BOOK REVIEW february 4, 2023 vol lViII no 5 EPW Economic & Political Weekly 38 Of Spirits and the State The Universe of the Upland Garo Community Richard Kamei T he Garo Hills encountered British colonialism after its conquest in 1765. The event marked a gradual course of changes in the lifeworld of the Garos. After India’s independence, in 1952, the Garo Hills were elevated as the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council ( GHADC ). Today, the Garos are one of the largest Scheduled Tribes ( STs ) in the Meghalaya, second to the Khasis. Christianity is now widely practised among the Garos; however, a section of them still retain the community religion from the precolonial times, and the followers are known as the Songsareks. The Christian followers among the Garos are known as the Garo Christians. The advent of Christi- anity is attributed to colonialism whose spread began in the 19th century. The Background Erik De Maaker combines his extensive ethnographic fieldwork, done over two decades, and observations on the Garos and their culture, in the book, Rework- ing Culture: Relatedness, Rites, and Re- sources in Garo Hills, North East India. The central arguments of this study de- construct the essentialist and exotici- sation of indigenous people. It looks into what constitutes indigeneity, while bringing forth the agency of indigenous peoples and how they are situated in the hierarchical world, marred by the state and mainstream societies. The author notes of earlier writing on the Garos, es- pecially Robbins Burling’s Rengsanggri: Family and Kinship in a Garo Village wherein the distinguishing feature of his own work is the methodology of the ethnographic study. The examination of the cultural iden- tity of the Garos is at the heart of this book. Maaker engages with the colonial history, the spread of Christianity, and the state’s role in conveying that the cul- ture of Garos is adaptive and flexible. Yet, the threat facing them and new Reworking Culture Relatedness, Rites, and Resources in the Garo Hills, North East India by Erik De Maaker, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2022; pp 328, `1,695 (hardcover). challenges are a grim reminder of what awaits in the near future. These themes are presented across the eight chapters of the book. Many narratives are based on the Sadolpara village and presented from the villagers’ perspectives to the author’s key informant, Jiji. As argued by Maaker, reworking culture is how the Garos make of culture and social rela- tionships in response to the changing times and shift in power, from the spirits to the state. He does so by illuminating the dynamics operating around what defines the niam, 1 matrilineal, kinship, swidden, funeral and the land. The issues of inducement, power rela- tion, accessibility, and colonial nostalgia abound in the writings of colonial officers and anthropologists (Kamei 2021). The researchers’ agency and what they bring to the field, and what kind of ethics they adhere to, are important markers of study process shaping the research outcome. In this context, Lassiter (2008) suggests that “collaborative ethnography” must position respondents as equal partners not only in the process of research but also in the outcome of research work. This is seen as a path towards breaking down the hierarchy in research and power-sharing. Nevertheless, in the book, the key informant, Jiji’s engagement with the author is of care, support, and of life- long kin, which has made the research findings and narratives deeply engaging. This is demonstrated in the several eth- nographic accounts in the book wherein the author did not limit his role as a re- searcher but was a participant in several of the community activities. An engagement as such brings alive people’s perspectives without coming off as a narrative retold by the author. The book begins with the cultural practices and beliefs of the Garos. The author gives a background of the com- munity, their lifeworld, and outlines their situation in contemporary times. In doing so, he focuses on Sadolpara vil- lage of the West Garo Hills. He then looks at the colonial history in the Garo Hills and the spread of Christianity. The social, cultural, and economic changes that followed in the region during this period are discussed in detail. The au- thor provides an ethnographic account of kin relationships, matrilineality, land, spirits, the dead, and the funerals in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. Customary practice on marriage, attachment to the land, the changing patterns of shifting cultivation and replacement of dead spouses are discussed at length in Chapter 6. In Chapter 7, the relation between the state and the community is described. Finally, the author revisits the book’s central theme, that is, how the niam guides and configures people and resources. In reading through the eight chapters of the book, the following themes emerge, for they serve as a window to the lifeworld of the Garos in the past and the present, and their relationship with the state in the contemporary times. Matrilineality and the Land The relationship with land in the life- world of Garos is tied to matrilineality. Maaker shows this connection that sus- tains and preserves the culture of Garos. The kinship descent among the Garos is along the female line, and hence it is a matrilineal society. A child in a family takes the surname of moth- er’s clan name. Both men and women trace their descent to a female prede- cessor and narrow down their origins to a single womb. They constitute one matrilineal group ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred people. Fur- ther, a constellation of matrilineal groups with shared origin comes under a matrilineage. Matrilocality enables access to land, belonging to the wife’s family. The prac- tice as such is present among Christians and Songsareks. The Garo Christians con- tinue to uphold the matrilineal descent and adhere to property inheritance in the