Hajongs, like most of the tribes of northeastern India, are of Mongol origin. There first settlement in India was in the
Kamrup District of
Assam and this was their home for a long time. Following natural calamities a major portion of the tribe settled in areas of
West Bengal,
Meghalaya,
Arunachal Pradesh and the present day Bangladesh. After the partition of the Indian Sub-continent in 1947 majority of Hajongs, who were settled in Bangladesh, migrated to India.
Hajongs follow Hindu rites and customs and also take Hindu titles. Every Hajong family has a temple for worship called 'Dev Gar' and they offer prayers in the evening. Hajong community is patriarchal and father or elder man is the chief of a Hajong family. Hajongs live in groups and the area of a group is called a 'Para' or ‘gas' (gaon). A village is formed with some 'Paras,' and a 'Chalkla' or 'Juar' is formed with some villages and a 'Pargana' with some 'Chaiklas.'
A Hajong village is like an autonomous Kingdom. Every Hajong man compulsory to takes membership of a 'Gao.' Hajongs live on agriculture. Ploughing with cows is prohibited among the tribesmen. After marriage, the Hajong bride goes to the bridegrooms' house. Polygamy and divorce is rarely seen in the tribe. Widow marriages and the second marriages are also found. Hajongs have close cultural links with the Garos.
The men of this tribe wear gamocha or vija kapod as a lower garment and women wear pathani, a standard size piece of cloth, with broad and medium borders with a typical color combination.
