tries to interpret and expound on the origin and migration of the Garos — consisting of Indigenous groups who settled in the Garo Hills and their ancient animistic religious beliefs and practices: deities who must be appeased with rituals, ceremonies and animal sacrifices to ensure welfare of the tribe.

Rev Ramke W. Momin was the first devout Christian from among the Garos. Rev Ramke W. Momin was born Goalpara, Assam, India, sometime in the 1820

Songsarek

The religion of the ancestors of the Garos is Songsarek. Their tradition "Dakbewal" relates to their most prominent cultural activities. In 2000, the group called "Rishi Jilma" was founded to safeguard the ancient Garo Songsarek religion. Seeing the Songsarek population in decline, youth from the Dadenggiri subdivision of Garo Hills felt the need to preserve the Songsarek culture. The Rishi Jilma group is active in about 480 villages in and around Garo Hills.