Bhoboghure · CC BY 4.01 of 2

Museum and gallery, Netrokona

Tribal Cultural Academy, Birishiriক্ষুদ্র নৃগোষ্ঠীর কালচারাল একাডেমি, বিরিশিরি

Time needed
Half an hour.

A government academy founded in 1977 to keep the languages, dress, songs and dances of the Garo, Hajong, Koch, Banai, Dalu and Mandi communities of greater Mymensingh; a small museum, a library and a stage for their festivals.

Plan your visit

Opening
Office hours on working days; programmes on festival days.

At a glance

Founded
1977, Ministry of Cultural Affairs
Communities
Garo, Hajong, Koch, Banai, Dalu, Mandi

About

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs set up the academy at Birishiri in 1977, when the languages and customs of the hill communities of greater Mymensingh were visibly slipping away. Its job is to collect, teach and perform: a museum of dress, instruments, tools and household things of the Garo, Hajong, Koch, Banai, Dalu and Mandi; a library of what has been written about them; training in dance, song and crafts for young people from the villages; and an open stage where the annual programmes draw crowds from the whole area.

For a visitor the museum is a quick, useful half hour before going into the villages: it explains the matrilineal Garo household, the Hajong weaving you see on the women, the drums and flutes of Wangala. Programmes happen on festival days and are open to all; ask at the office what is coming.

Getting there: In Birishiri, a short walk from the guest houses and the bus stand.

Things to do

  • See the museum's dress and instruments, then ask when the next dance programme is.

Good to know

  • Closed on government holidays; the museum may be shut while staff are at a programme, so come in the morning.

Getting there

Read the Netrokona guide

Nearby

Village and communityEsha795 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Birishiri

0 km, Netrokona

The village across the Someshwari from Durgapur bazar that gives the whole area its name among travellers: Garo and Hajong homes, mission schools from the British years, the cultural academy, and the base for the river, the white clay hills and Ranikhong.

Hills and mountainsকুপি বাতি · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bijoypur white clay hills

1 km, Netrokona

Low hills of white china clay on the border at Bijoypur, mined for the country's ceramics since the 1950s; the old cuttings hold pools of blue-green water under white and pink cliffs.

River, lake and haorSaimon Chandra Shil · CC BY-SA 4.0

Someshwari River

2 km, Netrokona

The river that comes down from the Garo Hills past Ranikhong and Durgapur: clear water over pebbles and sand in winter, a torrent in the rains, boats, coal and sand gatherers, and the hills standing behind it.

Fort and palaceSalim Khandoker · CC BY-SA 4.0

Susang Durgapur Rajbari

2 km, Netrokona

The seat of the Susang rajas, descendants of Someshwar Pathak who ruled this corner from 1280 until the end of the zamindari; rebuilt after the 1897 earthquake, now four decaying houses, one of them the magistrate's residence.

Church

Ranikhong mission

7 km, Netrokona

St Joseph's Catholic parish on the Ranikhong hill above the Someshwari, where the river enters Bangladesh: the first Garo mission of the region, on this hill since 1915, with the river and the hills below the church.

Monument and memorial

Sat Shahid Mazar, Lengura

14 km, Netrokona

The graves of seven freedom fighters killed at Nazirpur on 26 July 1971 and buried at Phulbari, Lengura, at the foot of the hills in Kalmakanda; a memorial on the border road.

Location

Tribal Cultural Academy, Birishiri, Netrokona
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