The Garos: Les Garos

End of the trip of Gabrielle BERTRAND and Jean NAZ in the State of Assam, in India, to discover the tribe of the Garos. The images are commented on by voice-over by Jean NAZ. The Garos transport the cotton crop in hoods weighing several kilos to sell on the market. Garos village with houses on stilts and funeral posts bearing the effigy of the deceased. Ceremony on the occasion of the initiation of a young boy of 7 years ready to join the house reserved for men: sacrifice of a pig, altar sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice, Garos feast meal. The sacrifice of a goat for the healing of a sick person. Garo dances on the cover of a house.

Gabrielle BERTRAND also wrote a book on his visit to Assam, India, in 1953 and 1954 named Secret Lands Where Women Reign translated from French Terres Secrktes ozl Rlgnenl les Femmes, Paris, 1956. The Book discusses half the book deals with the Garo, a shorter section with the Khasi, and still briefer mention is made of the Apa Tani and a few others. It is a well written and sometimes exciting story and includes considerable data on the kinship, political organization, and especially on the religion and mythology of people for whom there is still a woefully little competent anthropological description.