In South Asia, there is a tribal people, known as the Garo. I recently learned some more about their history and background when I attended one of their festivals here.
One of my new Deaf friends here is from the Garo tribe, and he invited me and a couple other Americans, to attend the Garo Wangala Festival with him. It was a lot of fun! The event was hosted outside, and there were lots of little booths set up to display and sell some of the tribes cultural handicrafts. There was also a big tent in the centre with a stage and chairs set up for people to sit and watch cultural dances and dramas be performed. I really enjoyed watching the dances and dramas, even though I didn't understand any of the language. I also enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the beautiful handicrafts. My Garo friend was also very excited to introduce us to his family members and all the important leaders in the tribe. You could tell that they all definitely took a lot of pride in their cultural history and background, and held the leaders in high honour. It was really neat. We stayed long enough to see all the leaders be presented on stage, and then they began a time of allowing each of the leaders to give like a speech, which is when we left. The event, however, continued on long after we left, late into the evening.
Later I did some more research about this tribe on the internet, and discovered they have a really interesting background of how they became Christians.
Originally the tribe was known for their headhunting and violence. Then, after the revivals in Wales, England, some Christians came to share the Good News with the tribe, but people were not very responsive at first. Until one family from the tribe finally made the decision to follow Jesus, and began sharing with others in the tribe. This family was eventually killed by the tribe for their faith, but before they died, the father said the words to a song he wrote, that was eventually translated into English and is in our hymnals today. That song is "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." After the man and his family were killed by the tribe because of their faith, many others within the tribe began to believe, and today a large percentage of the tribe are Christians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALP9f4QVIoA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDQZTJhjFeo
One of my new Deaf friends here is from the Garo tribe, and he invited me and a couple other Americans, to attend the Garo Wangala Festival with him. It was a lot of fun! The event was hosted outside, and there were lots of little booths set up to display and sell some of the tribes cultural handicrafts. There was also a big tent in the centre with a stage and chairs set up for people to sit and watch cultural dances and dramas be performed. I really enjoyed watching the dances and dramas, even though I didn't understand any of the language. I also enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the beautiful handicrafts. My Garo friend was also very excited to introduce us to his family members and all the important leaders in the tribe. You could tell that they all definitely took a lot of pride in their cultural history and background, and held the leaders in high honour. It was really neat. We stayed long enough to see all the leaders be presented on stage, and then they began a time of allowing each of the leaders to give like a speech, which is when we left. The event, however, continued on long after we left, late into the evening.
Later I did some more research about this tribe on the internet, and discovered they have a really interesting background of how they became Christians.
Originally the tribe was known for their headhunting and violence. Then, after the revivals in Wales, England, some Christians came to share the Good News with the tribe, but people were not very responsive at first. Until one family from the tribe finally made the decision to follow Jesus, and began sharing with others in the tribe. This family was eventually killed by the tribe for their faith, but before they died, the father said the words to a song he wrote, that was eventually translated into English and is in our hymnals today. That song is "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." After the man and his family were killed by the tribe because of their faith, many others within the tribe began to believe, and today a large percentage of the tribe are Christians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALP9f4QVIoA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDQZTJhjFeo
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| Wangala Festival Handicraft Booths |
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| Cultural Dances |
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| Tent for Main Program |
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