Garo tribe

Garo
Garo is a tribal group of Gwalpara and Maimansingh district of Meghalaya and Assam
state. Its population is 2,86,645 (1991 census). Their sex ratio is 1:1.
They speak Bara or Lodo dialect (Tibet-Burma language family). They have Mongolian
features (epicanthic fold, prominent check bone).
Hill Garo (who are living in the hills and engage in shifting cultivation) and Imdadani
(who are living in plains and engage in fishing) are the two types of Garo tribes.
Males wear gando (a piece of cloth around the waist), which is made up of blue and red
color only and a turban. The woman wear reking (a piece of cloth around the waist).
It is a matriarchal society. Garo family is formed up of the husband, wife and only
daughters are included. Property inheritance is from the mother to the daughter. Nakona
(the daughter selected for property inheritance from the mother) is the real successor of
the family. Any skilled daughter may be Nakona. All other daughters may live in a
family even after their marriage with the permission of the Nakona. If any family is
without Nakona (issueless family), then tey adopt a girl from their relatives. If Nakona is
without daughter after marriage and she doses not adopt any girl, her property is
distributed among her other married sisters after the occurrence of her death.
Generation is also concerned with women descendents and they have many Machong
(matrilineal lineage). Garo are categorized mainly into three groups – Karak, Mokeen anf
Sangma and every group has many Machong.
Birth Ceremony
From the day of the pregnancy woman and can’t touch any agricultural implements. On
the day of the birth of the husband and wife follow marang (a kind of social taboo), due
to which they do visit fields on that day.
Marriage Ceremony
Marriage is prohibited within a Machong. They prefer matrilineal cross-cousin marriages.
If cross-cousin marriage is not available they search in distant relatives in the same line.
Unmarried woman live within a family and after the marriage the husband lives in the
wife’s home in a different house, but Nokana lives with her parents after the marriage.
Death Ceremony
This ceremony is spread out over three days. On the first day they bury the dead body and
the last day marked for the farewell to the soul of the dead person. After the occurrence
of the male death, the widow breaks her bangles, wears them again later. On the last day,
they give a feast in the honor of the soul of the departed person.
Their Economy is mainly concerned with jhum cultivation (shifting cultivation – jungle
trees are cut and burned and in the ashes they sow seeds) and fishing. They produce
paddy cotton, potato, chilli and orange. They also earn from bamboo made products.
In a family all young male members (boys) live and sleep in Nak Pante (youth home).
They come to their parents home at the time of lunch and dinner and then later return to
the Nak Pante. It is atraining center of boys.
Their traditional god is “Karodev”. They put a bronze plate in a specific place in their
home and sketch geometric pictures on it and believe Karodev is there. They worship him
by sacrifice. At the time of their sleeping, they believe that Karodev comes out from the
plate and protects their home. In the daytime he returns back to the same plate. They
worship sun and moon. They sacrifice pig, hen, goat and dog. They have faith in
witchcraft tradition.
After 1970, Garo are giving up jhum cultivation. They are relying on fishing and
handicraft manufacturing as means of livelihood.
Garo are not aware about education. Only 8% of the Garo are using educational facilities
due to the advent of the Panchatayi Raj. They are taking new experiment especially in
agricultural products, e.g. vegetables and fruits (oranges).