Garo (tribe)
A Garo couple in traditional dress
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,000,000 (2016) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India, Meghalaya
|
700,000 |
|
India, Assam
|
29,100 |
|
India, Tripura
|
6,000 |
 Bangladesh, Sylhet Division
|
210,000 |
| Languages | |
| Garo | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Christianity (90.00%), minority Songsarek (10.00%) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kachari people, Bodo people, Hajong people, Tripuri people, Dimasa people | |
The Garos are indigenous people in Meghalaya, India and neighboring areas of Bangladesh like Mymensingh, Netrokona, Jamalpur, Sherpur and Sylhet, who call themselves A·chik Mande (literally "hill people," from a·chik "bite soil"+ mande "people") or simply A·chik or 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
A large part of the Garo community follow Christianity, with some rural pockets still following traditional animist religion and practices. The book, The Garo Tribal Religion: Beliefs And Practices tries to interpret and expound upon the origin and migration of the Garos consisting of different tribal groups who settled in the Garo Hills, and also their ancient animistic religious beliefs and practices, numerous deities which must be appeased with rituals, ceremonies and animal sacrifices to ensure welfare of the tribe.
The Garo tribal religion is popularly known as Songsarek. Their tradition "Dakbewal" relates to their most prominent cultural activities. In the year 2003 the group called "Rishi Jilma" was founded to safeguard the ancient Garo Songsarek religion. Seeing the Songsarek population on a decline, youths from Dadenggiri subdivision of Garo Hills felt the need to preserve the Songsarek culture. The Rishi Jilma group is currently active in about 500 villages in and around Garo Hills.
The Garos are mainly distributed over the Kamrup, Goalpara and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam, Garo Hills and few in Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, and substantial numbers, about 200,000 are found in greater Mymensingh ( Tangail, Jamalpur, Sherpore, Netrakona, Mymensingh) and capital Dhaka, Gazipur, Sirajgonj, Rangpur, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulovibazar districts of Bangladesh. It is estimated that total Garo population in India and Bangladesh together is about 1 million.
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Wikipedia