Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh

In this blog series, we are providing a small glimpse of the many vibrant indigenous cultures in countries around the world. This article focuses on indigenous peoples of Bangladesh.

There are 45 recognized indigenous groups in Bangladesh, including the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Santal, and Garo. They have been living in Bangladesh for thousands of years. The people reside in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Mymensingh. These indigenous groups have their own culture and language that is different from Bangladeshi culture. Today, we will be talking about the groups mentioned above. 

Chakma

The Chakma community is the largest indigenous group in Bangladesh. They follow the ancient Therevada Buddhism and pray in Buddhist temples. They speak the Chakma language, which is similar to the Chittagonian dialect of Bangladesh. 

The Chakma people have colorful clothing known as Phinon and Hadi. They also have a very important festival known as Bizu. It is celebrated during the last two days of the Bengali Calendar. On these two days, they cook delicious food and release flowers on top of banana leaves. Buddha Purnima is also widely celebrated among the Chakma community.

Marma

The Marma community has the second largest population of indigenous people after the Chakma community. They reside in Chittagong Hill Tracts. They follow Buddhism. Their language (Marma language) is similar to the Burmese alphabet. 

They celebrate Buddha Purnima and Sangrai. Sangrai is similar to the Bizu festival of Chakma. On this day, they cook many dishes and fly sky lanterns at night.

The Marma people have a unique cuisine. They have dishes where a variety of dried fish is eaten with sticky rice. They make a dessert with sticky rice, coconut and sugar. Bamboo shoots are also eaten. 

Tripura

The Tripura community live in various parts of Bangladesh such as in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Mirsarai, Noakhali, Sreemangal and areas neighboring Tripura, India. Many people from the Tripura community also live in India. 

The Tripura people celebrate every event including the birth of a child. Their most significant festival is known as Boushuk, which is the Bengali New Year. On this day, the cook dishes with rice, vegetables, corn and chilis. They also serve desserts such as rice cakes.

Santal

The Santal occupy many parts of Dinajpur, Rangpur and Rajshahi. The majority of Santal people follow Hinduism. The Santal community has many important festivals such as Baha, Karam (festival of harvest), Dashain (the last day of Durga Puja). 

They mostly eat rice served with fish, crab, rabbit meat, and bird meat. They also drink rice wine known as handi.

Garo

The Garo community live in Mymensingh but also live in Tangail, Sylhet, Sumanganj and Netrokona. The majority of Garo follow Christianity but many of their customs and practices are from Hinduism. Their major festival is Wangala. This celebrates the harvest of crops.

The Garo people do not add spices to their food. Their most famous dish is Wake Gurah, a pork curry. They also have a fish meal called Hithoppa, which involves cooking dried fish with a type of special potato and wrapping it in banana leaves.