75-542: The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group who live mostly in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya with a smaller number in neighbouring Bangladesh . Historically, the name Garo was used for a large number of different peoples living on the southern bank of Brahmaputra River , but now refers primarily to those who call themselves A∙chik Mande (literally " hill people ," from A∙chik "bite soil" + mande "people") or simply A∙chik or Mande and
150-540: A Central branch of Tibeto-Burman based on morphological evidence. Roger Blench and Mark Post (2011) list a number of divergent languages of Arunachal Pradesh , in northeastern India, that might have non-Tibeto-Burman substrates, or could even be non-Tibeto-Burman language isolates : Blench and Post believe the remaining languages with these substratal characteristics are more clearly Sino-Tibetan: Notes Bibliography Cooch Behar district Cooch Behar district ( pronounced [ˈkuːtʃ biˈɦaːr] )
225-488: A clade of the phylogenetic tree . During the 18th century, several scholars noticed parallels between Tibetan and Burmese, both languages with extensive literary traditions. In the following century, Brian Houghton Hodgson collected a wealth of data on the non-literary languages of the Himalayas and northeast India, noting that many of these were related to Tibetan and Burmese. Others identified related languages in
300-560: A few days. In 1772–1773, the king of Bhutan attacked and captured Cooch Behar. To expel the Bhutanese, the kingdom of Cooch Behar signed a defence treaty with the British East India Company on 5 April 1773. After expelling the Bhutanese, Cooch Behar became a princely kingdom under the protection of British East India company. The Victor Jubilee Palace was based on Buckingham Palace and built in 1887, during
375-471: A few practicing the traditional animist religion, Songsarek . The latter includes deities who must be appeased with rituals, ceremonies, and animal sacrifices to ensure the welfare of the tribe. Ramke W. Momin was the first Christian Garo member and was born in Goalpara district in the 1830s. In Bangladesh, 56.02% of Garos consider themselves practitioners of Christianity, while 40.07% are Hindu and
450-563: A kind of long drum called dama in groups and play bamboo flutes. The nominals with colorful costumes dance to the tune of dama and folk songs in a circle. The Wangala festival is held by Garo in Dhaka every year, usually in November or December. It is estimated that 30,000 Garo are living in Dhaka, and this festival is one way that they can be seen to preserve Garo Culture and traditions. For
525-579: A long period, leaving their affiliations difficult to determine. The grouping of the Bai language , with one million speakers in Yunnan, is particularly controversial, with some workers suggesting that it is a sister language to Chinese. The Naxi language of northern Yunnan is usually included in Lolo-Burmese, though other scholars prefer to leave it unclassified. The hills of northwestern Sichuan are home to
600-587: A valid subgroup in its own right. Most of the Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken in remote mountain areas, which has hampered their study. Many lack a written standard. It is generally easier to identify a language as Tibeto-Burman than to determine its precise relationship with other languages of the group. The subgroupings that have been established with certainty number several dozen, ranging from well-studied groups of dozens of languages with millions of speakers to several isolates , some only discovered in
675-617: A vassal chief of the portion of the kingdom east of the Sankosh river . This area came to be known as Koch Hajo . After the death of Nara Narayan in 1584, Raghudev declared independence. The kingdom ruled by the son of Nara Narayan, Lakshmi Narayan , came to be known as Cooch Behar. The division of the Kamata Kingdom into Koch Behar and Koch Hajo was permanent. Koch Behar aligned itself with the Mughal Empire and finally joined
750-641: Is Burmese , the national language of Myanmar, with over 32 million speakers and a literary tradition dating from the early 12th century. It is one of the Lolo-Burmese languages , an intensively studied and well-defined group comprising approximately 100 languages spoken in Myanmar and the highlands of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and southwest China . Major languages include the Loloish languages , with two million speakers in western Sichuan and northern Yunnan ,
825-691: Is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal . Formerly part of the Kamarupa kingdom , the area became the heart of the Kamata Kingdom in the 12th century. During the British Raj , the district was known as Cooch Behar state ruled by the Koch dynasty until 1949, when it became part of India. The district consists of the flat plains of North Bengal and has several rivers: the most notable being
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#1732793304033900-951: Is active in about 480 villages in and around Garo Hills. The Garo are mainly distributed over the Garo Hills , Khasi Hills , Ri-Bhoi districts in Meghalaya , Kamrup , Goalpara , Sivasagar , and Karbi Anglong districts of Assam , in India. In Bangladesh, lesser numbers are found in Tangail , Jamalpur , Sherpur , Mymensingh , Netrokona , Sunamganj , Sylhet and Gazipur with the highest concentration in Haluaghat Upazila and Dhobaura of Mymensingh district , Durgapur upazila and Kalmakanda upazila of Netrokona district , Nalitabari upazila and Jhenaigati upazila of Sherpur and Madhupur upazila of Tangail district . It
975-778: Is also amSouvenir publication from the Nokma Parishad where the Prime Minister's Message is included. It is a festival of great significance for the Garo in Dhaka. Though Christmas is a religious celebration, December is a great season of celebration in Garo Hills. In the first week of December, the town of Tura and all other smaller towns are illuminated with lights. This celebration features worship, dance, merry-making, grand feasts, and social visits goes on till 10 January. People from all religions and sections take part in
1050-610: Is an extensive literature in Classical Tibetan dating from the 8th century. The Tibetic languages are usually grouped with the smaller East Bodish languages of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh as the Bodish group. Many diverse Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Sizable groups that have been identified are the West Himalayish languages of Himachal Pradesh and western Nepal,
1125-504: Is central to the family in that it contains features of many of the other branches, and is also located around the center of the Tibeto-Burman-speaking area. Since Benedict (1972), many languages previously inadequately documented have received more attention with the publication of new grammars, dictionaries, and wordlists. This new research has greatly benefited comparative work, and Bradley (2002) incorporates much of
1200-399: Is eaten less often, the flesh of wild animals, beef The Garo have traditionally used a kind of potash in curries, which is obtained by burning dry pieces of plantain stems or young bamboo, known locally as kalchi or katchi . After these stems are burnt, the ashes are collected and dipped in water; these ashes are then strained in conical shapes in a bamboo strainer. However, cooking soda
1275-856: Is estimated that the total Garo population in Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, West Bengal, Canada, the US, Europe, Australia, and Bangladesh combined is more than 1 million. Garo is also found scattered in the Indian state of Tripura . The recorded Garo population was around 6,000 in 1971. Garo form minority groups in Cooch Behar , Jalpaiguri , Darjeeling and West Dinajpur of West Bengal , as well as in Nagaland . The present generation of Garo forming minority groups in these states of India does not generally speak their ethnic language any longer. Garo also forms small communities in various other parts of
1350-656: Is known from inscriptions using a variant of the Gupta script . The Tangut language of the 12th century Western Xia of northern China is preserved in numerous texts written in the Chinese-inspired Tangut script . Over eight million people in the Tibetan Plateau and neighbouring areas in Baltistan , Ladakh , Nepal , Sikkim and Bhutan speak one of several related Tibetic languages . There
1425-508: Is more commonly used as a replacement for this 'ash water' by Garo nowadays. Garo are known to ferment a special type of rice to create a liquor named "Minil Bichi". This 'country liquor' plays an important role in the life of the Garo. Chu: The Holy wine of Garo society : The sacred drink of the Garos is Chu. Garo children are given it to drink at birth, and visiting guests are traditionally offered it as well. Most Garo festivals are based on
1500-448: Is now accepted by most linguists, with a few exceptions such as Roy Andrew Miller and Christopher Beckwith . More recent controversy has centred on the proposed primary branching of Sino-Tibetan into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman subgroups. In spite of the popularity of this classification, first proposed by Kuhn and Conrady, and also promoted by Paul Benedict (1972) and later James Matisoff , Tibeto-Burman has not been demonstrated to be
1575-501: Is part of Jalpaiguri (Lok Sabha constituency) , which also contains six assembly segments from Jalpaiguri district . Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Cooch Behar Dakshin, Sitalkuchi, Sitai, Dinhata and Natabari constituencies form the Cooch Behar (Lok Sabha constituency) , which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) . Tufanganj constituency is part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency) , which also contains six assembly segments from Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts. Kalonunia rice
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#17327933040331650-499: Is spoken in an area from eastern Nepal to western Bhutan. Most of the languages of Bhutan are Bodish, but it also has three small isolates, 'Ole ("Black Mountain Monpa"), Lhokpu and Gongduk and a larger community of speakers of Tshangla . The Tani languages include most of the Tibeto-Burman languages of Arunachal Pradesh and adjacent areas of Tibet. The remaining languages of Arunachal Pradesh are much more diverse, belonging to
1725-465: Is then divided into several branches, some of them geographic conveniences rather than linguistic proposals: Matisoff makes no claim that the families in the Kamarupan or Himalayish branches have a special relationship to one another other than a geographic one. They are intended rather as categories of convenience pending more detailed comparative work. Matisoff also notes that Jingpho–Nungish–Luish
1800-548: The Linguistic Survey of India was devoted to the Tibeto-Burman languages of British India . Julius Klaproth had noted in 1823 that Burmese, Tibetan and Chinese all shared common basic vocabulary , but that Thai , Mon and Vietnamese were quite different. Several authors, including Ernst Kuhn in 1883 and August Conrady in 1896, described an "Indo-Chinese" family consisting of two branches, Tibeto-Burman and Chinese-Siamese. The Tai languages were included on
1875-512: The Ahom king Suhungmung and lost control of the region. During this time, the Koch tribe became very powerful and proclaimed itself Kamateshwar (Lord of Kamata) and established the Koch dynasty. The first important Koch ruler was Biswa Singha , who came to power in 1515. Under his son, Nara Narayan , the Kamata Kingdom reached its zenith. Nara Narayan's younger brother, Shukladhwaj ( Chilarai ),
1950-692: The Akha language and Hani languages , with two million speakers in southern Yunnan, eastern Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, and Lisu and Lahu in Yunnan, northern Myanmar and northern Thailand. All languages of the Loloish subgroup show significant Austroasiatic influence. The Pai-lang songs, transcribed in Chinese characters in the 1st century, appear to record words from a Lolo-Burmese language, but arranged in Chinese order. The Tibeto-Burman languages of south-west China have been heavily influenced by Chinese over
2025-600: The Jingpho–Luish languages , including Jingpho with nearly a million speakers. The Brahmaputran or Sal languages include at least the Boro–Garo and Konyak languages , spoken in an area stretching from northern Myanmar through the Indian states of Nagaland , Meghalaya , and Tripura , and are often considered to include the Jingpho–Luish group. The border highlands of Nagaland , Manipur and western Myanmar are home to
2100-600: The Kamarupa Kingdom of Assam from the 4th to the 12th centuries. In the 12th century, the area became a part of the Kamata Kingdom , first ruled by the Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The Khens were an indigenous tribe, and they ruled till about 1498 CE , when they fell to Alauddin Hussain Shah , the independent Pathan Sultan of Gour . The new invaders fought with the local Bhuyan chieftains and
2175-621: The Sino-Tibetan language family , over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia . Around 60 million people speak Tibeto-Burman languages. The name derives from the most widely spoken of these languages, Burmese and the Tibetic languages , which also have extensive literary traditions, dating from the 12th and 7th centuries respectively. Most of
2250-478: The Songlin and Chamdo languages , both of which were only described in the 2010s. New Tibeto-Burman languages continue to be recognized, some not closely related to other languages. Distinct languages only recognized in the 2010s include Koki Naga . Randy LaPolla (2003) proposed a Rung branch of Tibeto-Burman, based on morphological evidence, but this is not widely accepted. Scott DeLancey (2015) proposed
2325-673: The Tamangic languages of western Nepal, including Tamang with one million speakers, and the Kiranti languages of eastern Nepal. The remaining groups are small, with several isolates. The Newar language (Nepal Bhasa) of central Nepal has a million speakers and literature dating from the 12th century, and nearly a million people speak Magaric languages , but the rest have small speech communities. Other isolates and small groups in Nepal are Dura , Raji–Raute , Chepangic and Dhimalish . Lepcha
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2400-511: The Teesta , Jaldhaka and Torsa . The district has the highest proportion of Scheduled Castes in the country, where they form a majority. The name Cooch Behar is derived from two words— Cooch , a corrupted form of the word Koch , the name of the Koch tribes, and the word behar is derived from vihara meaning land , Koch Behar means land of the Koches . Cooch Behar formed part of
2475-568: The 21st century but in danger of extinction. These subgroups are here surveyed on a geographical basis. The southernmost group is the Karen languages , spoken by three million people on both sides of the Burma–Thailand border. They differ from all other Tibeto-Burman languages (except Bai) in having a subject–verb–object word order, attributed to contact with Tai–Kadai and Austroasiatic languages . The most widely spoken Tibeto-Burman language
2550-536: The Christmas celebration. In December 2003 the tallest Christmas tree in the world was erected at Dobasipara, Tura by the Baptist boys of Dobasipara. Its height was 119.3 feet, covered by BBC and widely broadcast on television. The tree was decorated with 16,319 colored light bulbs; it took about 14 days to complete the decoration. The annual festival, conceptualized in 2008, is aimed to promote and brand this part of
2625-471: The East India Company as follows: "... looked upon as bloodthirsty savages, who inhabited a tract of hills covered with almost impenetrable jungle, the climate of which was considered so deadly as to make it impossible for a white man to live there. The Garo had the reputation of being fierce headhunters, the social status of a man being decided by the number of heads he owned". In December 1872,
2700-660: The GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai , making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region. It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag. The GI tag protects
2775-424: The Garo tribe vary depending on the place of residence of the people. Women who belong to remote villages in the Garo hills wear an eking, a small cloth worn around the waist. Clothing : The traditional dress of Garo Women is Dakmanda, Dakshari. But in the present day, jeans, Sari, T-shirts, and pajamas are also worn. By contrast, Garo men wear jeans, T-shirts, and shirts. Weapons : Garo have their weapons. One of
2850-514: The Government of India dispatched a military expedition to the Garo Hills to establish control over the region. The campaign was conducted from three sides – south, east, and west. The Garo warriors ( matgriks ) confronted them at the Battle of Rongrenggre, equipped with spears, swords, and shields. Inevitably, the Garo were defeated in the battle, lacking the guns or mortars of the army. By
2925-677: The India as a part of the West Bengal, whereas remnants of the Koch Hajo rulers aligned themselves with the Ahom kingdom and the region became a part of Assam . As the early capital of the Koch Kingdom, Cooch Behar's location was not static and became stable only when shifted to Cooch Behar town. Maharaja Rup Narayan, on the advice of an unknown saint, transferred the capital from Attharokotha to Guriahati (now called Cooch Behar town) on
3000-595: The Tourist Office, Tura . It was first started in 2006 in Williamnagar, Meghalaya. Simsang festival was known as the Winter festival before and it promotes the talents of the local people. It also promotes the local bands and the exhibition of handcrafts made by local people. It also promotes the indigenous games of Garo. Tibeto-Burmese The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of
3075-621: The Wangala festival, Garo travels from every corner of the city to the Lalmatia Housing Society ground to gather and celebrate. Approximately 10,000 people attend the celebration. It is a vibrantly colorful rally with traditional dress, and drum performances. Speeches from special guests are also a highlight of the festival. The AMUA for Misi Saljon takes place by the original Kamal from villages. Display stalls are arranged with traditional food, dresses, and other materials. There
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3150-816: The agricultural cycle of crops. The harvesting festival Wangala is the biggest celebration of the tribe happening in the month of October or November every year. It is the thanksgiving after harvest in honor of the god Saljong , provider of nature's bounties. Other festivals include Gal·mak Goa , Agalmaka , etc. The '100-drum festival' is held in Asanang near Tura in the West Garo Hills , Meghalaya, India usually in October or November. Thousands of people, especially young people, gather at Asanang and celebrate Wangala. Garo girls known as nomil and boys (pante ) take part in 'Wangala' festivals. The pantes beat
3225-576: The banks of the Torsa river between 1693 and 1714. The capital has always been in or near its present location since then. In 1661 CE, Maharaja Pran Narayan planned to expand his kingdom. However, Mir Jumla , the subedar of Bengal under the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb , attacked Cooch Behar and conquered the territory, meeting almost no resistance. The town of Cooch Behar was subsequently named Alamgirnagar. Maharaja Pran Narayan regained his kingdom within
3300-587: The basis of vocabulary and typological features shared with Chinese. Jean Przyluski introduced the term sino-tibétain (Sino-Tibetan) as the title of his chapter on the group in Antoine Meillet and Marcel Cohen 's Les Langues du Monde in 1924. The Tai languages have not been included in most Western accounts of Sino-Tibetan since the Second World War, though many Chinese linguists still include them. The link between Tibeto-Burman and Chinese
3375-399: The classification of Sino-Tibetan and Tibeto-Burman languages, Shafer (1955) and Benedict (1972) , which were actually produced in the 1930s and 1940s respectively. Shafer's tentative classification took an agnostic position and did not recognize Tibeto-Burman, but placed Chinese (Sinitic) on the same level as the other branches of a Sino-Tibetan family. He retained Tai–Kadai (Daic) within
3450-555: The dialects of Garo people. The first translation of the Garo Bible was published in 1924 and the official language in schools and government offices is now English . According to oral tradition, the Garo first migrated to the Garo Hills from Tibet (referred to as Tibotgre) around 400 BC under the leadership of Jappa Jalimpa, Sukpa and Bongepa crossing the Brahmaputra River (Songdu Chibima) and tentatively settling in
3525-509: The district are the Teesta , Jaldhaka , Torsha , Kaljani , Raidak , Gadadhar and Ghargharia . In 1976 Cooch Behar district became home to the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (now Jaldapara National Park ), which has an area of 217 km (83.8 sq mi). It shares the park with Alipurduar district. According to the 2011 census Cooch Behar district has a population of 2,819,086, roughly equal to
3600-532: The early 1900s, the American Baptist Mission was active in the area, working from Tura, Meghalaya . Two early histories of the Garo people were written by deputy commissioner for Eastern Bengal and Assam Major A. Playfair, The Garos (1909), and by Sinha T.C., The Psyche of Garos (1955). The Garo are one of the few remaining matrilineal societies in the world, and Garo individuals take their clan titles from their mothers. Traditionally,
3675-458: The ending - para , e.g. Salmanpara, Asipara, Marakapara, etc. Para is a corruption of - bra , which was the result of a census error. Similarly, the village name Asipara is a corruption of the historical place name Asibra. However, the village is listed in census and government records under the name Asipara. This replacement of original names can be seen as a threat to Garo's cultural identity. Today, most Garos in India follow Christianity with
3750-500: The family, allegedly at the insistence of colleagues, despite his personal belief that they were not related. A very influential, although also tentative, classification is that of Benedict (1972) , which was actually written around 1941. Like Shafer's work, this drew on the data assembled by the Sino-Tibetan Philology Project, which was directed by Shafer and Benedict in turn. Benedict envisaged Chinese as
3825-416: The first family to branch off, followed by Karen. The Tibeto-Burman family is then divided into seven primary branches: James Matisoff proposes a modification of Benedict that demoted Karen but kept the divergent position of Sinitic. Of the 7 branches within Tibeto-Burman, 2 branches (Baic and Karenic) have SVO -order languages, whereas all the other 5 branches have SOV -order languages. Tibeto-Burman
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#17327933040333900-533: The high stake card or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur. Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves were within Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves were within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave was Balapara Khagrabari which surrounded a Bangladeshi exclave, Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounded an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari , of less than one hectare (link to external map here [1] ). But all this has ended in
3975-420: The highlands of Southeast Asia and south-west China. The name "Tibeto-Burman" was first applied to this group in 1856 by James Logan , who added Karen in 1858. Charles Forbes viewed the family as uniting the Gangetic and Lohitic branches of Max Müller 's Turanian , a huge family consisting of all the Eurasian languages except the Semitic , "Aryan" ( Indo-European ) and Chinese languages. The third volume of
4050-420: The historic India-Bangladesh land agreement. See Indo-Bangladesh enclaves . Cooch Behar is a flat region with a slight southeastern slope along which the main rivers of the district flow. Most of the highland areas are in the Sitalkuchi region and most of the low-lying lands lie in Dinhata region. The rivers in the district of Cooch Behar generally flow from northwest to southeast. Seven rivers that cut through
4125-523: The name "Garo" is now being used by outsiders as an exonym . They are the second-largest tribe in Meghalaya after the Khasi and comprise about a third of the local population. In addition to the Garo Hills population of the community in Meghalaya, there is also a significant number in the Khasi Hills and a smaller group in Assam and other neighboring states. A majority of Garo village or locality names end with - gre . For example, Dakopgre, Cherangre, Goeragre, Simsanggre, etc. There are also names with
4200-499: The nation of Jamaica . This gives it a ranking of 136th in India (out of a total of 739 ). The district has a population density of 833 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,160/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 13.86%. Koch Bihar has a sex ratio of 942 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 75.49%. 10.27% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1,414,336 (50.17%) and 18,125 (0.64%) of
4275-474: The newer data. George van Driem rejects the primary split of Sinitic, making Tibeto-Burman synonymous with Sino-Tibetan. The internal structure of Tibeto-Burman is tentatively classified as follows by Matisoff (2015: xxxii, 1123–1127) in the final release of the Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT). The classification of Tujia is difficult due to extensive borrowing. Other unclassified Tibeto-Burman languages include Basum and
4350-430: The north, Dhubri and Kokrajhar district of Assam in the east and by Bangladesh in the west as well as in the south. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal. A geopolitical curiosity was that there were 92 Bangladeshi exclaves , with a total area of 47.7 km in Cooch-Behar. Similarly, there were 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km . These were part of
4425-421: The other languages are spoken by much smaller communities, and many of them have not been described in detail. Though the division of Sino-Tibetan into Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman branches (e.g. Benedict, Matisoff) is widely used, some historical linguists criticize this classification, as the non-Sinitic Sino-Tibetan languages lack any shared innovations in phonology or morphology to show that they comprise
4500-421: The population respectively. Cooch Behar is the only district in India where Scheduled Castes make up a majority of the population. Hinduism is the majority religion. Islam is the minority religion, and is mainly rural. Muslims are a significant minority in Dinhata I (36.98%), Dinhata II (36.68%) and Sitalkuchi (35.31%) blocks. Languages of Cooch Behar district (2011) At the time of the 2011 census, 94.79% of
4575-569: The population spoke Bengali , 1.31% Rajbongshi and 1.17% Hindi as their first language. 2.01% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Bengali. The district of Cooch Behar comprises five sub-divisions: As per order of the 2008 Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district is divided into 9 assembly constituencies: Mekliganj, Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar Uttar, Sitalkuchi and Sitai constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Mekhliganj constituency
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#17327933040334650-606: The principal weapons is a two-edged sword called mil·am made of a single piece of iron from hilt to point. There is a cross-bar between the hilt and the blade where a bunch of ox's tail hair is attached. Other types of weapons include shield , spear , bow and arrow , axe , dagger , etc. Food and drink : The staple Garo food is rice . Kochu ( taro ), millet , maize , and tapioca are important substitutes for rice in times when it becomes scarce. Other foods such as kochu , dried fish, bamboo shoots, sorrell, sweet potato, pumpkin, gourd, and banana are also popular. Although meat
4725-425: The region as a popular tourist destination by giving an opportunity for the local people to showcase their skills and expertise. The three-day fest features a gala event with a carnival, cultural show, food festival, rock concert, wine festival, angling competition, ethnic wear competition, children's fancy dress, DJ Nite, exhibitions, house, and other games. The entry forms for carnival and other events are available at
4800-461: The reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan . In 1878, the maharaja married the daughter of Brahmo preacher Keshab Chandra Sen . This union led to a renaissance in Cooch Behar state. Maharaja Nripendra Narayan is known as the architect of modern Cooch Behar town. Under an agreement between the kings of Cooch Behar and the Indian Government at the end of British rule, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan transferred full authority, jurisdiction and power of
4875-438: The remaining 3.71% are practitioners of Songsarek The religion of the ancestors of the Garo is Songsarek. The term "Dakbewal" is often used to describe Garo culture In 2000, the group called "Risi Jilma" was founded to safeguard the ancient Garo Songsarek religion. Seeing the Songsarek population in decline, youth from the Dadenggiri subdivision of Garo Hills felt the need to preserve the Songsarek culture. The Rishi Jilma group
4950-434: The river valley. The Garo finally settled down in Garo Hills (East-West Garo Hills), finding providence and security in this uncharted territory and claiming it as their own. Records of the tribe by expanding Mughal armies and by East India Company officials in what is now Bangladesh wrote of the warlike nature of the people. The earliest written records about the Garo date from around 1800, and were described by officials of
5025-446: The small Ao , Angami–Pochuri , Tangkhulic , and Zeme groups of languages, as well as the Karbi language . Meithei , the main language of Manipur with 1.4 million speakers, is sometimes linked with the 50 or so Kuki-Chin languages are spoken in Mizoram and the Chin State of Myanmar. The Mru language is spoken by a small group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts between Bangladesh and Myanmar. There have been two milestones in
5100-403: The small Qiangic and Rgyalrongic groups of languages, which preserve many archaic features. The most easterly Tibeto-Burman language is Tujia , spoken in the Wuling Mountains on the borders of Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou and Chongqing. Two historical languages are believed to be Tibeto-Burman, but their precise affiliation is uncertain. The Pyu language of central Myanmar in the first centuries
5175-426: The small Siangic , Kho-Bwa (or Kamengic), Hruso , Miju and Digaro languages (or Mishmic) groups. These groups have relatively little Tibeto-Burman vocabulary, and Bench and Post dispute their inclusion in Sino-Tibetan. The greatest variety of languages and subgroups is found in the highlands stretching from northern Myanmar to northeast India. Northern Myanmar is home to the small Nungish group, as well as
5250-423: The state to the Dominion Government of India , effective 12 September 1949. Eventually, Cooch Bihar became part of the state of West Bengal on 19 January 1950, with Cooch Behar town as its headquarters. Cooch Behar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division of the state of West Bengal . Cooch Behar is located in the northeastern part of the state and bounded by the district of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in
5325-550: The world including Canada, America, Australia, and the United Kingdom . The Garo language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman language family . Brief lists of Garo words were compiled by East India Company officials in 1800, and Garo acquired a Latin-based writing system in the late 19th century. This system was devised by American Baptist missionaries, based on a northeastern dialect of Garo. A·beng or Am·beng, Matabeng, Atong, Me·gam, Matchi, Dual [Matchi-Dual], Ruga, Chibok, Chisak, Gara, Gan·ching [Gara-Gan·ching], A·we etc are few among
5400-475: The youngest daughter ( nokmechik ) inherits property from her mother. Sons leave their parents' house at puberty and are trained in the village bachelor dormitory ( nokpante ). After getting married, the man lives in his wife's house. In Garo tradition, the house where unmarried male youths live is called Nokpante. Traditionally, women were forbidden from entering the Nokpante, and any woman who broke this rule
5475-408: Was a noted military general who undertook expeditions to expand the kingdom. He became governor of its eastern portion. After Chilarai's death, his son Raghudev became governor of this portion. Since Nara Narayan did not have a son, Raghudev was seen as the heir apparent. However, a late child of Nara Narayan removed Raghudev's claim to the throne. To placate him, Nara Narayan had to anoint Raghudev as
5550-713: Was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 2 January 2024 (valid until 11 March 2034). It is a common and widely cultivated crop in disticts of Cooch Behar , Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur , proposed
5625-562: Was considered tainted or "marang nangjok." However, this taboo is less common in the present day. Despite the matrilineal nature of Garo society, it can not accurately be described as matriarchal. While the property is owned by women, the governing of society and domestic affairs and the management of the property is carried out by men. While Garo people have traditional names, modern Garo culture has been greatly influenced by Christianity. Ornaments : Both men and women enjoy adorning themselves with ornaments: The dresses of Meghalaya worn by
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