Chakma people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chakma, also known as the Changma, are a tribe inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Their population of 300,000 is concentrated in the Rangamati and Khagrachhari districts of Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. Another 80,000 Chakmas live in Mizoram, and another 20,000 are found in Myanmar. The state of Tripura has also some 50,000 Chakma refugees who fled from Bangladeshi Army operations since 1988. Another group of Chakmas, now numbering around 100,000 people, is found in the foothills of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh. Some Chakmas have also migrated Australia, Canada, Britain, and in the USA in the recent years.
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[edit] History
Ethnically, the Chakma are Tibeto-Burman, and are thus closely related to tribes in the mountains of eastern India and much of Myanmar. Their ancestors came from Arakan and settled in 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 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 no more than an association chief.
Like the neighbouring Bengalis, the Chakma have lived in the modern state of Bangladesh since it gained its independence. However, recent migrations of ethnic Bengalis into traditionally Chakma regions have raised tensions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Successive governments have dealt with the insurgent activities, interrupted by short-lived ceasefires, and finally ended the conflict with The 1996 Peace Treaty.
[edit] Religion
The vast majority of the Chakma are followers of the Hunyan sect [1]of Theravada Buddhism, a religion that they have been practising for centuries, which was syncretised with Animist and Hindu beliefs. Of late, several members of the Chakma have converted to Christianity, attributed to foreign and local missionaries. This created resentment among some Chakma, and have occasionally used violence, rather than proselytisation, to reconvert the Christian Chakma back to Buddhism. [2][3]
[edit] Language
Originally speaking a language belonging to the Tibeto-Burman family, the Chakma have been heavily 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 languages. Changma Vaj is written in its own script, known as Ojhopath.
[edit] Vocabulary
The following is a list of the transliterated version of Chakma words:
- Biju (Changma New Year)
- Juh! (Good morning!, greeting in general)
- Ashidbad. (Thanks.)
- vei (brother)
- bhon (sister)
- buji (sister-in-law)
- bonoi (brother-in-law)
- aju (grandfater)
- nanu (grandmother)
- ma (mother)
- bab (father)
- nobowh (bride)
- nojameih (bridegroom)
- sowr (father-in-law)
- surih (mother-in-law)
- hudhoom (relatives)
- kudhu (where)
- idhu (here)
- ageh (before)
- poreh (later)
- muih (I)
- tuih (you)
- te (he/she)
- amih (we)
- tumih (you)
- tarah (they)
- henjan agosh? (How are you?)
- Muih gom aghong. (I am fine.)
- Tuih honna? (Who are you?)
- Tawh nangan hi? (What is your name?)
- Tuih huttun? (Where are you from?)
- Tuih gom agoch? (Are you alright?)
- Tuih hudu jor? (Where are you going?)
- Muih bazarot jangor. (I am going to the market.)
- Muih zangor (I am going.)
- Tuih zor (You are going.)
- Te zar. (He/she is going.)
- Amih zer. (We are going.)
- Tumih zor. (You are going.)
- Tarah zadond. (They are going.)
- Muih zang. (I go.)
- Tuih zash. (You go.)
- Te zaï (He/she goes.)
- Amih zei (We go.)
- Tumih zo (You go.)
- Tarah zand. (They go.)
- Aama deshchan varih dowl. (Our country is very beautiful.)
- hiyong (eaten finished, past)
- hangor (eating currently)
- hem (will eat in future)
- jiyong (went in the past)
- jangor (going)
- jem (will go in future)
- Muih toreh hospang. (I love you.)
- Muih tore gompang. (I like you.)
- marry (mela)
- Hee hobor? (what's up?)
- Siba Horna? (who's that?)
[edit] References
- ^ 40 years on, Chakma refugees win right to vote
- ^ Crosswalk.com - Bangladesh Church Burned as Four Faiths Clash
- ^ Baptist Militants kill Five Chakma Tribesmen
[edit] External links
- Interview with the Chakma King
- Stateless Chakma refugees in India
- Petiton to the Indian government for citizenship of Chakma refugees
- Banglapedia entry of the Chakma
- Ethnologue profile
- Photos of the Chakma people
- Encyclopedia Britannica article
- Refugees within, refugees without (by Sanjoy Hazarika)
- Bible written in Chakma language
- Stateless Chakma refugees in India
- Petiton to the Indian government for citizenship of Chakma refugees
- Photos of the Chakma people
