The Funerary Rituals Among Some Ancient A•chik Indigenous Groups in Garo Hills Meghalaya, India

Tiana Tarin D. Arengh* and Tilok Thakuria

North-Eastern Hill University, India; *tiana.arengh@gmail.com

The paper explores the funerary rituals among A•chik indigenous groups prior to the advent of modernism. The A•chik are one of the major indigenous groups of Meghalaya, India. The region they occupy is called the Garo Hills. The tradition and cultural practices of the A•chik are unique to them. They cremate the body and inter the residual bones in an urn. The interred urn is then covered with a stone slab, the size of a boulder. The stone, or Krom, once placed cannot be removed. They install wooden posts, or Kima, which are erected in the front yard in memory of the deceased as a part of the funerary rituals. Death according to A•chik belief is temporary and human life never truly ceases. Death is only a vehicle that transports life from the visible world to the invisible world of spirits. According to their belief, the dead live in the underworld known as Balpakram until their time comes for reincarnation. To make sure that the passing spirit is reborn in the same family lineage and with the same economic background, they follow a series of elaborate and strict death rituals. The sacrifice of a human slave and a bull is an integral part of the ceremony. The occasion of death is mourned for the fact that they will no longer be seen and rejoiced at the same time in hopes that they will be reborn again in due course.