Shield „millamc“

The trapezoidal shield is from the Garo indigenous group.

The outer edges are bent from cut bamboo halves. The wickerwork consists of narrow strips of wicker, which is horizontally “sewn” at intervals.  A handle is attached to the back, designed for free-handed, agile handling of the shield. The sword and shield are an inseparable combination and are still used today for dances in the context of the great Garo festivals, such as the wangala festival, a warrior festival that lasts several days and is dedicated to the hornbill as the ancestor.

The idiosyncratic form of the mil-am sword must be very old. Strikingly similar swords from North-Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak) indicate a common origin probably still from Tibet, which points to very early cultural transmission and ethnic migration.

The “Garo” call themselves A’chik “mountain people”, they live in the border area between Northeast India and Bangladesh.