Chakma lifestyle

 

Chakma lifestyle

A small ethnic group of Bangladesh. The Chakmas use the word Changma when discussing among themselves. The Chakmara are a branch of the Mongolian race. The Daingnet ethnic group living in present-day Arakan, Myanmar is considered a branch of the Chakmas. They are mostly and mainly followers of Theravada Buddhism. Apart from Buddha Purnima, one of their main joyous festivals is Biju. Chakma women make cloth on a loom called Bain.The traditional cloth of the Chakmads is Pinone Hadi, which is woven with various patterns and yarns. The lower part of the garment is the pinone, which is from the waist to the ankles, and the upper part is called the hadi. The piñon is accompanied by a beautifully designed achal called chibuki.Their number is more in Rangamati and Khagrachari of Bangladesh. However, Bandarban also has a small number of Chakmas. A section of the Chakma people live in present-day northeastern India in the states of Tripura, Arunachal and Mizoram. Besides, a large part of the Chakmas are currently staying in different countries of the world including USA, Canada, United Kingdom, France, China, Korea, Australia and Japan.Their main livelihood is agriculture. The Chakma people produce various food grains and pulses through regular irrigation seasonal agriculture in the plains of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and jum cultivation in the hilly areas.

The language of the Chakmas is also called Achik. Chakmas have their own alphabet. The Chakmaras are divided into 46 Gojas and various Guttis or clans. According to the census of 1991, the number of Chakmas in Chittagong Hill Tracts is 2 lakh 39 thousand 417 people. Theravadas adopted Buddhism.

Chakma people in medieval times

In 1546, King Meng Beng of Arakan was involved in a war with Burma. During the war, the "Sak" king attacked and captured what was then Arakan, i.e. Ramu of today's Cox's Bazar, from the north.[9]

Diego de Astor, a Portuguese, mapped the ancient Bengal region. Which was published by João de Barros in 1615 as Descripção do Reino de Bengalla in the book Quarta decada da Asia (Fourth decade of Asia). It is believed that the indicated area was the home of the Chakmas at that time.

Later Arakan king Meng Rajagri (1593-1612) took possession of the Chakomas region mentioned in Portuguese maps. The Portuguese merchant Philip de Brito Nicote noted in a letter dated 1607 that Meng Rajagri presented himself as the most powerful king of Arakan, Chacomas and Bengal.

In 1666, the Mughal Subedar Shaista Khan defeated the Arakanese and occupied Chittagong and renamed Chittagong Islamabad.[12] However, at that time the Mughal Empire controlled only the plains of Chittagong, and the Chakmas were not yet part of the Mughal Empire.After some time, the Mughals began demanding tribute from the Chakmas in return for trading in Chittagong. This led to conflict between the Chakmas and the Mughals. There was a war with the Chakmas and the Mughals. This forced the Mughals to retreat. Chakma Raja seized two cannons from the Mughals. One of which is immersed in the heart of Kaptai and the other is near the Chakma Rajbari

Later in 1713 peace was made between the Chakmas and the Mughals and this peace established a strong relationship. Since then the Mughal Empire never forced the Chakmas to submit to them. The Mughals also rewarded the Chakma king Sukhdev Roy. Sukhdev Roy founded the capital in his own name, which is still known as SukhvilasThere are still ruins of the old palace and other ancient structures. Later the capital was shifted to Rajanagar. Currently known as Rajanagar of Ranirhat, Rangunia Upazila in Chittagong District.