A Study on the Garo Cummunity in Goalpara Assam
By SMC
In the Gazetteres of the Garo hills district, it is recorded that the Garos originally came from Tibet and settled in Koch Behar for about 400 year. From Koch Behar, the Garos moved to Rangamati in Goalpara district of lower Assam (Presently Bongaigaon District). They wandered eastwards up the Brahmaputra valley and moved on to the bank of Manas River, Jugighopa (Bongaigaon District), Garomari (Goalpara), Kamakhya, Baghmela pahar (between Boko and Chaygaon), Tukreswari (Goalpara) and finally settled in the Garo Hills that now forms the home of the tribes.
The significant interactions with the Assamese have generated exogenous forces and intrusive elements in the Garo society in Goalpara Assam. Though these exogenous forces could not have brought significant changes in the their social customs, kinship structure, religious ideas and practices, crafts/occupations, political systems, their impact on the Garo languages and vocabulary cannot be discounted.
The trend towards cultural fusion between the Garos and the non-Garos (Bengali, Assamese and Bodo speaking tribes) in Goalpara Assam was made possible by the valley of the mighty Brahmaputra which offered vast lands for cultivation, comparatively easy means of transport and above all a meeting of cultures.
In the Seminar on Cultural and Linguistic Studies in North East India: Prospect and Challenges, held at Sankardev College, Zandhy R Marak (Assistant Professor, Garo Department, Sankardev College) presented a paper titled, “A study of the Garo Community of Goalpara Assam”.
The impact on Garo Language brought about by the cultural assimilation in Brahmaputra valley is inevitable (The Brahmaputra Valley as such is serving as a catalytic agent for assimilation and fusion of racial, cultural and social elements between Garos and non-Garos). In particular, Stive talked about the impact that Assamese and Bengali language had on the Garo Language.
Abstract of the paper:
