The Northeast region of India is home to many Indigenous communities corresponding to a diverse ethnic melting pot. Although archival and documentation practices have taken precedence in academics during the recent years, there are innumerable communities whose cultural practices still remain far away from mainstream research. A greater length of their traditional values, rituals, and rich history are mainly transmitted through oral folk traditions and narratives rather than written scripts. The native communities strongly believe in the co-existence with their natural surroundings as well as the supernatural world in an increasingly homogenized socio-religious landscape. They are cocooned by their myths, superstitions, and indigenous folkloric rituals. Their Culinary, Gastronomic, and Medicinal practices do not merely exist for sustenance but a multitude of these practices hold a symbolic high regard which are worshipped by members of the communities. Strong symbolic association with the Flora and Fauna, animistic beliefs, myths, taboos, and superstitious customs are integral to their culture, knowledge, and spirituality. One such community which is colored by such rich and vibrant cultural customs is the Garo community of the Northeast. Yet, serious scholarship on such a relevant subject is almost scarce to none since much of this cultural wealth is eroding from social existence because of the lack of preservation and archival enterprises. This article attempts to document the Folk rituals, sacred religious beliefs, and other cultural practices integral to the indigenous Garo community of North-East India. Preservation through written documents not only brings sustainability to their rich culture and oral traditions but also encourages other scholars and academicians to take note and dig deep further. Preservation through the English language places the indigenous culture in the global context and it provides an opportunity to circulate these unexplored gems of traditional lore and rituals far and wide.

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Articulating Culture Through Oral Narratives: Documenting the Transformational Myths of the Garo Community of Tripura and Assam

  • Aditya Ghosh,
  • Priyadarsini Ganguly

摘要

The Northeast region of India is home to many Indigenous communities corresponding to a diverse ethnic melting pot. Although archival and documentation practices have taken precedence in academics during the recent years, there are innumerable communities whose cultural practices still remain far away from mainstream research. A greater length of their traditional values, rituals, and rich history are mainly transmitted through oral folk traditions and narratives rather than written scripts. The native communities strongly believe in the co-existence with their natural surroundings as well as the supernatural world in an increasingly homogenized socio-religious landscape. They are cocooned by their myths, superstitions, and indigenous folkloric rituals. Their Culinary, Gastronomic, and Medicinal practices do not merely exist for sustenance but a multitude of these practices hold a symbolic high regard which are worshipped by members of the communities. Strong symbolic association with the Flora and Fauna, animistic beliefs, myths, taboos, and superstitious customs are integral to their culture, knowledge, and spirituality. One such community which is colored by such rich and vibrant cultural customs is the Garo community of the Northeast. Yet, serious scholarship on such a relevant subject is almost scarce to none since much of this cultural wealth is eroding from social existence because of the lack of preservation and archival enterprises. This article attempts to document the Folk rituals, sacred religious beliefs, and other cultural practices integral to the indigenous Garo community of North-East India. Preservation through written documents not only brings sustainability to their rich culture and oral traditions but also encourages other scholars and academicians to take note and dig deep further. Preservation through the English language places the indigenous culture in the global context and it provides an opportunity to circulate these unexplored gems of traditional lore and rituals far and wide.