Funeral Rites of the Garos: Unveiling Cultural Assimilation Amidst Christian Influence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/jcrt.354Keywords:
Assimilation, Christianity, Cultural dynamics, Funeral rituals, Garo communityAbstract
This paper analyzes the funeral rites and ritualistic practices associated with death among the Garo community of Northeast India, a community that has undergone linguistic divisions and witnessed fragmentation due to colonialism and subsequent conversion to Christianity. Employing an ethnographic approach, this research meticulously examines funeral rituals and practices through engaged participant observation, comprehensive interviews, and meticulous document analysis. Qualitative analysis reveals distinct patterns and themes, casting a revealing spotlight on the symbiotic relationship that exists between tradition and Christianity. The study finds that the Christian Garos have retained social customs such as matrilineality and the kinship system. However, a noticeable departure from their indigenous animistic belief system has taken place, with numerous deities being replaced by a single God, and fundamental beliefs like life after death seemingly abandoned. Nevertheless, upon closer examination of funeral rites, certain traditional elements are found to persist, reflecting the complex cultural assimilation within the emerging Christian identity among the Garo people. The primary contribution of this research lies in uncovering how these remnants of tradition persist, despite the transformative impact of Christianity on the religious and cultural landscape of the Garo community.
References
Bal, E. (2007a). They Ask if We Eat Frogs. ISEAS Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1355/9789812305916
Bal, E. (2007b). Becoming the Garos of Bangladesh: Policies of Exclusion and the Ethnicisation of a ‘Tribal’ Minority. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 30(3), 439–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856400701714062
Burling, R. (1963). Rengsanggri: Family and Kinship in a Garo Village. University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.9783/9781512814972
Carey, W. (1919). A Garo Jungle Book or the Mission to the Garos of Assam. Judson Press.
de Maaker, E. (2007). From the Songsarek Faith to Christianity: Conversion, Religious Identity and Ritual Efficacy. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 30(3), 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856400701714104
de Maaker, E. (2013). Have the Mitdes Gone Silent? Conversion, Rhetoric, and the Continuing Importance of the Lower Deities in Northeast India. In R. F. Young & J. A. Seitz (Eds.), Asia in the Making of Christianity (pp. 135–159). BRILL. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004251298_007
de Maaker, E. (2019). The Garo Ethnic Community. In Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Religions of the Indigenous People of South Asia Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/2665-9093_BERO_COM_032268
de Maaker, E. (2022a). Reworking Culture: Relatedness, Rites and Resources in Garo Hills. Oxford University Press.
de Maaker, E. (2022b). Ambiguous Mortal Remains, Substitute Bodies, and other Materializations of the Dead among the Garo of Northeast India. In P. Berger & K. J. (Eds.), Ultimate Ambiguities: Investigating Death and Liminality (pp. 13–36). Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781782386100-004
Eliot, J. (1799). Observations on the Inhabitants of the Garrow Hills: Made During a Public Deputation in the Years 1788 and 1789. Asiatic Researches, 3, 17–37.
Geertz, C. (2017). Ritual and Social Change: A Javanese Example. In Ritual (pp. 549–576). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315244099-32
Giddings, R. (1990). Poe: Rituals of Life and Death. In American Horror Fiction (pp. 33–58). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20579-0_3
Hertz, R. (2016). A Contribution to a Study of the Collective Representation of Death. In Saints, Heroes, Myths, and Rites (pp. 109–180). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315632292-6
Johnson, P. C. (1995). Shamanism from Ecuador to Chicago: A Case Study in New Age Ritual Appropriation. Religion, 25(2), 163–178. https://doi.org/10.1006/reli.1995.0015
Kar, P. C. (1982). The Garos in Transition. Cosmo.
Marak, J. L. R. (2016). Atchu Ambini Ku bisring. D.J. Publication.
Marak, L. R. (2014). Garo Traditions in Folk Narratives. In J. Prodhani & R. S. Thakur (Eds.), Culture, Ethnicity and Identity: A Reader. DVS Publishers.
Marak, Q. (2018a). Rice from A.ba : Stories, Rituals and Practices of the Garos. South Asian Anthropologist, 18(2), 161–175.
Marak, Q. (2018b). Soul loss and retrieval: Understanding the Mi Amua ritual of the Garos. Journal of Indian Anthropological Society, 53(3), 219–233.
Marak, S. R., Sharma, D., & Sarma, H. (2021). Ethnic preparation of Chubitchi, an alcoholic beverage of the Garo tribe of Meghalaya: a sociocultural analysis. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 8(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-021-00102-7
Playfair, M. A. (1909). The Garos. D.J. Publication.
Pratama, A. R. (2023). Resilient Tradition: The Resilience of Nyekar tradition Amidst the Covid-19 Changes. Journal of Contemporary Rituals and Traditions, 1(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.15575/jcrt.342
Rongmuthu, A. S. (2014). Wangalani Bimik. D.J. Publication.
Sangma, D. R. (1996). The Traditional Dances of the Garos. Salseng C. Marak.
Sangma, M. N. (1982). Maniani Bidik. Tura Book Room.
Sangma, M. S. (1979). History and Culture of the Garos. Books Today.
Syiemlieh, D. R. (2023). Colonialism and Christian Missions in North-East India. In S. Nag & M. S. Kumar (Eds.), Encounter and Interventions. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003425601
Watre, T. I. (2007). Garo Music and Musical Instruments. In M. Momin (Ed.), Readings in History and Culture of the Garos (pp. 88–94). Regency Publications.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Silba R Marak, Dwijen Sharma
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.