Garo tribe

The Garos are indigenous people in Meghalaya, India and neighboring areas of Bangladesh
like Mymensingh, Netrokona and Sylhet, who call themselves Achik Mande (literally "hill
people," from achik "hill" + mande "people") or simply Achik or Mande.[1] They are the
second-largest tribe in Meghalaya after the Khasi and comprise about a third of the local
population. The Garos are one of the few remaining matrilineal societies in the world.
According to one such oral tradition, the Garos first immigrated to Garo Hills from Tibet
(referred to as Tibotgre) around 400 BC under the leadership of Jappa Jalimpa, crossing
the Brahmaputra River and tentatively settling in the river valley. The Garos finally settled
down in Garo Hills (East-West Garo Hills), finding both providence and security in this
uncharted territory and claiming it their own. Various records of the tribe by invading
Mughal armies and by British observers in what is now Bangladesh wrote of the brutality
of the people.
Garos are mainly Christians,[2] although there are some rural pockets where the traditional
animist religion and traditions are still followed.

Khasi tribe
The Khasi are an indigenous or tribal people, the majority of whom live in the State of
Meghalaya in north east India, with small populations in neighbouring Assam, and in parts
of Bangladesh. They call themselves Ki Hyniew trep, which means "the seven huts" in the
Khasi language. Their language Khasi is the northernmost Austroasiatic language. This
language was essentially oral until the arrival of European missionaries. Particularly
significant in this regard was a Welsh missionary, Thomas Jones, who transcribed the
Khasi language into Roman Script. The Khasi people form the majority of the population of
the eastern part of Meghalaya
Jaintia tribe
The name "Pnar" is an endonym, while "Jaintia" and "Synteng" are exonyms (used by the outsiders).[1]
The word "Jaintia" is derived from the name of a former kingdom, the Jaintia Kingdom, whose rulers
were Syntengs. One theory says that the word "Jaintia" is ultimately derived from the name of the
shrine of Jayanti Devi or Jainteswari, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga. Another theory says
that the name is derived via Synteng from Sutnuga, a former settlement; the myth of Jayanti Devi was
probably created after the Hinduisation of the Jaintia kingdom

Hinduism was not widespread among the Jaintias, although the royals and the nobles had
adopted Hinduism.[3]
The original tribal religion of the Jaintias is known as Niamtre.[4] The Jaintia tribals believe that
their religion is God-given (not founded by man) and comes to this world by God's decree.
Adi

Adi people performing their traditional war dance

The Adi, or Bokar Lhoba people [1] is one of major Tani tribe living in the Himalayan hills of
Arunachal Pradesh. They are found in the temperate and sub-tropical regions within the districts
of East Siang, Upper Siang, West Siang, Lower Dibang Valley and Lohit. The older term Abor is
a deprecated exonym from Assamese meaning "uncontrolled". Some of them are also found in
Southern Tibet. The literal meaning of Adi is "hill" or "mountain top".
The language spoken by this group is also called Adi. It is spoken with minor variations among
all the Adi sub-groups
apatani
Apatani
The Apatani, or Tanii, are a tribal group of people living in the Ziro valley in the Lower
Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh in India. However more Apatanis live outside this
valley, making the total population approximately 20,000 all over the state. Their language
belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family (see Tani languages
There are no known written records of the history of the Apatani tribes, but throughout their
history the Apatani have had a democratic system of running the society. The village council is
known as the Bulyang
The dress of the Apatanis is elaborate and colorful, yet simple in style. Jila, the traditional dress
of the priests has recently been made into a five rupee Indian postal stamp. Tattooing (Tiipe) and
the stuffing of large nose plugs (Yaping hullo) were once popular among the women, although
this practice has gradually fallen into decline in recent years

Kuki
The Kukis, also known as the Chin[1] and sometimes as the Zomi, and in the state of Mizoram
Mizo are a number of related Tibeto-Burman tribal peoples spread throughout the northeastern
states of India, northwestern Burma, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. In Northeast
India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh. This dispersal across international
borders is mainly attributed to the British colonial policy.[2]
The Kukis have Mongoloid features and are generally short-stature with straight black hair and
dark brown eyes. Some fifty tribes of Kuki peoples of India are recognised as scheduled tribes.[3]
This tribe recognition is based on the dialect spoken and region.
Bodo
The Bodos (pronounced BORO) are an ethnic and linguistic community,most aboriginal tribe of
Brahmaputra valley in the northeast part of India. The Bodos are recognized as a plains tribe in
the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Udalguri and Kokrajhar of Assam are considered
the centre of the Bodo area. Historically the great Bodos were known as the Mech. Even today
the Bodos living in West Bengal, Nagaland and Nepal are called Mech. The Bodos use the term
Bodosa (which is pronounced as Borosa meaning son of Bodo) to describe themselves (not to be
confused with the Bodosa clan of the Dimasa people). Even though Bodos are demographically
separated they follow the same culture, tradition, language and religion.
The Bodos represent one of the largest of the 18 ethnic sub-groups within the Kachari group (or
Bodo-Kachari), first classified in the 19th century.[1] The Bodo-Kacharis have settled in most
areas of North-East India, and parts of Nepal. The Bodo-Kachari people constitute a diverse
range of the indigenous people of North-east India
Deori
Deori or Deuri is one of the major ethnic tribes in Assam, India. The Deori community has its
own culture and traditions which is a hidden treasure for the sociologists. The Deoris were
originally priests and worshipers and depended mostly on agriculture for their livelihood.
In North East India the Deoris are known as well civilized people . They have their own
language to converse amongst themselves. History says that the Deori language was the original
language in the Chutian kingdom before the reign of the Ahoms in Assam. They worship KundiMama (Shiv-Parvati) and hence fall under Hinduism by default. The Deoris are God fearing
people. Since ancient days Deori people worshiped God by singing hymns and holy songs.
Rengma
Rengma is a Naga tribe found in Nagaland and Assam states of India. According to the 2001
census of India, the Rengma population in Nagaland was 50,966 i.e. 2.9% of the total Naga
population

Like other Naga tribes, there are few written historical records of Rengmas.
According to the local traditions, the Rengmas and the Lothas (or Lhotas) were once part of a
single tribe.[2] There are also oral records of a mighty struggle between the combined Rengma
villages, and the Lotha village of Phiro.[3] There are records of the Rengmas' conflict with the
Angami Nagas.[4]
Slavery used to be a practice among the Rengmas, and the slaves were known by the names
menugetenyu and itsakesa. By the time the British arrived in the Naga region, the slavery was a
declining practice, and no Rengma appears to have been a slave during this time.[5]
Bhutias
The Bhutia (in Sikkim: Denzongpa; Tibetan: , Wylie: 'Bras-ljongs-pa;
"inhabitants of Denzong;" in Bhutan: Dukpa) are a community of people of Tibetan ancestry,
who speak Sikkimese, a Tibetan dialect fairly mutually intelligible to standard Tibetan. In 2001,
the Bhutia numbered around 70,300. Bhutia here refers to Sikkimese and Nepalese of Tibetan
ancestry; in contrast, the Bhotiya are a larger family of related Tibetan peoples in northeastern
Nepal of which the Bhutia are one member group.
The language spoken by the Bhutias in Sikkim is Sikkimese, which is 85% intelligible with
either Tibetan or Dzongkha, the language of Bhutan, although Nepali is more widely spoken.
Most Bhutias practice the Nyingma school, followed by the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Bhutias are spread out over Nepal, Bhutan, and in the northern West Bengal, especially in
the towns of Kalimpong and Darjeeling