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Concept
Garo people
Summary
The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting predominantly in Northeast Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura and Nagaland, and in some neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Historically, the name Garo was used for a large number of different peoples living on the southern bank of Brahmaputra river, but now refers primarily to those who call themselves A•chik Mande (literally "hill people," from A•chik "bite soil" + mande "people") or simply A•chik or Mande and the name "Garo" is now being used by outsiders as an exonym. They are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya after the Khasi and comprise about a third of the local population.
Garo people mostly reside in Garo Hills region of Meghalaya. There are also large number of Garos residing in Khasi Hills region, Assam and other neighbouring states.
Tura is the main town in Garo Hills. Most of the Garo village or locality names ends with gre. Example, Dakopgre, Cherangre, Goeragre, Simsanggre etc. There are also names with ends with para, eg. Salmanpara, Asipara, Marakapara etc. Para is the corrupted name of bra which is a result of census mistake. Example, The village Asipara is a corrupted name which is in census records and in every government records but the original name is Asibra. The original name is being replaced by corrupted names which is a threat as we are loosing authentic Garo village names.
Many of the Garo community follow Christianity, with some rural pockets practising traditional animist religion known as Songsarek. It is argued that the indigenous groups who settled in the Garo Hills brought their ancient animistic religious beliefs and practices, with deities who must be appeased with rituals, ceremonies and animal sacrifices to ensure the welfare of the tribe.
Rev Ramke W. Momin was the first devout Christian from among the Garo. Rev Ramke W. Momin was born in Goalpara, Assam, India, sometime in the 1820s.
The religion of the ancestors of the Garo is Songsarek. Their tradition "Dakbewal" relates to their most prominent cultural activities.
Official source
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