The religion of the ancestors of the Garos is Sansarek. Their tradition Dakbewal relates to their most prominent cultural activities. In 2003, the group called Rishi Jilma was founded to safeguard the ancient Garo Songsarek religion. Seeing the Songsarek population in decline, youth from the Dadenggiri subdivision of Garo Hills felt the need to preserve the Songsarek culture. The Rishi Jilma group is active in about 500 villages in and around Garo Hills.