Social Life

Ethnological studies on the Garo tribe were taken up by the British from the last century. Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal devotes a section to the Garos. Major A. Playfair, Deputy Commissioner of Garo Hills at the turn of this century, was commissioned by the Government to write a monograph on the tribe (already referred to). For a detailed account of various aspects of Garo Society the reader may refer to this book. In 1963, an American scholar, Robbins Burling, published his study of family and kinship and a Garo village. Though he chose only one village for his study, he his study, he dwelt on aspects common to Garo society in general. Dr. Milton S. Sangma's book, History and Cultural of the Garos also offers in handy volume first-hand knowledge of his own tribe.

Property and Inheritance

Garo society is matrilineal, and inheritance is through the mother. All children, as soon as they are born, belong to their mother's ma.chong, where Dalton's Motherhood.

Before we deal at length with this point, we need to know that the Garo tribe is divided into five exogamous divisions called Chatchis (sometimes rendered as Katchis). Two of these are relatively unimportant in that they include an insubstantial part of the population. The important ones are the Chatchis named Marak, Momin and Sangma. Of these again, the Marak and the Sangma Chatchis have a wider membership: it has been estimated that more than half of all the Garos belong to one or the other. The earlier practice of Chatchi exogamy is to large extent still strictly observed. The majority of Garos still hold that a member of a particular chatchi should not marry a member of the same chatchi. For example, most Sangmas would shrink from marrying other Sangmas. The practice may be crumbling to some extent in urban society. Marriage being tantamount to incest. This, to a Garo, is a serious breach of moral laws which will draw upon the guilty persons divine punishment, like being killed by wild animals or struck by lightning. These ma.chongs are very numerous. For the present purpose, a few may be named as examples under each Chatchis e.g.

Sangma: Agitok, Am.phang, Koksi, Manda, Rongmutu, Rongrokgre, Snal, etc. Marak : Chada, Chambugong, Kama, Koknal, Raksam, Rangsa, Rechil, Re.ma, etc. Momin : Cheran, Gabil, Ga.rey, Megonggare, Mrenda, Wa.tre, etc