Introduction:
The Chakma are the biggest tribe in the mountainous region of eastern Bangladesh known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. British government collectors coined the term to characterize specific hill people.
British ruled the whole india for around 200 years. In the year of 1947, British were forced out of India and the country was divided into two parts: India and Pakistan. People in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area expecting to be merged by India. Instead, Pakistan was awarded the region. This instilled anger among the population, who are overwhelmingly Chakma Buddhists. They considered themselves as more culturally close to Hindus in India than Muslims in Pakistan.
24 years later Pakistan had been split into two regions: East Pakistan and West Pakistan. East Pakistan successfully sued for independence from West Pakistan in 1971. East Pakistan was later became Bangladesh. The Chakma were as distant from the Bangladeshi government as they were from Pakistan. The Shanti Bahini (Peace Force) started organizing violent attacks against the government in 1973 in order to secure independence for the hill tracts of Chittagong. when the Guerrillas harmed government forces, Bangladeshi Army faught back and begin attacking civilian tribal peoples. This fight continued to carry on until the late 1990s.
Traditional beliefs:
The origin of the Chakma tribe is described by a myth where one of the king’s sons marched east with an army in an attempt to conquer new territories. After crossing the Meghna River and settling in the kingdom of Arakan in Burma, his people intermarried with the Burmese and gradually adopted the Buddhist faith.
Sher Daulat, the last surviving king of this bloodline, was a monarch. He was given magical abilities and was expected to cleanse himself of sin by taking out his intestines to wash in the river. one day His wife hid herself and watched him do this out of curiosity.
Sher Daulat discovered her spying on him, consumed by anger he slaughtered her as well as her entire family. His anomalies and despotism were so severe that his people eventually murdered him. Fearing the effects, the people fled the Arakan kingdom and moved north into the Chittagong Hills, where they still occupy today.
Religion:
A Buddhist temple (kaang) can be often found in almost every Chakma village. Bhikhus are the Buddhist term for priests or monks. They are the one who takes care of religious celebrations and rituals. The local chakma provide food, presents, and many other offerings to Buddha in order to sustain their monks.
Hindu gods are also worshipped by the Chakmas. For instance, Lakshmi is respected as the Goddess of the Harvest. In order to calm the spirits that are said to cause fevers and illness, Chakmas sacrifices goats, chickens, or ducks. The Chakma Buddhist priests neglect animal sacrifice despite the fact that it is utterly contrary to Buddhist doctrine.
Chakmas bury their loved ones. If death happens during a period of difficulty when proper funeral cannot be conducted, the corpse may be buried and then disinterred after harvest for cremation. The corpse is bathed, clothed, and placed on a bamboo bier.
Relatives and residents pay their respects to the deceased, and a drum used especially at this time is pounded at regular intervals.
in the afternoon Cremation is generally performed and is presided over by a member of the clergy.
The wealthy are formally brought to the funeral area in a gilded chariot. Relatives of the deceased will visit the site of cremation in the morning following the funeral to look for footprints, believing that the departed will have left some imprint of his or her new incarnation.
Living Conditions:
Chakmas built their homes on hillsides along river or stream banks. A homestead (bari) is formed when several related households build on the same block of land. Baris form hamlets (para), and a village (gram) is made up of many hamlets.
Bamboo is used to build the traditional Chakma home. It is built on a bamboo or wooden platform two meters (six feet) above ground. The home is constructed towards the back of the platform. Mat walls separate the house into parts.. A mat divider divides a porch in front of the home in half. Men and boys utilize one section, while women and girls use the other. Small chambers for grain and other things can be created. Household items ranging from baskets to tobacco pipes are made by bamboo.
Chakma Marriage and Family:
Chakmas are split into clans (gojas), which are further classified as subclans (guttis). Marriage between members of the same subclan is banned. Marriages are generally planned by parents, while love marriages are permitted with parental agreement. When the two families discuss the marriage, a bride price (goods provided by groom’s family to bride’s family) is agreed upon. Chumulong, or marriage ceremony, takes place by Buddhist monks. If a young couple marries, the marriage might be legalized with the payment of penalties. Typically, the married couple lives with the husband’s parents.
Divorce and remarriage are both permitted. Males and females each play a different type of bamboo flute.
Chakma women usually cook, care for newborns, clean the house, collect water, weave, and wash textiles.
The chakma men helps their wives with baby care and getting water from canals or waterfalls.
Except for plowing and felling large trees for shifting cultivation, women conduct all agricultural work with males. They also trade in the marketplace.
The chakma family(paribar) usually seen as living of a husband and wife, as well as their unmarried children. There have been reports of married sons and their spouses and children living in the same family as their parents. Typically, the entire paribar lives in a same ghar or dwelling. If a paribar grows to the point that it is difficult or inconvenient for all members to live under the same roof, one or two annexes on the side of the main structure may be erected. Even though the members of the paribar live in separate houses, they continue to cook and dine together.
Both parents and siblings raise newborns and youngsters. Grandparents have an active part in socializing and enculturating children in a three-generation home. They are introduced to Buddhist ideas at a young age. Respect for elders is emphasized. The sons’ property is shared evenly. Typically, daughters do not inherit. A younger son who looks after his parents in their old age is usually given the Homestead in addition to his portion.
The food Of Chakma tribes :
The Chakmas’ main dish is rice, which is supplemented by millet, corn (maize), vegetables, and mustard. They eat Yams, pumpkins, melons, and cucumbers as vegetables. Forest vegetables and fruits might be included in the diet. Despite the Buddhist prohibition on eating animal flesh, fish, fowl, and meat (including pig) are consumed. Chakmas dislike milk. They freely use alcoholic drinks, and each household produces their own rice liquor. At all festivals and social gatherings, alcohol is drunk.
As the Chakmas were forced to evacuate their country, traditional meals were gradually abandoned. Fish, vegetables, and spices are stuffed into a length of bamboo and cooked over a low fire; items are wrapped in banana leaves and set by a fire; and eggs are aged until they are rotten. Food is traditionally served on a low table around 15 cm (6 in) high. This is constructed of bamboo or, for the more affluent, copper. Diners sit cross-legged on a floor mat.
Clothing:
Chakma males have abandoned their their traditional clothes like dhotī, kurta, and white turban in favor of Western-style shirts and pants. Women are the ones that keep the traditional Chakma clothing style, which consists of two pieces of fabric. One is worn like a skirt, wrapping around the bottom half of the body from waist to ankle.
The second piece of material is a colored-patterned breastband that is securely wrapped around the upper torso. Chakma females matched their color breastband with a number of necklaces, bracelets, anklets, rings, and other accessories.
Chakma women are talented weavers who produce their own clothing.
Cultural Heritage:
Aghartara are Buddhist texts that have been translated into Chakma and written on palm leaves. The Tallik is a detailed account of medicinal plants, methods of their preparation, and chakma’s use it accordingly when they get sick
Chakma tribal culture is greatly influenced by folk music. It includes Ubageet, or passionate love songs. The famous music which is known as Genkhuli songs describe their historical events. Epic poetry such as Radhamon and Dhanapati are also available.
A bugle made of buffalo horn, a circular piece of iron with a string wrapped across it that vibrates to make sound, and a drum are examples of traditional musical instruments. Almost all Chakma youth play the bamboo flute. Unlike other ethnic tribes of the eastern highlands, Chakma people do not enjoy dancing.
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Festival:
Chakmas celebrate a variety of Buddhist holidays. Buddha Purnima is the most significant. Every year they marks the anniversary of three significant events in Buddha’s life: his birth, awakening, and death. It is celebrated on the full moon day of Vaisakh (typically in May).
On this and other festival days, Chakmas dress up and attend the temple. They bring flowers to the Buddha picture, light candles, and listen to priest speeches. The homeless are given alms (offerings), and feasts are held for the priests.
The three-day Bishu celebration, which coincides with the Bengali New Year’s Day, is widely celebrated.
Education:
Chakmas tribes are the people who live in the remote parts of Bangladesh. They are not part of the mainland population and, by Typical bengali standardes, are relatively poor. They do not have access to schooling in the bengali way. Education (the ability to read and write) among hill tribal males is around 15%. This proportion falls to 7% for women.
Employment:
Most of the chakmas lead their whole life as a farmer. There is no ownership of land, but Chakma custom states that no one should interfere with fields that appear to be farmed by someone else. During the dry season in April, the land gets cleared of trees and bushes, and any leftover vegetation is burnt. After the first heavy rains, crops are sown. Harvesting is normally done in October and November.
Some Chakmas have abandoned their agricultural lifestyle and entered the work force. Those who have received the appropriate schooling have gone on to work in administrative and other white collar positions. Many, however, work as workers in the industries and manufacturing companies .
Hand crafts and hobbies:
The Chakma are skilled in making a wide range of products out of bamboo, often with nothing more than a knife. Women are great knitters and dyers, producing their unique cloth known as Alam. They somehow mastered the technique of creating bamboo baskets and other homemade stuff.
Recent conflict:
The incident might have happened due to a conflict between the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) and the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) over establishing supremacy. However, none of the groups claimed responsibility for the incident, said OC Mannan.
In the morning, locals spotted the bodies lying on the hill and informed police, said sources.
However, 23 people have been killed so far in clashes among separatist groups such as the Jana Sanghati Samiti (JSS Reformist), the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF), the UPDF Reformist, the Mog Liberation Party (MLP) and the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) in Bandarban in two years.
source: https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/6-dead-clash-between-two-groups-bandarban-612726 .
The Chakma people are currently facing some tough times in their history. Chakmas are a minority in every country, and many are refugees from their homeland.
The Chakma’s are aiming for an independent nation. Chakmas and other indigenous peoples have formed an armed forces called (shanti bahini) and started a disturbing conflict with the bangladesh government. As a result, the police and Bangladeshi Army have responded in their own language.
