Back to the Hills

“After the baptism the two Garos considered what they would do next. ‘Is there no missionary for our people?’ said Omed to Mr. Bronson. ‘If one will come i will take my discharge from the regiment and go with him.’

“Thus early did the work for which he was destined call him. The whole world he knew was ‘lying in the wicked one,’ waiting for the redemption of Christ. But the part which was especially his, how dark it was! With what added circumstances of grim terror and complete subjection were his poor tribesmen found in their wild, and to other than Garos, as yet inaccessible hills! On him surely, the first to be freed, lay the duty of proclaiming the liberty purchased for all.

“But the way seemed barred. No missionary was available to give directiion and encouragement. He had not yet faced the possibility of going alone. For a whole year the project lay in abeyance. Meanwhile his purpose grew. Ramke was ready to accompany him, and thus these two men were more closely knit together by their common resolve. But it was a difficult task to win over their wives to an enterprise so hazardous and amazing. Epiri, the wife of Omed, being an Assamese, could not share the [tribal] sympathies of her husband. And neither she nor Suban was willing to avow herself a Christian. They had disapproved the recent baptism of their husbands, and both had declined to be present. It was hard for them to be reconciled to the thought of alienatiion from all of their friends. But they could not withhold admiration for the spirit and conduct of their husbands, and little by little they entered into sympathy with their plans.

“Mr. Bronson kept in touch with the converts by means of correspondence and reports. In November he paid them a visit, and found that they had been subjected to reproach and many temptations,but were still immovable, bearing their cross humbly, and laboring to bring others to the Saviour.

“They said, ‘If there were a missionary here we would strike our names from the government list and teach out people. But we are too ignorant now to go forth. We are often worldly and wicked during the week, but when we come on the Sabbath and hear brother Kandura explain the Bible, our hearts get happy and fixed.’

“Major Agnew...offered them the chance of special training at Nowgong, together with six dollars a month for their support. Ramke was willing, and so was Omed’s wife. But Suban and Omed held back. ‘I am too old,’ said Omed, ‘to learn more. I had rather go and teach what I know....’

“A few months later Mr. Bronson was again at Gauhati. Omed’s will had prevailed. When they came to state their decision it happened that the one man best able to help them, Captain B. W. D. Morton, was present. Zealous to reclaim the Garos from barbarism by all the means at his command, he was particularly interested in this indigenous effort; and as he himself was consistent Christian, he was able to appreciate the motives and share the hopes of these first converts from the tribe. Entering warmly into their proposition, he offered every assistance, and promised to contribute to their support. So the die was cast. Application was immediately made to the commissioner, Colonel Henry Hopkinson, in whose office Ramke was a writer, and to Colonel R. Campbell, commanding Omed’s regiment, for their discharge. Both responded with Christian courtesy and with expressions of interest in the undertaking. Colonel Campbell wrote: ‘I am sorry that Omed wishes to leave the regiment, as he is a very steady, well-conducted sepoy, but I, of course, can not keep him against his desire, as there are no reasons that I could at present urge for doing so. Consequently he will be free on the next proximo [first of the month?], March, 1864, to go and commence his mission, in which I need hardly say I sincerely trust he will succeed.’

“In due time they received their appointment as ‘mission assistants,’ with the promise of maintenance from Mr. Bronson, who fortunately felt free to act without waiting for sanction from home. The only instruction given was to confer with Captain Morton as they passed through Goalpara to the hills.

“After some delay the little party of seven, Omed, his wife and three children, Ramke and Suban, took boat down the river and arrived at Goalpara on May 10. The two men, now thoroughly committed to their enterprise, went immediately to Captain Morton, who spoke encouragingly to them, and duly reported the interview to the missionary at Nowgong. ‘If God prosper the work,’ he wrote, ‘who can tell to what this small beginning may lead?’

“Their first endeavor was to gain the good will of their relatives. Two of these, Reban and Fokira, the first a cousin, and the second a brother of Ramke, and both nephews of Omed, were then at Goalpara. Reban was employed as interpreter at the court. Fokira had come as a witness in a case. On explaining the object of their mission, Reban would have nothing to say to them; but Fokira was friendly and willing to help. It had been arranged that Ramke should open a school at Damra, as a sort of base for the mission, and Omed tour among the villages on the heights above. For the one was a born teacher, the other a pioneer. Arrived at Damra, they spent a few days at the tana (police station), astonishing the policemen by their presence, and still more by their words. At the market they preached. It was the first time a Christian advocate had spoken there. Then while a schoolhouse was building they all went up to the hills. There objectives were Matchokgiri Dambora, and Watrepara. As men after a long sojourn in far lands, come back to revisit the scenes of their childhood, so they went up with beating hearts. The deep silence of the jungle wrapped them around, laden with haunting memories. They lingered by the streams and pools to cool their feet, but ever the old tracks lured them on. They paused at familiar places to recall forgotten events, and quickened their pace as they breasted the last ridge that hid from them the sight of home. How little changed it was after all these years! How well they remembered some of the faces in the doorways, and some of the workers in the fields! But these looked at them askance, as if they had been intruders, and answered them curtly, wondering at their altered appearances and new accent of speech.

“It was in truth a rather doubtful reception, with latent hostile possibilities. They felt as men feel in an enemies’ country, though it was their own. And they had a message to deliver, which they knew would tax all their resources of faith, patience, and skill. The news of their coming had outstripped them, and a strong feeling of resentment was already aroused. Even their relatives were half afraid, and not a little reluctant to give them shelter and food. But the time had come to test their courage, and they did not flinch. They spent a day or two going from house to house preparing the way, and then, having prayed much for guidance, invited the whole village to come and hear.

“What a sight it was, that first gathering of wild Garos in their mountain home to hear the Galilean story! The setting was a crescent of bamboo dwellings, poised on a cliff-point, in an emerald hollow of jungle-covered hills. An excited crowd gathered about the nokpante (village bachelor-house), and made a deep ring on the open space in front. The chief sat in the place of honor, and other leaders on either side. Swords were stuck into the ground before them, for the gathering had all the formality of a council, and representatives from other villages were present. All squated on the ground, their black eyes shining under bent brows, fixed on Omed as he rose to speak. It was a moment to try the nerve of the bravest. But the speaker knew the way to their hearts.

“‘Brothers,’ he said, ‘the Garos believe in demons, but there are no demons. At any rate, there are no demons that have power to hurt us. God alone has power and God is good. But as for us, we are not good. We have sinned against God. Therefore we are all condemned, and the great power of God is against us. What shall we do? We can do nothing. But there is one who has done everything for us. He was a man like ourselves, but he was good like God. And he sent him to save us. He willingly offered himself a sacrifice for our sins and all who trust him are forgiven. He rose again after death, and is now in the presence of God. His spirit possesses those who love him so they too become good. And when they die they go to be with him forever, where there is no more sorrow or sickness or sin. This is the true religion. We, your brothers, who believe it, have great joy in our hearts. And this joy is for all the Garos if they give up the worship of demons and turn to God. Therefore we have brought you the message’

“When he had finished there was instant clamor and a burst of pent-up indignation. ‘What,’ they exclaimed, ‘you, a Garo, born of a Garo mother, do you presume to know more than the whole Garo tribe, and to teach us, you elder relatives? How did you dare to come here, slighting the demons, and trying to deceive us by pretending that they have no power to hurt or to kill? They have heard your words, and they will have their revenge. Beware lest some calamity come upon you! We follow you indeed! We are not such fools! Who cares for your religion, and who will accept it?

“It was a fierce rejoinder and must have blanched the cheeks of the feeble disciples who heard it. It was one thing to think calmly of these things in the chapel at Gauhati, or in Kandura’s house among sympathetic friends; and quite another to utter them in the demon-haunted hills, with every natural fear, quickened by the anger of the people, tugging at their breasts. But Omed was not a soldier for nothing. He stood the fire bravely and stuck to his guns. And there were some, when the clamor had subsided, and the crowd mockingly dispersed, who drew near in the gathering darkness for further talk. ‘They thought much in their minds, and were pleased, saying, “The word is truly good”.’

“Thus was their mission begun, and had they done nothing else, they would have proved themselves worthy of a place among the heroes of the faith. In a few days, Ramke returned to Damra, taking his youngest brother and two other boys with him as a nucleus for his school. He taught them the Scriptures, and every evening they gathered for prayer. His deep religious spirit imparted itself to his scholars. They too learned to pray, and, once a week, voluntarily to fast.” (p. 81-86)