History Of The Garos 2v393e

History of the Garos. THE HISTORY OF THE GAROS Historical Records on the Garos are Scanty The history of the Garos goes back into the mists of time, further than human memory. Available historical records on the great past of the Garos are exceedingly scanty, and relevant bibliography on the Garos of ancient days is hardly found anywhere. The writer says the foregoing statement from his personel experience. As far back as October - November, 1937, with a view to collect materials for writing a comprehensive historical on the Garos, the writer made a through diligent search for old records on the past of the Garos in the then Imperial Library in Calcutta, now renamed National Library and shifted to Belvedere House, once the Vicegal Lodge, in another zone in Calcutta. But authentic historical records on the great past of the Garos had not been available there to him. Subsequent searches in other public Libraries in Dhubri, Jorhat, Gauhati, Shillong and Dacca and failed to furnish the writer with relevant materials on the Garos of ancient days. Therefore, while trying to bring out a credible historical write-up on the Garos of ancient days or as far as concerns the writing of the history of the Garos, the writer feels like stepping into deep waters. Nevertheless, though, in trying to writing history of the Garos, the writer still finds much in the mud, it is adequately gathered from a

number of stray archaic records, from some old works by a number of learned scholars and from old Tratitional s of the Garos themselves that the Garos first came into Tibet and Burma from their original ancestral home inthe upper reaches of the Hoang-Ho and the Yangtse-Kiang Rivers in China and hence into India. The Kiratas While they were in their ancestral home in China, the Garos were called Kiratas. Mr. P.C. Battacharya, in his note on Garo, Boro and Shan, says "It is believed that the famous ancient people who were mentioned as Kiratas in the Mahabharata, in the Ramayana, in the KalikaPurana and in the Yogini Tantra are the Garos." According to some archaic records, the Kiratas were exceedingly enormous in numbers. The Kiratas were particularly distinguished by the strength of tribal feeling. The wisdom of the Kiratas was that there was paramount emphasis of the first-hand intuition. The contents and ideas in the language of the Kiratas are the most avant garde.Kiratas accepted the struggle and the joy of the Earth, whereon they sang and danced, whereon they met in battle and the war-cry rose and the drums resounded.They joyfully accepted war when it comes as they accepted a thousand other irrationalities in their corporate life. They knew the basic laws of humanity.In fact, the Kiratas used to live, love, fight and die with a vehemence rate inany comparable corner of the earth. Available material evidences serve to that the Kiratas originally came from their ancestral homes in the upper

reaches of the Hoang-Ho and the Yangtse-Kiang Rivers in China into Tibet and Burma and settled there in for some centuries. Lots of names of places inTibet and Burma adduce evidences to the fact of settlement of the Kiratas in these countries. In fact, the name of Burma (or Bolma, meaning a densewoodedland) was first given by the Garos, and then known as Kiratas, to the presentcountry of Burma. In Tibet an important place of an old settlement of the Garos was known as A'song Noari Chiga Timbori. Chiga Timbori literally means an Inland Lake or Sea, which has no outlet. It is evidenced by the presence of the A'chik Lake in Central Tibet. Sir E. A. Gait in his History of Assam mentions that a great multitude of the Kiratas entered into Assam from Tibet in the seventh century BC, but that they were lost on reaching the foothills of the Himalayas. In fact, the Kiratas were not physically lost altogether. They were divided amongst themselves into tribes or races and entered into the forests in the slopes of the Himalayas and into hills of the north-eastern Assam and settled down there as hill-people under different tribal appellations. This is how the various hill-people, now found in modern Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram, and in the hills of north-eastern Assam, were originated. A traditional of the Garos maintains that the matriachs, named Sikme,Dolse, Bilma, Bisolma, Ulonggi and Ulongga, and their people, under the leadership of Jappa, Jalinpa, Sukpa, Bonggipa and Raji Do'pa,

ceremoniously marched in orderly procession from Tibet into India, through the Garwal Hills,reached India and first settled down in what is now known as Cooch Behar for eight hundred years. The traditional further states that, in the course of the eight hundred years, the children of the fore named different matriarchs, under different names of tribes, such as the Butias, Nagas, theAbors, the Kamtis, the Singpohs, the Lushais and others, settled down on the southern slopes of the Himalayas and in the north-eastern Hills of Assam. The matriarchs, named Ullonggi and Ulongga were the matriarchs of athe Butias, while Bilma and Bisolma were the matriarchs of the Nagas. The children of the matriarchs Sikme and Dolse continued to settle down in the areas known as A'song Patari and Nokcholbari (Naxalbari), whence they spread out into the modern Garo and Khasi Hills into West Bengal and East Bengal, where they fused together with those of the rest of their same stock, who came from Burma through the modern Cachar. According to the old Traditional of the Garos, Ehera, a descendant of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob, is a mightly man of valour. His wife is named Behera, who is a descendant of Judah, another elderly son of Jacob.Behera is a woman of tremendous physical strength. She is wise, beautiful,virtuous, exceedingly resourceful and a truly womanly woman. Ehera takes his wife, his man-servants and woman-servants, come out of

Samaria, proceeds towards the east and settles down in a country, known as Sirit. It is in modern Asiatic Russia. Ehera's eldest son is named Japan while his second son is called A'chik, who is afterwards known as Garo to others. Japan takes his wife and his retainers and, under mystic guidance of Saka Misi Saljong, the Sun Divinity, proceeds further towards the East and ultimately settles down on an island, which is originally named Milit. Japan founds a kingdom. He multiplies, prospers and waxes rich and strong. A'chik, the second son of Ehera, gets married and remains at home with his parents. He would never knowingly soil his head with the dust and dirt of the earth by lying down to sleep on the ground.So he used to sleep standing at nights. In course of time, a house with a raised floor was build for him. Such a house is called Shang (or Chang). A'chik's mother Behera loves to dwell in the Shang-house. So, Behera is commonly known as Shangma, that is, the Mother of One, who dwells in the Shang. In course of time, Shangma become a name of the first moiety of A'chik, who came to be knownas A'chik Sangma. While at Sirit, a famous warrior, named Kimpol, is born in the family of Ehera. After a number of years Ehera and his growing family leave Sirit and settle down in a country, called Mojib, which is a low-lying land. In Mojib, at the blowing of sudden gusts of wind, the leaves of the Bolkinare tree(Litesaea Angustifolia) and other elements, such as sand, rocks, etc., appearto sing and shout at nights, as if in human voice. So, at last they moved up to the mountainous country, called Jin (Yin). Possibly, these are Yunan mountains in China. Here on

the mountains of Jin also, reverberating noises at nights,just as shouts and yells of human beings are occasionaly heard, although, besides themselves, there are no other groups of men there. The new settlers take the strange noctural sounds to be omnious, leave the mountains of Jin and came to settle down on the mountains of Chemang, which are in China. While settling here, a mighty valiant warrior, named Bangkaulah is born amongst them. Afterwards another mighty valiant warrior, named Ebang, is born amongst them. Both Bangkaulah and Ebang are the most renown heroes in those days. Birth of brave and strong warriors ensured sure growth and survival of the descendants of Ehera. With mighty men of valour amongst them the household of Ehera rapidly multiply, vastly extend their frontiers, greatly prosper and wax tremendously strong. They take possession of immensely vast stretches of productive land.They either drive away or anihilate or enslave the men of inferior races. Here Ehera's valiant host grow into a great and mighty warring highland nation.Through their indefatiable industry, they turn the land of their settlement in China into a proverbial ricebowl. Theirs is the happy, prosperous and productive land, where dwell the strong and noble of the humankind. Migration from the ancestral home in China into Tibet and Burma Under pressure of Budhism, the Garos, then known as Kiratas, start to leave their ancestral homeland in China and migrate into Tibet and Burma. The Garos used to perform animal sacrifices during rites of their solemn sanctities. They love

festivals,drinking, singing and dancing. On the advent of Budhism into China in about 2000B.C. killing of domestic animals in sacrifices, drinking of wine and acts of merrymaking are prohibited. This is the main reason of largescale migration of the Garos from their ancestral homeland in China into Tibet and Burma in about 2000 B.C. A large number of the Garos compromised with the rites and practices of the Budhist religion, remain in China and continue to remain there up to this day. But, as there is complete national integration in China today,they are not called Garos, A'chiks or Mandes there, but Chinese. There are enough of material evidences which serve to show that considerable remnants of the Garos do still exist in China. One concrete evidence of the existence of Garos in China these days is that, during the Chinese aggression against India in 1962, once a section of Indian soldiers lying in ambush at a sector in Ladakh shot one Chinese army officer of High Command dead at close range. On being hit by a bullet, the tall burly Chinese Officer cried out, "Aia,Man'jajok" The Indian Newspaper Reporters present there then along with the Indian solders in ambush noted down the dying words of the high rank Chinese millitary Commandant, who was coming ahead of the Army under his command, as their ears faithfully caught them, without knowing their meaning at all. The dying expression is pure A'chikku (Garo language), meaning "Ouch! I cannot stand anymore." These dying words definitely show that there are Garos still in China. This story was published in major Indian Newspapers of those eventful days. The Garos in

Tibet and Burma Unfortunately; in all traditional s of the Garos we have no measure of time for the days of the ancient Garolands in China, Tibet and Burma. The last ancient settlement of the Garos in China is known as Ola Olding Te'brong Changsim, which forms a part of another ancient Garo settlement in China, known as A'song Salaram, Chiga Mitechak, which literally means The Country of the East and the Watering-Place of the Sanctuary of the Divinity. No credible records of the migration of the Garos from China into Tibet and Burma are available. So we have to turn to the old traditional s of the Garos. In traditional s of the Garos, the names of their settlements in Tibet are variously given as A'song Tibotgiri, Chiga A'piljangsa, A'song Nenggabat, Chiga Nengchibat, A'song Nonoi, Chiga Nengguchiand A'song Na'ori Chiga Timbori, that is, the Country of Tibotgiri and Watering-Place of A'piljangsa, the Country of Nenggabat and the WateringPlace of Nengchibat, the Country of Nonoi and the Watering-Place of Nenggutchi and the country of Noari and the Watering-Place of Timbori. These ancestral homelands of the Garos are in the vast mountainous country, which is collectively called Torua. They are all within Tibet. Tura the capital town of the Garo Hills District in the State of Meghalaya, is named after Torua, the ancient Garo settlement in Tibet. As a fore-stated, the name of Burma is originated from the Garo word Borma (or Bormagrim) which means wooded-country.The Garo traditional s maintain that the Garos originally gave name of Burma to the country, which is

now known as Burma. Some races of the sameethnic stock such as the Shan, the Karen, the Man and others, who are closely a kin to the Garos, still live in Burma up today. The ancient Garo homeland, known as Ola Olding, Te'brong Changsim or Sambor Me'dikku, which is still identifiable in the vicinity of the extrreme north-eastern corner of India, is mentioned in another version of the ancient traditional of the Garos. This is a contiguous part of the ancient holy homeland of the Garos named A'song Salaram, Chiga Mitechak, which literally means the Country of the eastand the wateringplace of the sanctuary of the Divinity. This identifiable ancient holy homeland of the Garos borders with China on the East, with Tibet on the North, with Assam on the West and with Burma on the South. In all respects, A'song Salaram, Chiga Mitechak is traditionally the holiest and the most heroic ancient homeland in living memory of the Garos of traditional life and spirit. In the sacred devotional song, known as Doroa (Ordinance Song), itis still used to be sung of this holy ancient homeland as follows: "A'songSalaram, Chiga Mitechak; Gantini Ringringram, Chironggeni Jinjinram" This is,"Tis the Country of the East, Its the Watering Place of the Sanctuary of the Divinity, Where the Sisica sings sweet in ringing tunes, Where in the Waters swarms of Zebra fish, (Branchadanio Rerio) swim abouts." This sacred traditional song has an ineffable charm that only those that have the sense of Garo traditional life and spirit can fully know and appreciated. The origin of the name of Tibet The Bodo people are called Meches in West Bengal.

According to the book Bodo Jatir Porichay (Bengali) by Shri R.N. Brahma, the Bodo people,who once settled on the banks of the Mechi River at the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal were first called Meches after the name of the River. Bodomay be corruption of Borok. In the Tripura language Borok means man (or mande).The first king of the Bodo people was called Boddo who was known as Dharmapalaor Marmipha; Mr. R.M. Nath writes, "In ancient days, all Bodo and Garo people were settling in the country north of the Himalayas and south of China. The country was called Bod. The country was divided into different parts, one of which was called Kur-Bod and many other parts were called Hor. In the south of the Dod Country were settling Lama tribes, who embraced Budhism. The Lamas called their settlements Bsti-Bod, out of which the name Tibbot or Tibet has come. Divisions of the great Bodo group Some Bodo people in Assam are called Kacharis. According to Dr. S. K. Chatterjee, Kachar is the word which is derived from the Sanskrit word Kakshwat, which means valley or plain land and the people who settled in the valleys are called Kacharis. According to Dr.B.K. Kakati the word Kachari is out of the Sanskrit word Kakshat. Some authors are of the opinion that the word Kachari is of Koch plus Ari and Aroi means Mahari (Koch Mahari). According to Mr. R.N.Brahma, Kock and Mahari (KochMahari) is Kachari. In North Kachar the Bodo people are called Dimasa, which means the children of Dima, the great river. In all respects, the A'chik or Mandes (that is the Garos) are a division of the great Bodo group of people. The Garos of

the Bodo race and Kachari Rabha and Meches are of the same ethnic stock . According to Mr. P.C. Battacharya, the word Garo may be from the two Boro words Gar plus O, which means the separated nation. Migration into India. There is no record of the migration of the Garos from their settlements inTibet and Burma into India. No one can precisely say how long the Garos lived in Tibet and Burma. A traditional of the Garos maintains that brute necessity alone forced the forefathers of the Garos to leave their homeland in A'song Tibotgiri. According to the traditional s of the Garos, thefertility of the land in A'song Tibotgiri becomes terrifyingly diminished. In most parts of the country the soil of the land becomes parched as rainfall fails. The yields of paddy, millet, maize, cotton and other crops become poorer and poorer year by year. As a matter of fact, the land, where they live, givesthem little or no comestibles to keep body and soul together. Therefore, theGaros are compelled to leave their homeland in A'song Tibotgiri and shifttowards the sunnier south in search of new lands and pastures green, wherein tosettle down, to cultivate land and to enjoy fruit of their own labour. Fromtheir homes in A'song Tibotgiri, the migration-troupe moved on in ceremoniouslyorderly procession, accompanied by sounds of brass cymbals and beatings of ironthongs, amidst swayings of yak tails. Raji leads on the vanguard and Do'pacomes at the rearguard, while the patriarchs Jappa, Jalimpa, Sukpa, Bongipa,the matriarchs Sikme, Dolse, Himma, Bilma, Bisolma, Ullongga, Ullonggi, theirmen, women and children moved in the middle, as

led forward by thewarrior-patriarchs Asanpa, Chukangpa, Chondapa, Panangpa, Ku'mapa, Polangpa,Ku'krengpa, Toginpa, Damjangpa, Ku'sanpa, Dasingpa, Chu'panpa, Gisim, Kalsim,Raji and Do'pa. The men carried Mil'ams (two-edged Garo swords) and Sepi(rectangular shields) and Danils (round shields made of rhinoceros hide), bowsand arrows and other weapons of offence and defence in their hands and inbaskets on their backs, suspended on their heads by means of flat ropes, theybring loads of cereal seeds, agricultural implements, heirlooms and some otheressential things of intrinsic value. They bring with them also their ancientparchments, in which their arts, their science, their formulated prayers,mantras, incantations, their folk medicine, their esoteric practices, etc.,etc., are written in scripts of their own. Loss of Garo script The traditionals of the Garos maintain that, while on their way at a place, known asRupakhund in the modern Garhwall Hills, untold privations and formidablehardships befall the migration troupe. Their food-stocks ran dry and direstarvation stared them in the face. They found no edible thing in theinhospitable land of their temporary sojourn. Unable to bear the pangs ofhunger, the pilgrims boiled the ancient written parchments and made meals ofthem. They munched and swallowed their own ancient literature. Their ownvaluable scrip is thus lost to them. It is still believed that, on ofhaving devoured their written parchments, the interior walls of the bowels of theGaros still remain speckled and that, as divine wisdom and intuitional learningis inherently engrafted in

their nature, they are rendered capable ofperforming abtruse calculations without aid of written documents. Settlement inIndia The traditional s of the Garos hold that the migration-troupe fromTibet first arrived in high spirits at A'song Patari, Chiga Su'unchi, that is,the country of Patari and the Watering-Place of Su'unchi. It is identified tobe the modern Coch Behar and the surrounding areas, comprising the ancient Garosettlement of Nokcholbari (Naxalbari) which is identified to be Kalimpong inthe southern Bhutan. The Garos settled at A'song Patari Chiga Su'unchi for fourhundred years. Here they multiplied at a terrific rate, greatly prospered andwaxed strong. Theirs was unprecedented brash prosperity here. Their warriorsare keen, fleet and mighty in battle. They are terribly expert wielders oftheir formidable Mil'ams (two-edged Garo swords), while at the same time theycan turn their Sepis (rectangular shield) and Danils (shield made of rhinoceroshide) around themselves dexterously with lightning rapidity. Thousands of themare accurate marksmen as archers. Sons and daughters of gods A version of theGaro traditional s maintain that while the Garos were settling inNokcholbari, which they used to call A'song A'mikkongjimjim, Chiga RemaGongdingding, that is, the country with wide abyssmal terrain, where grow ratancanes, with thorny uprising stems, one beautiful Garo princess, named DipariMe'chik Nabari Tira, wins the iration and love of the God Shiva or Mahadeb,the Lord of the Mountains, by her sheer exquisite form and inborn qualities ofher

heart and head. With full imposing ceremonies, Mahadeb solemnizes hismarriage to her. After her marriage to the Lord Mahadeb, she was renamedParvati, that is, the divine mother of the strong and noble of the hill race.Parvati gives birth to the warrior-chieftains, named Chusenpa and Chugapa andtwo daughters, named Sikme and Donse. Chusenpa and Chugapa make themselvesfamous for all time by their superhuman deeds of daring and valour. They areinspired with sanguine hopes for the future of the Garo race. Fresh bathes ofnew commers from Burma While the migration troupe from Tibet settled,flourished and multiplied at An'seng Patari, Chiga Su'unchi, a fresh bath ofthe A'chiks or Mandes, that is Garos, under the leadership of Sukapa, came intoIndia from Burma via the land of the Nagas, Sau Basanpa and Ringgat Dingjepaare the most famous warrior-leaders of this migration troupe in those days.They valiantly fought their way into India through the hills of the land of theNagas. Available records confirm 1215 A.D. as the year of Sukapa's arrival inIndia from Burma. By about the same time, another batch of A'chiks, under theleadership of Raja Sirampa, fight their way through the land of the Nagas andcame to India. At the outset, Raja Sirampa and his followers settle down on thehill of Matcha Melaram, that is, the Mustering Place of Tigers, which isidentified to be the Landu Hill and its neighbourhood in the presentKamrup-Khasi Hills border about seven kilometers south of Boko. These two freshbatches of the A'chiks from Burma, who are all told twenty-one thousand innumber, (21,000) made

understanding brotherly s with the A'chiks, whocame from Tibet and who were settling at Raja Dum Patal, Rori Ohom Banggal,which is in present Goalpara District in Assam. Another version of thetraditional of the Garos maintain that a major batch of the Garos fromBurma came into India through modern Cachar and first settled in the areas,which are known as Sylhet and Dakka-Ron-Bhawal, which in later centuries cameto be collectively known as East Bengal, now Bangladesh. These areas were allcovered with forests, infested with wild beasts and snakes. It is stated thatthe Garos first reclaimed a good part of the wild country, now known asBangladesh from impenetrable jungles for purposes of Jhuming and thus firstmade them free from jungles. It is also stated that a number of Roris (aliens)came as migrants from elsewhere and settled down in the wide open clearingsmade by the Garos for Jhum-cultivation. They raised earth-dams on thefollowlands left by the Garos after jhuming and converted them into permanentploughlands, which prevented growth of jungles for periodic Jhuming of theGaros. In search of virgin jungles for Jhuming, the Garos moved northward.Notwithstanding, the Garos firmly held their own for generations in Sylhet and Dakka-Ron-Bhawalin East Bengal. The Garo country in East Bengal is known as A'bima, that is,Me'chikni A'king, the hereditarily-held land of female sector of the race. TheGaros found kingdoms in India A Garo matriarchal princess, named Keme, foundeda Garo kingdom at A'song Patari, Chiga Su'unchi. It is identified as theprincipality of Cooch Behar.

Later, Keme gave Rangme, a princess of the Atongdivision of the Garos, as Jikgite (concubine) to her husband. Ultimately, theruler of the Garo kingdom of Cooch Behar and his people succumbed to the wilesof Brahmins and converted themselves wholesale into Hinduism. As convertedHindus, they are practically lost to the Garos. A weal A'chik princess, namedAsne Kalsne whose husband is named Ako Decha shifted away from the Garosettlement at A'song Kamekhya, taking away her hosts of slaves, who aredescendants of Kingsari Kangsari (i.e. Kachari), and came to a place, known asLongka, which is identified to be in modern Nowgong district in Assam. But, asLilasingh, the Assam Raja, gave much trouble to her, Asne Kalsne moved awayfrom Longka towards the south into Cachar. Here she freed her slaves andembraced Hinduism. Ultimately, she came away from Cachar and settled down inthe country called Thibra Immeng and found a kingdom, which later came to beknown as Tripura State, with its Headquarters at Agartala. Asne Kalsne, as thematriarchal head of the Thimbra or Thibra A'chiks, her descendants are stillknown as Tripuras. As Asne Kalsne and her people were converted wholesale intoHinduism, her people are not practically taken as Garos, A'chiks or Mandes. Thenext important Garo settlement in India in what is now known as RangpurDistrict, now Bangladesh, is called Me'gongma Kolatchi, Udare Jakbri, whichliterally means the place of thirty clusters of Me'gong tree (BauhiniaVariegata) and of the fourleafted Udare tree (Sterculia Villosa). Throughindefatigable and bounless

industry, the Garos developed this place to anunprecedented degree. This land became a proverbial rice-bowl. To the outsideworld, the prosperous land and rich and mighty Gaur Kingdom hereabouts is usedto be known as Pal Garo Raj. For abundant riches and unbounded prosperity, thisancient Garo settlement was also called Rikgitok Nangsatram, Do'katchiNangroram, A'jarek Chija'pa that is, the well-watered fertile land, where rubyand turquoise are its stones. It is learnt from stray old records and from thehistory by Firishta that, after defeating Kidar (a Hindu king), Shangkal orShangkaldip, who came from Karatoya in Kamarupa, founded the Gaur Kingdom inBengal, that the natural symbol of the once mighty kingdom of Gaur was thebison (Gaur-Bilbos Gaurus) and that Shankal built the famous capital city ofGaur, which remained as the capital of Bengal for over two thousand years.Elsewhere Shangkal or Shankaldip is written as Shangkar, the Great Garo King ofGaur. This Gaur Kingdom was destroyed in 1198 A.D. by a Muhammedan general,named Baktiyar, who was later drowned in the Brahmaputra River. The originalGaur Kingdom in Bengal was first shifted into Hindu hands before it was finallyand completely destroyed by the Mussalmans. The Hinduized Garo rulers of Gaurhad first subtly cut off the vital threads or links of the ancient Gaur (orGaro) culture, tradition and spirit and weakened it. The original Gaur (orGaro) civilization disappeared by disintegration in the face of more forcefulAryan influences. Hinduized Gaur (or Garo) civilization completely disappearedunder Muslim

invation. On the ruins of the mighty Gaur Kingdom in Bengal - adim suggestion of what once it was - we had better furnish the followingcryptic words of a journalist, who writes, under the pseudonym of Eskay, in TheStateman (Daily) of February 13th 1961, as follows :"Gaur today is like aforgotten graveyard, brooding in its loneliness." "The triumph of jungle isalmost complete here" "The jungle keeps its secrets, enveloped in the silenceof death." "No trace remains of ancient Kingdom of Gaurya Bangla." "Historybegins with the Muslim conquest of 1198 A.D." The extensive ruins of the cityof Gaur partly in India and partly in Bangladesh can still be seen. The GaurKingdom in Sylhet Available records on the Gaur Kingdom of Sylhet areexceedingly scanty. According to available historical records, the Gaur Kingdomin Sylhet was first invaded by a Hindu King, named Balal Sen, who defeated theGaur King, and in 1450 A.D., a Mahommedan adventurist, named Zamani Shah Jalal,had invaded and sacked the Gaur Kingdom in Sylhet. The Mahommedan invasion ofthe kingdom in 1450 A.D. had written a finis to the chapter on the Gaur Kingdomin Sylhet. The Muslim conquests of the Gaur kingdoms in Bengal and Sylhet,respectively in 1198 A.D. and 1450 A.D., are stark sudden confrontations andupheavals. And, in the absence of charismatic leadership, the Gaurs neverraised their heads again ever since 1450 A.D. Rubbles of Gaur civilizationThough the forces of history of the Gaurs are forgotten, the ruined buildingsand massive earthworks are still extensively seen in West Bengal, in the Sylhetdistrict in Bangladesh

and in the Cachar district in Assam. These ruins arecalled "Ruins of the Buildings (Dalans) of the Garos" by the non Garo localinhabitants in West Bengal and Sylhet in Bangladesh. On the south about threekilometers from village Rajae, Police Station Sunamganj district Sylhet inBangladesh, extensive ruined Gaur buildings are seen village Rajae is on thewest bank of the Gincy River, the upper stage of which is in Khasi HillsDistrict in Meghalaya is called Patali River. On the north of village Rajae isa stream, known as Bura Thakur, which rises out of a limestone hill in LangrinSyiemship in Khasi Hills District. Ruined buildings of the Gaurs are also seenat a place, known as Lau, now renamed Lahur, in Sylhet district in Bangladesh.It is not far from Sylhet-Khasia Hills border. A massive dam in Rajanagar inCachar district in Assam extends from the Gogra River to the Borak River. It isknown as Gaur or Jangal Bundh. This monumental bund is stated to have beenconstructed by Gaur kings. The Gaurs in the Diaspora What of the Gaurs in theDiaspora? Some learned scholars confirm that Garo is a curruption of Gaur orGour. It is undoubtedly attested by an old written record of Shankal, who builtthe capital city of Gaur in Bengal and who is usually mentioned as "Shangkal,the great Garo King of Gaur." Amongst the ancient Gaurs, Booneah is the head ofa clan, sib or a tribe. Booneah or Nokma is still the head of a sib (Mahari orChatchi), clan or tribe amongst the Garos of present day. This is also anirrefutable proof that the Gaurs or Gours are Garos. The fact of commonveneration of the ancient Gaurs and of the Garos of traditional life and

spiritof the present day for the cow is another irrefutable proof that the Garos ofthe present age are the disinherited remnants of the ancient Gaurs or Gours.Not only in the land of the living, but also in "the bourne from which notraveller returns," the cow was an object of great sanctity to the ancient Guars.The cow is still sacred to the Garos of traditional life and spirit of today.It is still attested by the performance of the post-funeral rites, known asMangona wherein the killing of bulls is primarily meant to release the bovinespirits that they may accompany the spirits of the deceased, for whom they areslaughtered, into the holy and happy spheres in the Great Beyond. Along withthe Garos, other surviving tribals, such as Koches, the Meches, the Rabhas, theLalungs, the Kacharies, the Banaes, the Boros, the Tripuras, the Chakmas, theMungs, the Mikirs, the Nagas, the Kukis, the Mizos, the Jaintias, the Lakhars,the Khasias and other hill and plains tribals, whose forebears had notsuccumbed to the process of Islamization during the Muslim conquest, but someof whom had been Hinduized, still remain as living potsherds of the once mightyGaur Raj, known also as Gaur Somrat, that is Gaur Empire in India. TheJaintiapur Kingdom Available historical records serve to show that the king ofthe Jaintiapur Kingdom in Sylhet was a Garo by birth, who, like the kings ofCooch Behar, Tripura and the Gaur Kingdom in Bengal, was converted intoHinduism, in which the worship of the created instead of the Creator stressed.Unfortunately, probably as penalty for forsaking the original traditions,beliefs, ceremonies and observances of his

ancient venerable forebears, thekings of the Jaintiapur Kingdom and the Kingdom itself had mysteriously falleninto the dust of forgotten things. The twilight set in Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan,M.A., B.L., D.Litt. while a professor in Government Cotton College, Gauhati, in1932 said to the writer, "There are enough of material evidences in the archaicrecords that all the zamindaries (principalities) in Bengal, East Bengal, Beharand Assam were originally founded by the Garos. How they all ed intonon-Garo hands are matters of history." As head of the historical andantiquarian studies d to Cotton College, Gauhati, Dr. S.K. Bhuyan, wholater became the Vice-Chancellor of the university of Gauhati, also stated tothe writer in 1932 that during the 7th to the 9th centuries, the Garos werestrong and the most innumerable in number, especially in Assam and Bengal. Whenasked where and how are the strong and innumerable Garos, as a race, lost, hestated that most of the ancient Garo kings, chieftains and leaders and theirmen were converted either into Hinduism or into Islam. Dr. Bhyan's words carryweight. As far as the historical research of the writer is concerned, Dr.Bhuyan's words are proved to be true. With the destruction of the Gaur kingdomsin Bengal and Sylhet, with the conversions of the Garo kings of Cooch Behar,Tripura and Jaintiapur kingdoms and thousands of their men into Hinduism, andwith the forcible or voluntary conversion of thousands of the Garos in Sylhetand elsewhere into Islam during 12th to the 14th centuries A.D., the twilighthad really set in upon the

Garos. And a distorted view of the world around themduring the period as from 1198 A.D. to 1947 A.D. brought the Garos the presentdissaster. "When civilization culminates," says Dr. Alfred North Whitehead inhis book The Adventures of Ideas, "the absence of coordinating philosophy ofof life, spread throughout the community, spells decadence, boredom andslackening of effords." Ever since the destruction of the Gaur kingdoms by theMuhammedans in 1198 A.D. and 1450 A.D. the Gaurs or the Garos, as a whole, havebeen mercilessly martyrized mumanly, inhebited creatively, meted out andtrodden down under foot by the stupidities of a manmade world in India. Untolddecimation of the Garos During the last nine hundred years, the Garos hadbecome deeply enmeshed, owing to their complex relationship with the Hindus,with the Muhammedans and with the British, in the internal ramifications ofIndia's decades of upheaval. And during this period, through coerciveconversions of Garo chieftains and their people mostly into Hinduism and Islam,through foul murders and massacres of the Garos at the hands of ruthless invaders,through ceaseless wholesale abductions and kidnappings of the flower of Garowomenfolk by organized armed gangs of miscreants, through shortsighted,narrow-visioned internecine strifes and fightings, and through wantonhead-hunting raids of the Garos themselves even upon of their own racein preBritish period, the numbers of the Garos, as a race, got decimated in nosmall degree. Dawn of matriarchism Seeing slow and steady dismal decrease ofGaro

womenfolk through abductions, kidnappings, seductions and coercivemarriage of them to the Roris (aliens), the Garo chieftains and leaders held ameeting in the Nokpante (Bachelor's house) of Bonepa at Rangbilda, a place inthe border of modern Kamrup and modern Khasi Hills, not far south of modern Boko,in about 1265 A.D., under presidentship of Raja Sirampa. Prominent Garo leader,such as Kotta Nangrepa, Muga Dingsepa and heads of families and leaders fromthe Dolois (Khasis) and Me'gams (Lyngams) and Kotchus attended the meeting. Inthe meeting it was unanimously decided to keep daughters as heirs to houses andproperty and to get the heir-designates married to the sons of their maternaluncles, that is, the elder of younger brother of their mothers. Here theyformulated the customary under which matriarchism should function and all thosepresent unanimously approved them. This is how the matrilineal system dawnedamongst the Garos. Other ancient settlements of the Garos in Assam and BengalThe migration-troupe of the Garos from Tibet, which came through modern Ladakand the Garwall Hills, first settled at A'song Patari, Chiga Su'unchi, which isdefinitely identified to be the area of modern Cooch Behar. The migrationtroupe of the Garos from Burma who came through the modern Naga Hills underleadership of Sukapa, settled at a place, which they styled as Matma Erururam,Kitma Nanggitoram, that is, where buffaloes muster strong and where the kitmatree (rhus semialata) shoot up their cluster of fruits. Lateron, this place wasrenamed Raja Dum Patal, Rori Ohom Banggal. It

marks the ancient boundarybetween Assam and Bangal. It is in modern Goalpara district in Assam. SauBasanpa and Ringgat Dingjepa were famous warrior-leaders in thismigration-troupe. The second batch of Garo newcomers from Burma, who camethrough Cachar under under Raja Sirampa, first settled on the hill of MatchaMelaram, that is, the mustering place of tigers. This place is identified to bethe Landu Hill, about seven kilometers south of modern Boko in Kamrup districtin Assam. Later on Raja Sirampa and his multitude of followers shifted toRongro Rongkimjeng, Chian'cheng Dasang on the Il'dek river in modern GaroHills. Ultimately Raja Sirampa ruled as the last sovereign Garo king at OlaOlding, Te'brong Changsim, which is identified as modern Habraghat Pargana inGoalpara district in Assam. The third batch of the migration-troupe of theGaros came from Burma and settled in the area, which is known as Sylhetdistrict, now in Bangladesh. There is a moderately high hill in Sylhet district,which is still known as Garo Hills up to date. A considerable number of theGaros from this migration-troupe came away and settled down at a place known asDakka-Ron-Bhawal, which is identified as the defunct Bhowal Zamindari, nearDacca, now Bangladesh. In of time, the Garos established theirflourishing colony, known as A'bima them. It is still identifiable as A'bima inTangail sub-division in Mymensingh district in Bangladesh. Under the governmentact 1935, the British government still recognized the area under the PoliceStations Kulmakanda, Durgapur, Haluaghat, Nalitabari, Sribordi

and Sherpur innorth Mymensingh district, now in Bangladesh, as collectively essentially Garocountry. On this Garo Country, now in Bangladesh, the British Governmentstated, "Into this area then under jungle the Garos, came some 150 years ago.They were the first to open the country." (Vide page 10, Government of IndiaAct, 1935 Indian Reprint.) Regarding the area, known to the Garos as A'bima,now in Bangladesh, the traditional s of the Garos maintain that theGaros, who are still living in A'bima, and the Garos of Assam (now Meghalaya)have been remaining estranged from one another for centuries; that a happy newera will be ushered in when the A'chiks or Mandes of A'bima would come tointimately known the A'chiks or Mandes of the other areas in India and thatthen the new day will dawn when the Garos, as a race, will begin to know theword written on their foreheads and will come to realise their destiny. Thefirst internecine war The famous warriors named Indro Ja'chingpa, Ku'chokpa,Mejimpa, Chokpa, Ruangpa, I'lak-Bikapa, Dinga-Goakpa, Chimlungpa, Chichakpa andChikajongpa, who are descendants of Ullongga-Ullonggi lived at Raja Dum Patal,Rori Ohom Banggal, in the best of mutual understanding and friendship with thenewly arrived A'chiks or Mandes. In all affairs of living, they cooperated withone another in the friendliest and in the most cordial relationships. Thecorporate tribal feeling was then excellently strong amongst them. In thosedays, there lived an exquisitely enchantingly beautiful A'chik princess, namedJude Silchi, the daughter of Kangri. In course of years, the warrior-

leadersKu'chokpa and Mejimpa both wanted to marry Juge; but the A'chiks refused togive her in marriage to either. Thereupon, Ku'chokpa and Mejimpa and their menstarted hostilities against the A'chik and attacked them. This is the firstinternecine war amongst the sons of mother Parvati. As the A'chik warriors, whofought for protection of Juge Silchi, proved themselves too strong for those,who started the war, the assailants immediately sued for peace andreconcilition. Peace was restored but with ill-smouldering feelings and senceof lowered prestige on the side of the men who started the war. During thehostilies the Garos excavated a rockcave, wherein to conceal Juge Silchi. Thisrock-cavity, where Juge Silchi was safely hidden during the war is still knownas Jugigopa. It is still indentifiable in the modern Goalpara district inAssam. Juge Silchi was afterwards married to a worthy Garo warrior leader,named Rap Radopa. The most prominent Garo chieftains and warriorleaders atRaja Dum Patal, Rori Ohom Banggal are Raja Eningpa, Baucheng, Basucheng, UrjaRakgipa, Maran Dal'gipa, Doron Rakgipa, Chinding Dal'gipa, Tengil, Nagong,Asan, Daknal, Olbin, Kongdep, Chusenpa, Chugapa, Sumod, Chakrang, Dasing,Ejing, Gunal, Jalin, Katmang, Rotang, Salmang, Singba and Torang. They were allmighty men of valour, who constituted the main pillars of the Garo race inthose days. The first encounter with the Muslims While the Garos, sprawled overin the areas, now aratificially known as district of Rangpur, Jalpaiguri,Goalpara, Darrang and Kamrup, the first Moghul invasion of Assam took place in1498 A.D. The

Moghul invaders come in hostile against the Garos, whoheld sway over the whole area, lying on the north and north-west bank of theSongdu (Brahmaputra) River. There were erudite medicine-men and profoundoccultists amongst the Garos in this area. The Garo medicine-men and occultistsmuster strong in small batches on top of hillocks, which dot the area, whilethe alert stalwart Garo warriors dressed in Pandrang (Garo war dress) andgrasping Mil'am (two-edged Garo swords) and Sepis in their hands, lie waitingin ambush at the foot of hillocks. As thousands of Muhammedan troops came onfoot and riding on elephants and horses towards them, the arcane Garo adepts ormedicine-men, known as OstalGunwals, took up dust of the earth in their palmsand utter their potent Norsing Mantras and blow dust off their palms withforcible puffs of their breaths towards the advancing hordes. Instantaneously,the infantry-men fell backwards and the riders fell tumbling down off the backsof their elephants and horses. The waiting Garo warriors swiftly rushed out with deafening war-hoops and cut the fallen Moghul troops to pieces. In suchways the Garos killed hundreds of thousands of Muhammedan troops and delayedthe Moghul invasion of Assam up to 1662 A.D. The Moghul generals held warcouncils and decided to make friends with the Garos, saying, "The Garos cannotbe defeated by mere force of military might. They appear to possess unknown supernatural powers. By every conceivable means, we must make friends with theGaros. If we win over the Garos, Assam is ours." The Moghul-Garo friendship hadcost the Garos too dear. On

the Muhammedans making friends with the Garos, theGaros were not collectively wise enough for their corporate safety. In the longrun, Moghul generals married a number of Garo princesses and the Garochieftains were done to death through every conceiable foul means. (VideTharik-I-Islam 1074 pages) by Abu Nuim Nishtar Jullundri & Abdul MamidSahid. (Printed by Pakistan Times Press, Lahore.) Foul murders at Raja DumPatal, Rori Ohom Banggal While the Garos settled at Raja Dum Patal, Rori OhomBanggal, an annual sacrificial feast in worship of their deity, named Somria,came off. The old Garo patriarchal chieftains and warrior-leaders took activeparts in the sacrificial feast and the former hostile warrior-leaders, namelyKu'chokpa and Mejimpa and their men, feigning great friendship and seemingguiltlessness, under cloak of merriment, ed the sacrificial feast. The Garopatriarchal chieftains, warrior-leaders and their men and women, without theleast suspicion, ate and drank together with their former hostile leaders andchieftains. Having their personal vendetta against the Garo chieftains and warrior-leaders, Ku'chokpa and Mejimpa got their own men to secretly poison thefood and drink, which were dispensed to the Garo chieftains andwarriorleaders. Through poisoned food and drink, Raja Eningpa, Maran Dal'gipa,Asan, Jalwa and sons of Jappa and Jalimpa and other warrior-leaders were doneto death. On of the treacherous deal in the sacrificial feast, freshhostilities ensued between the Garos and the descendants of Ullonggi. Crossingthe Songdu (Brahmaputra) river Being aware of the fact that in

collusion withthe Raja of Cooch Behar and and the new Raja Dobani, the belligerent sons ofUllongga Ullonggi are mustering vast numbers of men to attack the Garos oncemore, the surviving Garo chieftains and warriorleaders decided to cross theSongdu river to the other side. In exchange for two beautiful maidens, namedDimri and Miri, they secure three hundred Dum-atia plaintaintree trunks fromone Nokma Chigatpa, made rafts of them and ferried their men, women andchildren across the river to the other side at a place called Nenggabad,Nengchibad, which identified to be Dolguma in modern Goalpara district, Assam.The descendants of Dimri and Miri remained as the Miris up to date. Battle ofSambor Me'dikku The Garos gathered together at a place known to them as SamborMe'dikku. Non Garos call this place Garomari Toplakawa. As the Garos took theirmidday meal at this place, Ku'chokpa and Mejimpa and their allies, namely RajaDobani and the Raja of Cooch Behar and their men make a sudden surprise attackupon them. The Garos stubbornly fought back the enemies. Even the Garo womenreadily took up Mil'ams and fought side by side with their men in this war. Thebattle lasted for seven days and seven nights. Both sides suffered heavycasualities. The Garos beheaded all the attacking chieftains andwarrior-leaders, including the new Raja Dobani and the Raja of Cooch Behar, whowere found among the slain. Mourning for the dead and performing customaryfuneral obsequies, the Garos spent seven days and seven nights at a placecalled Rong'mikseram, Tangka Datram. During the funeral

ceremonies, twobeautiful Garo princesses, named Rongse and Mikse cried so movingly for thedeceased that they themselves died of broken hearts. The Garo warrior-leaders,respectively named Baucheng, Basucheng, Olbin, Kongdep, Chusengpa and Chugapa,signally distinguished themselves in this battle. Their unrecordedlife-histories and vignettes are burried in oblivion, though. Garo settlementsafter the battle at Sambor Me'dikku In course of years the battle of Sambor Me'dikku,the Garos established their settlements at places, known as Choitara, Raitara,Phekro, Danema, Ola Olding, Te'brong Changsim, Sambor Metongbor and A'songKamakhya, Chiga Chironggi, which, in reminiscence of their former ancienthomeland, they also called it A'song Salaram, Chiga Mitechak, that is, thecountry of the East and the Sanctuary of the Divinity. Likewise, another newGaro settlement is also called Ola Olding, Te'brong Changsim in reminiscence oftheir former ancient homeland. The most prominent chieftains andwarrior-leaders of the Garos at A'song Kamakhya, Chiga Chironggi were; Chiokpa,Chuginpa, Jalwa, Bingku, Dokka, Nibo, Changbo, A'cha, Changwa, Nilgowe, Salismaand Salwa. They were all men of valour. As men of heroic mould, they were mastersof the art of warfare. In course of years, Garos at A'song Kamakhya, ChigaChironggi were greatly harassed by one Assam Raja, named Lilasingh, who triedto reign with tyranny over the Garos. A war against Lilasingh Lilasingh, theAssam Raja, repeatedly encroached upon the rights of the Garos and as an archautocrat, tried to keep them

under his control. Therefore, the Garos of A'songKamakhya, Chiga Chironggi were compelled to wage war against Raja Lilasingh.The Garo warriorleaders, who signally distinguished themselves in the waragainst Lilasingh were: Gume, Roti, Asak, Jarin, Do'mepa, Sakso, Wa'sang, Atu,Bodingring, Kapesa, Jajang, Silma and Rotang. Arambit Raja comes into thepicture Arambit Raja Isha Doba, who is known also as Isha Khan, the Garo rulerof Kijirpur, was forced to flee out of his kingdom owing to attack uponKijirpur by the Muhammedans in overwhelming numbers. Kijirpur is identified tobe in the area of the East Bengal, now Bangladesh. With a strong band offaithful followers, Arambit Raja came to the Garo homeland at A'song Kamakhya,Chiga Chironggi, where he was warmly welcomed. He sojourned there. A Garoprincess, named Keme Rangme, the grand-daughter of Jugi Silchi, was given inmarriage to Arambit Raja. Keme Rangme told Arambit Raja of the oppression andharrasment of her people by the Assam Raja Lilasingh. Therefore, Arambit RajaIska Doba ed hands with the Garo warriors against Raja Lilasingh. Atlength, Lilasingh, the Assam Raja was completely defeated and humiliated by theGaros. Never again Lilasingh dared raise his finger against the Garos. By andby, Arambit Raja established his last residence on the Hill of Matcha Melaram;the Mustering Place of Tigers. It is also known as Baghmela Pahar. This hill isidentified to be the Landu Hill, about seven kilometers distant south ofpresent Boko townlet in Kamrup district in Assam. Arambit Raja becomes heir

tothe house of Raja Sirampa. Raja Sirampa's Queen is named Nore-Jase. ArambitRaja's son-in-law and heir is named Ageng Randa, whose spouse is named Noetaje.Ageng Randa's renowned brother-in-law were called Mugarik and Salmejang.Assault on the Tiger-Men While Garos settled at A'song Kamakhya, ChigaChironggi, there lived in the rock-cave of the hill of Matcha Melaram, now knownas Landu Hill, a strange race of tiger-men, called Matchadu or Dudurong orMatcha Budabudi. In the day time, the of the Matchadu community lived,walked about and worked as human beings; but; as the shades of night fell uponthe world, they were all physically transformed into tigers. And, as tiger,they hunted, fished and killed men. The Matchadus proved themselves as a sourceof harassing thouble to the Garos. Therefore, under the leadership of MugaDingsepa, Kotta Nangrepa, Koron Dal'gipa, Rakwa Nengjapa, the Garos made asurprise attack upon seven hundred of the tiger-men, and speared them all todeath at a place called Matcha Dingram under the shadow of the rock-cave Billof Matcha Melaram. Only one pregnant Matchadu woman survived, out of whom theMatchadus still exist today. For killing the tiger-men, the Garos werethenceforth called Hana Bongso by other races. Legent of Arambit Raja Aninstance of chtonic power is mentioned in an old Garo Legend, which says thatone day, Arambit Raja entered into deep recesses of the rockcave of MatchaMelaram and never came out, and that, through an esoteric act of some sort ofsuspended animation, he still slumbers in the depths of the rock-

cave providedthat no mention of his name is made for then generations, he will someday breakforth to bring the golden age, an age of abundance, harmony, peace andhappiness, to the Garos. Shift from A'song Kamakhya Assam Raja Lilasingh'ssuccessor continued to give trouble the the Garos of A'song Kamakhya, Chiga Chironggi.Therefore, groups of the Garos started to steadily shift away from theirhomeland in A'song Kamakhya, Chiga Chironggi and form consolidated settlementsin diverse places, known as Gurenok Wa'tesa, Chameragu A'tottru, Rangsa Agal,Dileng Patel, Sangkati Wakmetom, Matia Panchia, Phekro Danema, BotolramSingsolram, Rongro Rongkimjeng, Chian'cheng Dasreng, Sambor Metongbor, OlaOlding, Te'brong Changsim and Sambor A'ding or Erong Pahar. These places aredefinitely identified to be in modern south Kamrup and south Goalpara districtin Assam. Battle of Sambor A'ding At the end of eighty-four years ofestablishment of the Garo settlement at Ola Olding, Te'brong Changsim, RajaBehari and Raja Bijni and their warriors attacked the Garos again. Raja Sirampaand the prominent Garo leaders, namely, Sau Basanpa, Muga Dingsepa, Abrasen,Daepa and Jarongpa, decided to offer them battle. Raja Sirampa's own fightingmen numbered six thousand eitht hundred seventy-two. A sanguinary battle wasfought for seven days and seven nights on the hillock of Sambor, known as ErongPahar, now identified to be in the southern bank of Goalpara district. In thisbattle Raja Behari, Raja Bijni and all their warriors were completely routed.The Garo warrior-leaders;

Habrasen, Daepa, Jarongpa Rakgipa, Choron, Udeng,Chakgreng, Dalen, Ejing, Danggip, Kompa, Dabit, Sinta, Ureng, Saleng, Mikdang,Derang, Barit, Salam, Eram, Sintu, Dadi, Regan, Dajing, Togin and Basing badsignally distinguished themselves in this war. Some prominent forebears of theGaros According to a version in the traditional of the Garos, somefamous and prominent matriarchs and patriarchs founded petty states and principalities, as shown hereunder: Kangbe, Kangdik, Do'ka and Chalgong are thefirst Garo settlers in Doronggiri, which, in course of time, came to be knownas Habraghat Parganas. It is in the south bank of Goalpara district in Assam.Rua and Dega are first A'chik forefathers to settle at Songsugre, which came tobe known later as Lokhi Rani of Rani Gudam, in the south of modern Gauhati. Thestate of Luki, known also as Borduar, now defunct, belonged to Snal BolonggreMahari (sib) of the Garos. A'timot and Sandia are the forebears of the Garosettlers at Darugre; while Sangkra and Mangkra are the first Garo settlers atNengkra. Auk Raja, Asilik Gitel, Asan and Jingbi Raja are the foremost A'chiksettlers of Mangsang. Raja Abong Chirepa, the son of Jingbi Raja, and his QueenSilme Do'ka were first rulers of the major portion of the hill area, now known asGaro Hills. They first established their headquarters at Matmawari in thepresent village-land of Chimagre. Later on, they shifted to a site on the spur of the Mongre Hill on the left bank of the Simsang river at Mrik Wari. RajaAbong Chirepa is a mighty valiant warrior. He ushered in forced labour in hiskingdom. He assigned

particular tasks to different villages or groups ofvillages, which were obliged to carry out their respective production targets.Raja Usung and his Queen Dikme founded petty State at Chuchong, commonly knownas Batbali Dokabalik Kewalghat Ring-chobatram on the left bank of the SimsangRiver. This kingdom is known as Chuchong A'king, that is, the Hereditarily-highland of Chuchong. Deba Rakgipa and Gocheng Dal'gipa, respectively of Manda andRongmithu sib immeasurable aided Raja Using in founding this Chuchongprincipality. A vagrant fugitive from distant Kanouj, named Someswari Thakuralias Someswari Pattak, in the garb of the Brahmin took shelter at Chuchong andin 1280 A.D. poisoned to death the then reigning Garo king, Baisa Garo andusurped power over this Garo State.