essay
The institution of nokmaship in Garo Hills: some observations
Hill societies, their modernisation : a study of north east with special reference to Garo Hills • New Delhi • Published In 1995 • Pages: 76-81
By: Chakrabarti, S. B., Baruah, G..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
A brief but good account of the different kinds of leaders in Garo society. In much of the Garo literature, authority is identified with the role of NOKMA, or headman. This study distinguishes five different kinds of NOKMA, including respected intellectuals, wealthy individuals, religious specialists, and heads of clans. The last, called A'KING NOKMA, is the most important type, as he is considered the custodian of the clan lands. He also has responsibilities in entertaining visitors, being present at village functions, and adjudicating disputes. In colonial times the NOKMA was responsible for collecting taxes and reporting crimes. After independence, the district government took over some of the judicial, custodial, and and fiscal powers of the NOKMA, nevertheless he is still held in high esteem by villagers for his continued social and religious roles.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Real property
- Status, role, and prestige
- Accumulation of wealth
- Lineages
- Community heads
- Districts
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Garo
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1999
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- South Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1998
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1880-1989
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Garo Hills Autonomous District, Meghalaya State, India
- NotesAdditional notes
- [S. B. Chakrabarti & G. Baruah]
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 81)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 95910488
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Garo (Indic people)