Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 131

JULY, 1929)
MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF GARO ETHNOLOGY
121
MATERIALS FOR THE STUDY OF GARO ETHNOLOGY.
BY BIREN BONNERJEA, D.LITT. (PARIS.) THE Gâros are an aboriginal hill tribe inhabiting Assam, and from them is derived the name of that part of Assam : Garo Hills. Their nucleus is in the part situated to the east of Rangpur and north of Mymensingh, which is formed of a crystalline mass, gneiss and schist, and is composed of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Between this part and the foot of the Himalaya Mountains the Brahmaputra valley is filled with a broad belt of alluvium ; on the east and south Tertiary shales and sandstones in long parallel ranges form the Naga, Manipur, and Lushai Hills. The climate of the Garo country is characterised by a great dampness throughout the year combined with a relatively high temperature. In the spring season thunderstorms are frequent; the monsoon season begins in the first balf of June, and lasts until October. The driest month of the year is December. The region has deep and extensive valleys, well watered and very fertile. Dense forests containing valuable adl trees cover the hills, and coal is found in large quantities.
The Gåros are a tribe of doubtful ethnical affinities and peculiar customs; they are probably a section of the great Bodo tribe which at one time occupied a large part of Assam. At any rate, they speak a language belonging to the Bodo group of the Tibeto-Chinese Family. The physical characteristics of the males are & small round face, a flat wide platyrrhinian nose, with blue eyes, a big mouth, thick coarse lips, and a dark skin colour, and their women are generally short and fat. Therefore, coupled with their language and their physical traits, it seems highly probable that the Gáros spring from the Mongolian stock. In further support of their Mongolian affinities it may be mentioned that in 1910 Baolz' propounded a theory that certain dark blue patches of an irregular shape, when found in the lower sacral region on the skin of very young children, are an unmistakable proof of the Mongolian race. This blue pigmentation is said to be common throughout Assam, and particularly among the Gårog, Lushais, Khasis, and Kacharis'. Hence until something more definite is known about the origin of the Geros, we may, for the present, safely assume them to be of Mongoloid descent.
In the eighteenth century the Garos are mentioned as being frequently in conflict with the inhabitants of the plains below their hills. In 1790 the British Government tried to reduce them for the first time, but no permanent success was achieved ; and they continued their guerilla warfare from time to time. In 1852 the Gåros again raided the plains below, which was followed by a blockade of the hills. Four years later, in 1866, the Garos again rose in revolt. A repressive expedition was sent in 1861. Peace reigned for a time, but in 1866 there was a further revolt. Five years afterwards, in 1871, a native employed on the survey staff was outraged by the Garos, as a result of which the laat expedition of 1872-1873 was sent to bring the whole tribe into submission. But no disturbance occurred, and since that time the Garo country has enjoyed peace.
The Gáros are essentially an agricultural tribe, and communications within the district are by means of cart-roads, bridle-paths, and native tracks. The Garos ere omnivorous; all kinds of sats, mice, dogs, cats, and so on, form their daily ration. There are indications suggesting that the use of fire is of comparatively recent date among them, for till now they eat their food either entirely raw or slightly heated. We know that fire, directly as well as indirectly, played a very important role in elevating mankind from a primitive to a civilized stage. It is therefore hardly to be wondered at that the Garos, among whom fire is of recent introduction, are still on one of the lowest rungs of the ladder of civilization. The Garo villages are composed of thatched huts. But each family, as a rule, has two huts : one in the
1 Census of India, 1911 (London, 1914), p. 338. 9 Baolz, in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, vol. xxxiii (1901), p. 188. 8 Census of India, 1911, p. 384, 492. 4 B. Bonnerjea, L'Ethnologie du Bengale (Paris, 1927), p. 42.
8 Cf. G. G. MacCurdy, Human Origins, a Manual of Prehistory (New York and London, 1926), vol. I, phape I-III,