Galo people

The Galos

Diorama of Galo people in Jawaharlal Nehru Museum, Itanagar.
Total population
(80,597(2001 census))
Regions with significant populations
Mostly in Siang belt of Arunachal Pradesh
Languages
Galo
Religion
Donyi Polo & Christianity

The Galo are a central Eastern Himalayan tribe, who are descendants of Abo Tani and speak the Tani language Gallong. The Galo primarily inhabit the West Siang district of modern-day Arunachal Pradesh state in North Eastern India, but are also found in the southwestern side of East Siang district, the southeastern side of Upper Subansiri district, as well as in some small pockets in Itanagar, Lower Dibang Valley, and Changlang districts. Other names which have been used to reference the Galo in the past include Duba, Doba, Dobah Abor, Gallong Abor, Galong, Gallong Adi, etc. The Galo have been listed as a scheduled tribe under the name Gallong since 1950. Recently, the Galo have successfully lobbied to change this term to Galo, reflecting the actual Galo pronunciation of this name.

The Galo population is estimated at 80,597 (2001 census), which, if accurate, would make them one of the most populous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Galo are normally monogamous, but polygamy is also practiced by affluent people as a sign of their prosperity and prestige. Traditionally, Galo practice shifting cultivation. However, after the 1960s and 1970s, wet rice and terraced cultivation has been introduced by Government officials under the auspices of IRDP (Integrated Rice Development Programme). Wet rice cultivation now accounts for the majority of production in the Galo area, however shifting cultivation is also still practiced, especially in remote villages away from urban townships. Galo are socio-economically dominant in their area. Around 90% of Galo children learn Galo as their first language, although almost all are also bilingual and borrow frequently from Assamese, Hindi and English. A significant and increasing number of Galo children, however, do not learn Galo as a native language, instead speaking a semi-creolized form of Hindi as their mother tongue. This phenomenon is especially prominent in urban areas, and among wealthy families. Indigenous religious traditions persist in most Galo areas. In some areas, an institutionalized form of 'Donyi-Poloism' has been developed, within which indigenous religious traditions are re-interpreted in terms of certain Hindu concepts and practices, and novel practices such as hymn-singing and incense-burning are practiced. Christianity is also rapidly on the rise, especially in foothill areas. Galos are often referred to by non-Galo(especially the Minyong-Padam group) as Gallong – an archaic pronunciation reflecting an earlier stage of the Galo language prior to its loss of the velar nasal in codas – and also as Adi – a generic term for a loose grouping of several central and eastern Tani tribes speaking several distinct languages. In most Tani languages, Adi (Galo adìi) means simply ‘hill (people)’.