Chakma The Chakma language (Changma Vaj / Changma Kodha) is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language closely related to Bengali and spoken by about 600,000 people in parts of Bangladesh and India. About half the Chakma speakers live near Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, while the rest can be found in the states of Mizoram, Assam, and Tripura in northeast India. Chakma is written with an alphabet known as Chakma, Ajhā pāṭh or Ojhopath. It developed from the Brahmi script of ancient India. Notable features • Type of writing system: syllabic alphabet / abugida • Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines Vowels and vowel diacritics
Transcript
Chakma
The Chakma language (Changma Vaj / Changma Kodha) is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language closely related to Bengali and spoken by about 600,000 people in parts of Bangladesh and India. About half the Chakma speakers live near Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh, while the rest can be found in the states of Mizoram, Assam, and Tripura in northeast India.
Chakma is written with an alphabet known as Chakma, Ajhā pāṭh or Ojhopath. It developed from the Brahmi script of ancient India.
Notable features
• Type of writing system: syllabic alphabet / abugida
• Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
Vowels and vowel diacritics
Consonants
Numerals
Chakma
Changma Kodha
Spoken in Bangladesh and India
Region Chittagong Hill Tracts, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura
Total speakers
612,207
312,207 in Bangladesh (2000 WCD),
300,000 in India (1987).
Language family
Indo-European
Indo-Aryan
Eastern Group
Bengali-Assamese
Chakma
Language codes
ISO 639-2 sit
ISO 639-3 ccp
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
Chakma language (Changma Vaj or Changma Kodha) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Chakma people. Its better-known closest relatives are Bengali, Assamese, Chittagonian, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Tanchangya, Rohingya and Sylheti. It is spoken by nearly 310,000 people in southeast Bangladesh near Chittagong City, and another 300,000 in India in Mizoram, Assam, and Tripura. Literacy in Chakma script is low. The script itself is also called Ajhā pāṭh, sometimes romanized Ojhopath.
Chakma people
The Chakmas ( Chakma or ), also known as the Changhma (চাংমা), are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or Gozas. A tribal group called Tongchangya (ত ংগ া) are also considered to be a branch of the Chakma people. Both tribes speak the same language, have the same customs and culture, and profess the same religion, Theravada Buddhism.
Chakmas are Tibeto-Burman, and are thus closely related to tribes in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Chakmas are believed to be originally from Arakan who later on moved to Bangladesh, settling in the Cox's Bazar District, the Korpos Mohol area, and in the Indian states of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura.
The Arakanese referred to the Chakmas as Saks or Theks. In 1546, when the king of Arakan, Meng Beng, was engaged in a battle with the Burmese, the Sak king appeared from the north and attacked Arakan, and occupied the Ramu of Cox's Bazar, the then territory of the kingdom of Arakan.[1]
Diego de Astor, a Portuguese, drew a map of Bengal, which was published as Descripção do Reino de Bengalla in the book Quarta decada da Asia(Fourth decade of Asia) by João de Barros in 1615.[2] The map shows a place called "Chacomas" on the eastern bank of the river Karnaphuli, suggesting that this is where the Chakmas used to live at that time. The Arakan king Meng Rajagri (1593–1612) conquered this land, and in a 1607 letter to a Portuguese merchant, Philip de Brito Nicote addressed himself as the highest and most powerful king of Arakan, of Chacomas and of Bengal.[3]
Defeated by the Arakanese, the Chakmas entered the present Chittagong Hill Tracts and made Alekyangdong, present-day Alikadam, their capital. From Alekyangdong they went north and settled in the present-day Rangunia, Rauzan, and Fatikchari upazillas of Chittagong District.
In 1666, Shaista Khan, who was then Mughal Governor of Bengal, defeated the Arakanese, conquered Chittagong, and renamed it Islamabad.[4] However, in the early days the Mughal supremacy was confined only to the plain areas of chittagong, and the Chakmas remained practically unaffected. After a few years, when a dispute developed between the Mughals and the Chakmas, the Mughals demanded tribute from the Chakmas for trading with Chittagong.[5]
In 1713, peace was established, and soon a stable relationship developed between the Chakmas and the Mughals; the latter never demanded complete subjugation from the former. The Mughals also rewarded the Chakma king Sukdev, who established a new capital in his
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• British troops would remain in the Chakma territory not to terrify the Chakmas but to protect the land from the inroads of the fierce tribes.[7]
In 1829, Halhed then Commissioner of Chittagong reaffirmed that
“ The hill tribes were not British subjects but merely tributaries and we recognized no right on our part to interfere with their internal arrangements. The near neighbourhood of a powerful & stable government naturally brought the Chief by degree under control and every leading chief paid to the Chittagong collector a certain tribute or yearly gifts. These sums were at first fluctuating in amount but gradually were brought to specific and fixed limit, eventually taking the shape not as tribute but as revenue to the state ”
.[8]
Jan Baksh Khan shifted his Capital to a new place naming it Rajanagar, near present day Rangunia. After Jan Baksh's death in 1800,his son Tabbar Khan became king;but he died shortly. In 1802 Tabbar Khan's younger brother Jabbar Khan became King & ruled for ten years. After his death,his son Dharam Baksh Khan became king in 1812. He ruled up to 1832. After his death in 1832 without any male issue, there was chaos and the government appointed Suklal Dewan as the Manager. In the meantime Rani Kalindi,widow of Dharam Baksh Khan applied to the government to allow her to run the state affairs. The government accepted her application & in 1844 issued an order to that effect.[9] In 1846 the annual revenue payable to the Company was refixed at 11,803.00Rs.
After the great Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, the British Government assumed direct control of the administration of India from the East India Company along with Chittagong Hill Tracts, which was not yet formally separated from Chittagong. But the territorial jurisdiction of the Chakma Raja was fixed by a proclamation dated 6th Shraavana 1170M.S(1763 AD) by the Company as All the hills from the Feni river to the Sangoo and from Nizampur Road in Chittagong to the hills of Kooki Raja.[10]
After Rani Kalindi's death in 1873, her grandson Harish Chandra became the Chakma Raja and was vested with the title Roy Bahadur.
[edit] The British Government Period
After the war with the English, the Chakmas became very weak militarily.
Since then the Kukis, who were independent tribes living further eastward used to make frequent murderous raids on the British subjects in Cacher, Noakhali, Comilla and other neighbouring tracts under Rani Kalindi. They raided Chittagong Hill Tracts and the neighbouring tracts in 1847, 1848, 1859 and 1860.[11] As a consequence with a view to paying the necessary attention to the areas of the front areas experiencing repeated raids and to protecting the people from the aggression of the independent tribes living further east but primarily to occupy the Chakma land, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal recommended the removal of the hill tracts from the regulation district and the appointment of Superintendent over the tribes.
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administrative affairs of these tracts. Hence they aimed firstly to lay the foundation of administration in a restricted manner with the following basic objectives[12] –
• To keep supervision on the rule of the Chakma chief and also to curtail some of his powers.
• To protect the British subjects from the Kuki menace • To preserve peace in the frontier areas so that peace prevailed in Chittagong Hill
Tracts and cotton could be grown and made available for their mills.
After the creation of a separate district and also three circles, the Kuki menace to Chittagong Hill Tracts and other adjoining areas did not stop. The Shendus, another ferocious tribe made occasional raids in the Hill Tracts between 1865 and 1888 and killed many people including massacre of Lt.Steward and his survey party. In 1872, 1890 military offensives were launched simultaneously into Lushai Hills from Chittagong and Burma in collaboration with the governments of Bengal, Assam and Burma and the whole of Kookie land was brought under British control.
On 1 April 1900, the South and the North Lushai Hills (then a part of Chittagong Hill Tracts) were merged to form a district of Assam province with headquarters at Aizawl.[13] Lushai hills are now the present day Mizoram state of India. Due to revision of the boundaries, the Chakma chief had to forge some of his lands as also the subjects.
Later the British through the Deputy Commissioner took over absolute power in Chittagong Hill Tracts including the Chakma circle after implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts manual. Chittagong Hill Tracts was again declared as an Excluded Area under the British India act of 1935.[14]
[edit] Modern time
Like in India in Mizoram & Tripura State, 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 of Bangladesh have raised tensions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Successive governments have dealt forcefully with Chakma uprisings, and finally ended the conflict with The 1997 Peace Treaty. This forcefull dealing and the construction of Kaptai Dam by then East Pakistan government in Chakma areas submerged cultivable lands and displaced thousands, resulted in the migration of a large population of Chakmas into Diyun the state of Arunachal Pradesh of the present Indian Union. The Chakmas now have representations in the Mizoram General Assembly, Tipura Legislative Assembly[15] and Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council.[16] The only seat of political power and identity is the Chakma Autonomous District Council in India, though it covers only 35% of the Chakmas living in Mizoram State in India.
[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 into Christianity without success[citation
needed]. This created resentment and upset among some Chakmas.[17][18]
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Culture
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12. Chadonga or Chadogo 13. Chekkoba or Chekkaba 14. Dachchya or Dhachchya 15. Dhamei or Dhavenga 16. Haia or Hoia 17. Hedoga 18. Bor Kambhe or Bor Kammhei 19. Guro Kambhe or Chigon Kammhei 20. Kudugo 21. Kurho Khuttya or Kurho Kuttya 22. Kngha 23. Larmha 24. Lakchara 25. Lebha 26. Mhulheema 27. Pwa 28. Bor Phaksa 29. Guro Phaksa or Chigon Phaksa 30. Pugho or Pumha 31. Phema 32. Padugo 33. Pittingya or Pittinghya 34. Pedangchhuri or Pedangsari 35. Rangi 36. Tonnya 37. Phedungsa Tonnya 38. Puran Teyha 39. Nwa Teyha, and 40. Uchchari.
It is further to state that there is no letter of English F. Hence, Ph should be used for writing a Changmha word
Biju the three day long festival is the main cultural festival of Chakma People and marks the end of the Bengali calendar. It's celebrated with singing, dancing, drinking and general merriment on the thirteenth of April every year. The first day of Biju is called PHOOL BIZU," and the second day is called "MOOL BIZU". The second day is the main day of Bizu. The last day is called "Gajya Pajjya Din(The day of relaxation)." The day is a public holiday only in Chittagong Hill Tracts. "Bizu" is the main festival of Chakma people.
[edit] References 1. ^ Sir Arthur P.Phayre, Chief Commissioner of Burma. History of Burma. p. 79. 2. ^ BNP catalog 3. ^ Sugata Chakma. Parbattya Chattagramer Upajati O Sangskriti. pp. 19–20. 4. ^ Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2007). The Mughul Empire, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
ISBN 81-7276-407-1, p.230 5. ^ Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 23. 6. ^ Government of Bangladesh. The District Gazetteer of Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 35.
7. ^ Dr. Suniti Bhushan Kanungo, Professor of History, University of Chittagong. Chakma Resistance to British Domination 1772-1798. p. 52.
8. ^ S.P Talukder. The Chakmas: Life & Struggle. p. 36. 9. ^ Biraj Mohan Dewan. Chakma Jatir Itibritto. p. 195. 10. ^ S.P Talukder. The Chakmas: Life & Struggle. p. 35. 11. ^ a b Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 29. 12. ^ a b Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 30. 13. ^ The Weekly Kagoj, 9 May 1995 14. ^ Saradindu Shekhar Chakma. Ethnic Cleansing in Chittagong Hill Tracts. p. 35. 15. ^ http://www.tripura.nic.in/ 16. ^ http://www.ttaadc.nic.in/council.htm 17. ^ Crosswalk.com - Bangladesh Church Burned as Four Faiths Clash 18. ^ Baptist Militants kill Five Chakma Tribesmen
[edit] External links • Interview with the Chakma King • Stateless Chakma refugees in India • Banglapedia entry of the Chakma • Photos of the Chakma people • Encyclopedia Britannica article • Jumma Peoples Network UK - Contains latest news and resources on Chakma and
other Jumma people of CHT, Bangladesh
Total population
0.7 million
Regions with significant populations
Mostly in Bangladesh and India
Bangladesh : Chittagong Hill Tracts area.
India : Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura
Languages
Changhma or Chakma
Religion
Theravada Buddhism
Chakma Language Learning Centre... Hello everyone, Language is the first medium of expressing one's feeling to others. In ancient tine there was no language. That's why people used to face a lots of problems in expressing their feelings. To solve their problems they have created language. But with the change of time, geographical location different language have been formed. English, Franchise, Chines, Indian, Bengali etc. are the most important languages in the world. Chakma Language is a language of old time. Due ti lack of patronization it could not develop much. It is an indigenous language in Bangladesh. It is the most indigenous language in Bangladesh. About 80% indigenous people called Chakma nation use this language. So I am Pintu Chakma to try to improve this language as much as i can. I also invite others to help me please. I hope you can learn according to your wish...For contact: 01675895514. Email: [email protected]. Your suggestion is my first necessity.
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The male Chakmas wear dhuti or lungi, panjabi and shirt while the women wear short saree and blouse. The women wear the saree almost like a lungi. The Chakmas wear very colourful clothes during their festivals.
The Chakmas possess good health and are physically fit as a result of climbing hills. They are very hardworking. Nowadays more and more of them are becoming literate and many are studying in schools, colleges and universities.
Chakma language (Changma Vaj or Changma Kodha) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Chakma people. Its better-known closest relatives are Bengali, Assamese, Chittagonian, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Tanchangya, Rohingya and Sylheti. It is spoken by nearly 310,000 people in southeast Bangladesh near Chittagong City, and another 300,000 in India in Mizoram, Assam, and Tripura. Literacy in Chakma script is low. The script itself is also called Ajhā pāṭh, sometimes romanized Ojhopath.
Structure Chakma is of the Brahmic type: the consonant letters contain an inherent vowel. Consonant clusters are written with conjunct characters, and a visible vowel killer shows the deletion of the inherent vowel when there is no conjunct.
Vowels
Four independent vowels exist: a, i, u, and e. Other vowels in initial position are formed by adding the vowel sign to a, as in ī, ū, ai, oi. Some modern writers are generalizing this spelling in i, u, and e
