Tribal people in Chittagong Hill Tracts
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The Chittagong Hill Tracts lies in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh adjoining international boundaries with Myanmar on the southeast, the Indian states of Tripura on the north and Mizoram on the east. The Chittagong Hill Tracts, formally a single unified district was divided into three separate districts: Khagrachari, Bandarban, and Rangamati during the administrative reorganization in 1984.
Tribes in CHT
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In Bangladesh there are many tribal people living in Sylhet, Dinajpur, Cox's Bazar, Mymensingh, Rajshahi etc. But the majority of tribal people live in Chittagong Hill tracts. It is the home of eleven tribes, the most beautiful indigenous people of Bangladesh. In this hilly area of immense beauty, eleven ethnic groups such as Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Tanchangya, Lushai, Pankho, Bawm, Mro, Khyang, Khumi and Chak live in harmony with nature. Among all of them the Chakma are the largest ethnic group in Bangladesh. The majority of them are Buddhists and the rest of them are Hindus, Christians etc. Also a good number of mainstream Bengali live in this area but their appearance, language and cultural traditions are markedly different from other Bengali-speaking people living in this area.
The tribal people of CHT lead an extremely interesting and attractive but simple life.[2] The tribal families are matriarchal and female is the head of a family. In their community the women are more hard-working than the male and basically they are the main productive force. The tribal people are extremely independent and self-confident. They grow their own food by Zum cultivation. Their girls weave their own cloths and they are very skillful in making beautiful handicrafts also. By selling the cloths and the handicrafts they earn some money and helps their family. The common feature is their way of life, which still speaks of their main occupation. Some of them still take pride in hunting with bows and arrows.
Bengali in CHT
[edit]According to 2022 cencus, Bengalis are the largest ethnic group in Bandarban District (58.85%) and Khagrachhari District (51.07%) and second largest in Rangamati Hill District (42.42%) with almost equal to Chakma people (42.67%) .
They are largest ethnic group in Naikhongchhari Upazila(83.48%), Langadu Upazila(76.75%), Lama Upazila (76.22%), Matiranga Upazila (75.10%), Manikchhari Upazila (73.57%), Ramgarh Upazila (73.14%), Alikadam Upazila(60.64%), Bandarban Sadar Upazila (56.97%), Kaptai Upazila (55.31%), Rangamati Sadar Upazila (52.33%), Kaukhali Upazila(44.88%) and Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila(40.77%).
Chakma in CHT
[edit]According to 2022 cencus, Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in Rangamati Hill District (42.67%) and second largest in Khagrachhari District (24.53%).
They are the largest ethnic group in Juraichhari Upazila (91.15%), Naniarchar Upazila(79.89%), Barkal Upazila (69.33%), Bagaichhari Upazila (66.19%), Dighinala Upazila (53.38%), Lakshmichhari Upazila(51.33%), Panchhari Upazila (44.04%) and Mahalchhari Upazila (43.52%).
Marma in CHT
[edit]According to 2022 cencus, Marmas are Second largest ethnic group in Bandarban District (17.49%), third largest in Rangamati Hill District (7.93%) and fourth largest in Khagrachhari District (10.39%)
Tripura in CHT
[edit]According to 2022 cencus, Tripuris are third largest ethnic group in Khagrachhari District (13.79%), fourth in Bandarban District (4.69%) and fifth in Rangamati Hill District(1.90%).
They are the second largest ethnic group in Matiranga Upazila (18.68%) and Ramgarh Upazila (13.28%)
Mru in CHT
[edit]Mru (Murong) are mainly found in Bandarban District(10.69%).
They are the second largest ethnic group in Alikadam Upazila(23.77%), Thanchi Upazila (23.57%) and Ruma Upazila (22%).
Tanchangya in CHT
[edit]According to 2022 cencus, Tanchangyas are mainly found in Rangamati Hill District(4.31%) and Bandarban District (3.09%).
They are the largest ethnic group in Belaichhari Upazila (38.77%) and second largest in Rowangchhari Upazila (14.39%).
Religion in CHT
[edit]According to the 2022 Bangladesh census, tribes are mainly followers of Buddhism (42.74%). The percentages of Muslims are: Bandarban 47.68%, Khagrachari 45.56% and Rangamati 36.22%. Most of the Christian population is in Bandarban (9.78% of the population). Khagrachari (0.62%) and Rangamati (1.32%) have only small numbers.[6]
Religion in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (2022)[7]
Culture
[edit]The culture of this tribal people is also very colorful. The greatest cultural festival of this people is the "Baisabi utsab". In Chittagong hill tracts all the tribal communities celebrate the festival in the same way. The only difference is the name. The Chakma calls it 'Biju', Tanchangya calls it Bishu, the Tripura calls it 'Baisu' and the Marma 'Sangrai' and the first 2-3 words of all the three names form the word 'Baisabi'. They celebrate the day from April 12 to 14 to say goodbye to the outgoing Bangla year and to welcome the New year.
In Chittagong Hill Tracts each tribe has its own dialect, distinctive dress, rites and rituals. But despite these distinctive features there are strong bonds between them. They are generally peace-loving, honest, and hospitable.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Population Census 2022: A CHT demographic analysis". 19 September 2022.
- ^ "Life is not Ours" (PDF). The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission. May 1991. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2014.
- ^ https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/site/page/b432a7e5-8b4d-4dac-a76c-a9be4e85828c
- ^ https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/site/page/b432a7e5-8b4d-4dac-a76c-a9be4e85828c
- ^ https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/site/page/b432a7e5-8b4d-4dac-a76c-a9be4e85828c
- ^ "Population Census 2022: A CHT demographic analysis". 19 September 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
pn19Sep2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Tribal people of Bangladesh and their culture". nijhoom.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.