The Garo people are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group who live mostly in the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya with a smaller number in neighbouring Bangladesh.

[12] It is estimated that the total Garo population in Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, West Bengal, Canada, the US, Europe, Australia, and Bangladesh combined is more than 1 million.

The present generation of Garo forming minority groups in these states of India does not generally speak their ethnic language any longer.

[citation needed] Garo also forms small communities in various other parts of the world including Canada, America, Australia, and the United Kingdom .

This system was devised by American Baptist missionaries, based on a northeastern dialect of Garo[citation needed].

A·beng or Am·beng, Matabeng, Atong, Me·gam, Matchi, Dual [Matchi-Dual], Ruga, Chibok, Chisak, Gara, Gan·ching [Gara-Gan·ching], A·we etc are few among the dialects of Garo people.

The first translation of the Garo Bible was published in 1924 and the official language in schools and government offices is now English[citation needed].

Records of the tribe by expanding Mughal armies and by East India Company officials in what is now Bangladesh wrote of the warlike nature of the people.

The earliest written records about the Garo date from around 1800, and were described by officials of the East India Company as follows: "... looked upon as bloodthirsty savages, who inhabited a tract of hills covered with almost impenetrable jungle, the climate of which was considered so deadly as to make it impossible for a white man to live there.

The Garo had the reputation of being fierce headhunters, the social status of a man being decided by the number of heads he owned".

[15] In December 1872, the Government of India dispatched a military expedition to the Garo Hills to establish control over the region.

[citation needed] By the early 1900s, the American Baptist Mission was active in the area, working from Tura, Meghalaya.

Traditionally, women were forbidden from entering the Nokpante, and any woman who broke this rule was considered tainted or "marang nangjok."

Women who belong to remote villages in the Garo hills wear an eking, a small cloth worn around the waist.

After marriage, the husband typically resides in his wife's household, reflecting the matrilineal nature of Garo society.

[18] Other foods such as kochu, dried fish, bamboo shoots, sorrell, sweet potato, pumpkin, gourd, and banana are also popular.

[19] Although meat is eaten less often, the flesh of wild animals, beef The Garo have traditionally used a kind of potash in curries, which is obtained by burning dry pieces of plantain stems or young bamboo, known locally as kalchi or katchi.

[citation needed] The '100-drum festival' is held in Asanang near Tura in the West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India usually in October or November.

The pantes beat a kind of long drum called dama in groups and play bamboo flutes.

For the Wangala festival, Garo travels from every corner of the city to the Lalmatia Housing Society ground to gather and celebrate.

The annual festival, conceptualised in 2008, is aimed to promote and brand this part of the region as a popular tourist destination by giving an opportunity for the local people to showcase their skills and expertise.

The three-day fest features a gala event with a carnival, cultural show, food festival, rock concert, wine festival, angling competition, ethnic wear competition, children's fancy dress, DJ Nite, exhibitions, house, and other games.