The Garo people live in the North East part of India and concentrated in the state of Meghalaya. They reside on the hills that derive its name from, Garo and hence referred to as Garo Hills. The Garo address themselves as a chik or Mande. The people live in a lush forested area that experiences heavy rainfall. The population of this area is believed to be approximately 300,000. The Garo people categorise themselves into a number of groups based on dialectical difference and location. The Garo set up permanent villages that vary in size. These villages tend to be between 10 to 60 households. The people of the village rely on the slash-and-burn technique for agriculture that they refer to as jhum. They cultivate rice, millet, and bananas, along with a variety of vegetables. The important cash crops for the Garo people are cotton, chili, peppers and ginger. The lifestyles of the Garo people are all based on a matriarchical point of view. In other words the people put a high status and power in the hands of the women. The land can only be inherited through the women of the families. The village leader is only chosen by the husband of the heiress. Each married couple chooses one daughter, usually the youngest, to be the heiress of the household and property. Sometimes the position of this youngest daughter would fall into marrying a specific relative as well to keep the land in the family. American Baptist missionaries arrived in the Garo Hills and professed Christianity. As a result, one-quarter to one-third of the Garo are now Christians. The native Garo religion includes the belief of supernatural spirits called mite. They believed that these spirits lived in the jungle and caused diseases. They also believed in important gods that overlooked the growth of the crops. The book is a cultural travelogue and depicts and traditional way of Garo life and the change crept therein.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR S H M Rizvi
Dr. Syed Hasan Mujtaba Rizvi (Ph. D., University of Delhi) is a research anthropologist and has carried out empirical studies in the field of bio-cultural anthropology among the tribes, and Muslims of northern, western, north-western and north-eastern India. He, along with Dr. Shibani Roy, has written eleven books based upon original research. One of the Professor Emeritus (Anthropology) while reviewing his books stated that ".this indicates his understanding of the subject of anthropology in totality and in modern anthropological world, works of such nature are always encouraged."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shibani Roy
Shibani Roy was born and brought up at Delhi. Her schooling had been at the Lady Irwin School and Post-School studies from Miranda House. She received her B.Sc. (Hons.) Degree in Anthropology in 1967 and Master Degree from the same Discipline specializing in SocialAnthropology. After a year of research work in the field of "Consanguinity among Muslims of North India", she joined department of Anthropology as a Ph.D. student in 1970 and was awarded the Ph.D. Degree in 1976. She was a part-time lecturer in Lady Irwin college, New Delhi, teaching post graduate classes during 1972-73. She was the recipient of senior research fellowship of C.S.I.R. for her project entitled "Changes in value Orientation of contemporary Muslims" carried out amongst the Bohras of Bombay. Her articles in Hindustan Times and Youth Times equally provoked the social scientists and laymen and made them have a new perspective towards this minority community. From 1976 to 1978 she had been actively engaged in a project on female fertility financed by World Health Organization. The entire work had been centred around Rajput Women of Rajasthan. At present she is holding the post of Assistant Anthropologist (Cultural) with the Anthropological Survey of India, Government of India. She has participated in national and international seminars and has a few publication to her credit in the field of Muslim women. Dr. Shibani roy has further stepped into the secluded privacy of the Muslims by marrying a Muslim fellow anthropologist and has a daughter.
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