Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India)
The Garos, a tribal group who live in India (western highlands of Meghalaya and the southern foothills of Assam) and northern Bangladesh, are noted for their diverse beliefs on weretigers – that is, human beings with the ability of turning themselves, in various ways, into ferocious tigers and subse...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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James Cook University
2017-04-01
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| Series: | eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3568/3457 |
| _version_ | 1828320146588958720 |
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| author | Francesco Brighenti |
| author_facet | Francesco Brighenti |
| author_sort | Francesco Brighenti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Garos, a tribal group who live in India (western highlands of Meghalaya and the southern foothills of Assam) and northern Bangladesh, are noted for their diverse beliefs on weretigers – that is, human beings with the ability of turning themselves, in various ways, into ferocious tigers and subsequently back to human form. The present paper provides a first attempt at classifying the different motifs in Garo weretiger-lore which include traditional beliefs of: (1) a legendary ‘race’ of monstrous tigermen ruled over by a Tiger Mother; (2) individuals endowed with a ‘dual’ vital principle inhabiting a human body during daytime and a tiger one at nighttime; and (3) shape-shifters who can physically metamorphose into tigers through magical arts. This classification highlights the rich variety of beliefs held by the Garos on these quintessential liminal beings, and provides a critical analysis of the most frequently occurring class of werebeasts in the folktales, legends, and epics of tropical Asia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:07:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c3b8204c892d40f4bc6d6b2bd4e81e67 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1448-2940 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T18:07:35Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | James Cook University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics |
| spelling | doaj.art-c3b8204c892d40f4bc6d6b2bd4e81e672022-12-22T02:36:02ZengJames Cook UniversityeTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics1448-29402017-04-0116110.25120/etropic.16.1.2017.3568Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India)Francesco Brighenti0Independent Researcher, Venice, ItalyThe Garos, a tribal group who live in India (western highlands of Meghalaya and the southern foothills of Assam) and northern Bangladesh, are noted for their diverse beliefs on weretigers – that is, human beings with the ability of turning themselves, in various ways, into ferocious tigers and subsequently back to human form. The present paper provides a first attempt at classifying the different motifs in Garo weretiger-lore which include traditional beliefs of: (1) a legendary ‘race’ of monstrous tigermen ruled over by a Tiger Mother; (2) individuals endowed with a ‘dual’ vital principle inhabiting a human body during daytime and a tiger one at nighttime; and (3) shape-shifters who can physically metamorphose into tigers through magical arts. This classification highlights the rich variety of beliefs held by the Garos on these quintessential liminal beings, and provides a critical analysis of the most frequently occurring class of werebeasts in the folktales, legends, and epics of tropical Asia.https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3568/3457garo ethnic groupweretigersindialegendstigermenmagicshape-shiftersanthropologydreamsnon-humananimalscosubjectivityhuman-animalsnorthern bangladeshlorewerebeastsfolktalesepicstropical asia |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Brighenti Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India) eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics garo ethnic group weretigers india legends tigermen magic shape-shifters anthropology dreams non-human animals cosubjectivity human-animals northern bangladesh lore werebeasts folktales epics tropical asia |
| title | Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India) |
| title_full | Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India) |
| title_fullStr | Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India) |
| title_short | Traditional Beliefs about Weretigers among the Garos of Meghalaya (India) |
| title_sort | traditional beliefs about weretigers among the garos of meghalaya india |
| topic | garo ethnic group weretigers india legends tigermen magic shape-shifters anthropology dreams non-human animals cosubjectivity human-animals northern bangladesh lore werebeasts folktales epics tropical asia |
| url | https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3568/3457 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT francescobrighenti traditionalbeliefsaboutweretigersamongthegarosofmeghalayaindia |