3. The Mikir.—Mr. Robertson looks upon these as an intrusive people from the Jaintia hills: their present locality being the district of Nowgong, where they are mixed up with—
4. The Lalong.—I cannot say whether the Lalong speak their originally monosyllabic tongue, or have learnt the Bengali—a phenomenon which does much to disguise the true ethnology of more than one of the forthcoming tribes; one of which is certainly—
5. The Dhekra, occupants of Lower Assam and Kamrup, where they are mixed up with other sections of the population.
6. The Rabhá.—Like the Dhekra, these are[109] Hindús. Like the Dhekra they speak Bengali. Hence, like the Dhekra, their true affinities are disguised. It is, however, pretty generally admitted by the best authorities that what may be predicated of the Garo and Bodo—two families of which a fuller notice will be given in the sequel—may be predicated of the sections in question, as also of—
7. The Hajong or Hojai.—Hindús, speaking a form of the Bengali at the foot of the Garo hills; and who join the Rabhá, whose locality is between Gwahatti and Sylhet, i.e., at the entrance of the Assam valley.
The Garo of the Garo hills to the north-east of Bengal now require notice. A mountaineer of these parts has much in common with the Coosya; yet the languages are, perhaps, mutually unintelligible. In form they are exceedingly alike.
Now, a Garo[29] is hardy, stout, and surly-looking, with a flattened nose, blue or brown eyes, large mouth, thick lips, round face, and brown complexion. Their buniahs (booneeahs) or chiefs, are distinguished by a silken turban. They have a prejudice against milk; but in the matter of other sorts of food are omnivorous. Their houses, called chaungs, are built on piles, from three to four feet from the ground, from ten to forty in breadth, and from thirty to one hundred and fifty[110] in length. They drink, feast, and dance freely; and, in their matrimonial forms, much resemble the Bodo. The youngest daughter inherits. The widow marries the brother of the deceased; if he die, the next; if all, the father.
The dead are kept for four days; then burnt. Then the ashes are buried in a hole on the place where the fire was. A small thatched building is next raised over them; which is afterwards railed in. For a month, or more, a lamp is lit every night in this building. The clothes of the deceased hang on poles—one at each corner of the railing. When the pile is set fire to, there is great feasting and drunkenness.
The Garo are no Hindús. Neither are they unmodified pagans. Mahadeva they invoke—perhaps, worship. Nevertheless, their creed is mixed. They worship the sun and the moon, or rather the sun or the moon; since they ascertain which is to be invoked by taking a cup of water and some wheat. The priest then calls on the name of the sun, and drops corn into the water. If it sink, the sun is worshipped. If not, a similar experiment is tried with the name of the moon. Misfortunes are attributed to supernatural agency: and averted by sacrifice.
Sometimes they swear on a stone; sometimes they take a tiger's bone between their teeth and then tell their tale.[111]