Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)
Indigenous People and Their Culture
Chakma: The Chakma are the largest ethnic group
in Bangladesh. According to the Census of 1991, the total number
of Chakma in the CHT was 239,417. In addition, an estimated 150,000
Chakma live scattered about in the states of Tripura, Mizoram,
Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India. A small number of Chakma
also live in Cox’s Bazar district and in Myanmar (Burma).
The Chakma language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages
and has close links with Pali, Assamese and Bengali. The Chakma
have their own script in which their ancient religious literature
is preserved in palm leaves. The script has similarities with Mon
Khmer and Burmese. Although many elderly Chakma still sign their
names in the Chakma script, most Chakma youths no longer use the
script. At school Chakma children study in Bengali and in English.
The Chakma have perhaps proved to be the most adaptive and innovative
of all the indigenous peoples of the CHT. By nature, most Chakma
are down-to-earth and socially shy, but nevertheless romantic,
although they will seldom admit it. The head of Chakma society
is the Chakma Chief who is descended from the general who led the
resistance movement against the British East India Company’s
forces in the 1770s.
The Chakma have been followers of Gautama Buddha for centuries,
but the Chakma brand of Buddhism always had room for indigenous
gods and spirits, including some from the Hindu pantheon. Today,
the Chakma are almost 100% Theravada Buddhist.
Marma: The Marma are the second largest indigenous
ethnic group in the CHT. The 1991 Census puts the total number
of Marma in the CHT as 142,334; 59,228 in Bandarban, 42,178 in
Khagrachari and 40,868 in Rangamati. They have been Theravadan
Buddhists, like the Burmese, Thai and Sri Lankan, for many centuries.
The Marma in the southern CHT, including all of Bandarban, traditionally
owe loyalty to the Bohmong Chief, Bohmongri, who traces his lineage
from Burmese generals.
The Marma have their own script and speak a language which is
almost identical to that of the Rakhine or Rakhaing of Cox’s
Bazar and Patuakhali districts in Bangladesh and Arakan state in
Myanmar (Burma). The Marma language is soft and poetic and even
people who do not understand Marma love to hear Marma songs. As
with the Tripura and other peoples speaking a Tibeto-Burman tongue,
the Marma start out with a disadvantage with the medium of instruction
in schools being in the Bengali language. Introduction of primary
education in the Marma language is believed to be a necessary step
for the progress of education among the Marma. They have a beautiful
language which deserves official recognition.
The Marmas are great lovers of music and drama. Before the advent
of the cinema and television, throngs of Marma youth in their best
attire would pass the better part of a night watching folk dances
and operatic performances. The Marmas are very fond of fairs. They
have the particular knack of converting even their religious festivals
into occasions of fun and gaiety. Traditionally, both men and women
are fond of smoking pipes and cigars, all locally made. Rice beer
or distilled rice spirits are very popular among the men.
Among the Marma, there are both swidden agriculturists and sedentary
rice farmers. Many Marma are traders, service-people and professionals
such as doctors, engineers, etc. Of the indigenous peoples of the
region, the Marma usually make the best traders although the Chakma
are also trying hard to become retail traders.
Tripura: According to the Census of 1991, the
total number of Tripura in the CHT was 61,129 out of which more
than three quarters lived in the Khagrachari district alone. There
are more than half a million Tripura in Tripura State, India. A
very small number of Tripura also live in the Bangladeshi districts
of Chittagong, Comilla and Noakhali.
The Tripura have about 36 sub-groups or dafas, the most well known
of which are the Fatung, Jamatia, Naitong, Noatia, Ryang and Usui.
The Tripura language belongs to the Bodo branch of the Tibeto-Burman
family of languages. Although many Tripura follow their own gods,
they also venerate such Hindu gods and goddesses as Lakshmi, Ganga,
Saraswati, Kali and Shiva.
The Tripura were traditionally swidden cultivators although they
have now diversified into many occupations. The Tripura have many
university graduates nowadays, but their language is so different
from Bengali that they face disadvantages in studying in Bengali
from their earliest years. The introduction of primary education
in the Tripura language will most likely lead to a vast improvement
in the rate of literacy of the Tripura.
Tanchangya: The Tanchangya number 19,221 in the
CHT according to the Census of 1991. Most of the Tanchangya live
on the borders between the Rangamati and Chittagong districts and
between the borders of the Rangamati and Bandarban districts. A
small number of Tanchangya also live in Cox’s Bazar district.
In Arakanese, the word “Taung” or “tong” means
hill and “Taungya” means hilltop swidden cultivation
known locally as jum. The word Tanchangya or Tongtongya is believed
to mean hill swidden farmer. The Tanchangya are traditionally Buddhist.
Despite the fact that the Tanchangya are known traditionally to
be swidden farmers, they were in fact one of the first of the CHT
peoples to take up wet-rice cultivation by the plough in lieu of
swidden cultivation. Today, there are many Tanchangya graduates,
both men and women, holding private and government jobs.
The Tanchangya are known to be very romantic and artistic. It
is said that in many cases the Tanchangya groom is younger than
his bride. This was common until about a few decades ago. The Tanchangya
are very musical. Love and romance are therefore never far away.
Traditionally attired Tanchangya women will always wear her turban,
which Chakma women used until a generation or two ago. The pattern
on the border or her homespun skirt will usually be far more intricate
than the Chakma skirt.
Khumi: The Khumis maintain that in their Khumi
language Kha means man and mi means best race. They are therefore “Khumis” i.
e. the best human race (Sattar 984:336). Others (Lewin 1869:88)
tells us that in the Arakanese language “Khe” means “dog” and “mi” is
race. The Khumis therefore are the dog race. Dog is a favorite
item of food of the Khumis, so they might have derived this name
from this (Bernot 1964:166). According to their oral tradition
human kind owes its creation to a dog. Dog was the first creation,
and it had saved humans from total annihilation, they accordingly
pay homage to it.
The Khumis claim to be Buddhists, but their beliefs and religious
rites are mostly animist. Their chief god is Pathian. They also
pay homage to “Nadog” the household deity, and “Bogley” the
water deity. They are divided into “wife-giving” and “wife-taking” clans.
The eldest son inherits all the property. They have an oral language
which belongs to the southern branch of the Kukish section (Shafer
1955:105).
In 1869 their population was 2,000. The Khumis came to the hills
of Chittagong from the hills of Arakan and Akyab in the seventeenth
century. They live on the ridges of hills and build their houses
on tree-tops. Their villages are surrounded by bamboo walls. They
were a ferocious race who were mostly engaged in warfare. They
are renowned for their loyalty to their chiefs. They owed their
allegiance to the Marma Bohmang chief and paid a yearly tribute
to him through their village headman (Lewin 1869:87-88). They take
the oath of loyalty by touching the blood of a goat, which they
have killed with a sharp weapon; they vow that a similar fate would
befall them if they break the oath of loyalty.
Mro: In 1869 the Mro population was 1,500.They
had no chief of their own and owed their allegiance to the Marma
Bohmang chief of Banderban. Each village had a chief who collected
tributes from each head of the family for the Bohmang chief. The
village chief’s position was hereditary (Lewin 1869:86-88).
The Mros are animists. Their creator is “Turai”, they
have two other gods: “Oreng” and “Sungtiang”.
They do not have any priesthood or religious books. They believe
that a bull which was sent by God Turai to carry the religious
book for them had eaten up the book on the way. They therefore
hold a special ceremony called “Nasyat pa” or “Kumlang” in
which a bull is ceremoniously killed. They have an oral dialect
which belongs to the Tibeto-Burmese linguistic family (Bernot 1964:159).
Lushai: The Lushai migrated into the Chittagong
hills from the Lushai hills of India some 150 years ago. Before
the British conquest of the Lushai hills in 1892, the Lushais were
extremely ferocious. They choose mountain tops as their abodes.
The entrance to a village was heavily guarded. They are animists. “Pathian” is
their chief god; he does no harm to people. The Lushais are divided
into different sects. It is a patriarchal society. The youngest
son inherits all the property of the father. They neither burn
nor bury their dead. The body is clad in beautiful clothes and
placed in a sitting position inside a bamboo cage. A fire is lit
beside the body for a period of three months. After this the bones
are removed and then buried.
They have a language of their own known as “Lushai” or “Dolne” (Shafer
1955:107). Their language can be written in Latin script. During
the British administration missionaries were active among them,
as a result most of them took to Christianity.
Khiang: In 1869 the Khiangs were a small group
of people. Their social organization was similar to those of the
Mros and Khumis. They owed their allegiance to chiefs in Burma.
The Khiangs call themselves “Hyou.” They believe that
some 200 years ago their chief sought refuge from war in Burma
in the hills of Chittagong. The chief was accompanied by his younger
wife who was pregnant. But he left behind this wife and some soldiers
and went back to Burma. The Khiangs believe that they are descendants
of those soldiers left behind in the CHT (Chowdhury 1983:56). They
have no sub-castes or sects. They are Buddhists but they also pay
homage to “Nada Ga” (household deity) and “Bogley” (water
deity).Their language belongs to the Kuki-Chin group (Chakma 1993:92).
Bawm & Pankhu: The Bawm and Pankhu groups
were offshoots of two brothers who belonged to a Lushai group.
Their population in 1869 was about 3000.They owed their allegiance
to the Bohmang chief and paid tribute to him through their elected
Headman. The Bawms and Pankhus believe that they are descendants
of the “Shan” nation of Burma (Grierson 1927:144).
Formerly they were a ferocious people who built their houses on
mountain tops. Their villages were very heavily armed and guarded.
They lost their military skills after their annexation by the British.
They were animists. Their main gods were “Pathian” and “Khozing”.
But due to missionary activities during the British period most
of them took to Christianity. Their language has strong resemblance
to Lushai. It belongs to the “Kuki-Chin” group.
One can differentiate between the Pankhus and Bawms by their hairstyles.
Both men and women of the Bawms tie up their hair at the centre
of the head. The Pankhus on the other hand tie up their hair at
the back of their head (Sattar 1984:312).
Chak: The Chaks are considered to be a sub-group
of the Chakma (Lewin 1869:65). But Loffler maintains that the Saks
living in Arakan and the Chaks in CHT descended from the same people
as the Chakmas. The Chaks call themselves “Asak,” the
Sak population in Arakan also calls itself “Asak”.
Their language resembles Kadu which is spoken in Myitkhyina district
of northern Myanmar, and also Andro and Sengmai languages of Manipur
district in India. The Chaks are divided into two sects: Ando and
Ngarek. They are Buddhists.
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