Chakma people

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Chakma
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Total population

0.7 million
Regions with significant populations
Majority populations in Bangladesh and India

In Bangladesh the Chakma's reside in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area. Mostly found in the following Indian states: Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura
Languages
Changma or Chakma
Religions
Theravada Buddhism

The Chakma (চাকমা), also known as the Changma (চাংমা), are a community inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, and India. History says that people of Chakma origin (called দৈংনাক Doingnak) are living in Burma, where they are known as Sak/Thet or Thek. It is said that they were taken by the Arakan king after a war with the Chakma king. A tribal group called Tangchangya (তঞ্চংগ্যা) are also considered to be a branch of the Chakma people.

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[edit] History

Ethnically, the Chakma are Tibeto-Burman, and are thus closely related to tribes in the mountains of North-East India and much of Myanmar. However, they may also have some connection to the Cham people further east in Southeast Asia, at least that is what certain members of the Chakma population claim. Their ancestors came from the Magadha Kingdom (now Bihar, India) to settle in Arakan and most of them later moved to Bangladesh known as Cox's Bazar and Korpos Mohol, the name which was used for the Chittagong Hill Tracts until 1860. The Chakma were historically the rulers of Arakan and later certain areas covering parts of present day Chittagong Hill Tracts under the control of a king. Today, however, the power of the Chakma king, Devasish Roy, is merely symbolic.

Like in India, the Chakmas have lived in the modern state of Bangladesh much before it gained its independence. However, recent migrations of ethnic Bengalis into traditionally Chakma regions, then Chakma Kingdom have raised tensions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Successive governments have used a brutal iron fist to deal with Chakma uprisings, interrupted by short-lived ceasefires, and finally ended the conflict with The 1997 Peace Treaty.

[edit] Religion

The vast majority of the Chakma are followers of Theravada Buddhism, a religion that they have been practising for centuries. Of late, reports surfaced that several foreign and local missionaries have been trying to convert the Chakmas in to Christianity without success. This created resentment and upset among some Chakmas.[1][2]

[edit] Language

Originally speaking a language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family, some of the Chakmas have been influenced by neighboring Chittagonian, an Eastern Indo-Aryan language closely related to Bengali. Many linguists now consider the modern Chakma language (known as Changma Vaj or Changma Kodha) part of the Southeastern Bengali branch of Eastern Indo-Aryan language. Changma Vaj is written in its own script, known as Ojhapatt.Chakma language is written in an alphabet which allowing for its cursive form, is almost identical with the Khmer character , which was formerly in use in Cambodia, Laos, Siam and atlast Souhern parts of Burma.

[edit] Culture

The Chakma's are a people with their own culture, folklore, literature,traditions.The Chakma women wear an ankle length cloth around the waist which is also called phinon and also a hadi wrapped above the waist.The phinon and the khadi are colourfully hand weaved with various designs, the whole designs being first embroided on a piece of cloth known as alam.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Crosswalk.com - Bangladesh Church Burned as Four Faiths Clash
  2. ^ Baptist Militants kill Five Chakma Tribesmen

[edit] External links