研究員報告
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Anu Ching
Marma
Though Islam is the dominant force， Bangladeshis a multi-cultural and multi-religious countrysharedby Muslims， Hindus， Christians， Buddhistand a few animists. The Buddhist commlmity of Bangladesh comprises variousethnic minority groups， such asMarma， Chakma， Kheyang， Lusai， Tanchanga， Chak，νlurng etc.， allof whom follow the Theravada Bucldhist Traclitionlly. They resicle in clifferent regions;use different languages， scripts and follow different socio-religious popular culture. Among them， all other communities are termecl as Tribesor Adivasi (Incligenous people) ancl resides in the hilly ancllittoral regions of Chittagong HillTracts， the south -eastern side of Bangladesh geographical identity. Accorcling to 1991 Census， the Marma isseconcl largest group contained 1， 42， 339 people withinthe tribal groups. Here 1 willdescribe the livelihooclofMarma Buddhistin Banglaclesh through their origin， group or clans， resiclential areas， administration， housing， foocl habit， profession， utensils ancl tools， musical instruments etcO
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Marma:
The Marmas are known to the Bengali originpeople as 'Mag¥The worcl Marma has significance meaning ancl history ancl various opinions are founcl as to it.Some scholars think thatthe word 'Manηa'is clerived from the Myam m， a Burmese (Myanmar) word Accorcling to them， its changes asfollows: Myamma>Mamma>mara>Marma. Some others think that it clerives from Chinese worlc'Ming' or‘Mirma' and inChina these two worcls are useclto clenote the Burmese of people of Myanmar.They also believe that the Marmas arethe Mangolialcorigin. From theolcl Myanmar's coin it is learnt that the Burmese were calleclMeyama. Some others think that the world Burma is derivelcfrom SanskritBrahma anlcas they are inhabitant of Burma so that they are called Marma. It is true thatthe forefathers of Marmas were tbeinhabitant of Myanmar.As their origin was inMyanmar so that they prefer to callthem asMarma. So itcan be cleduced that the worcl Marma is clerivecl from Myanmar
The Marmas are not Banglacleshiorigin.They are migrated from Arakan.Arakan was a country which was incorporatecl into the Myanmar's geographical identity in 1795
The Livelihood of Marma Community inBangladesh
The history saysthat thefirstlarge wave ofMarma immigrants came tosettlein Bangladesh inthe15th century whenArakan king Ali Khan (1434-1459)occupied the southern part of Chittagong. But the present Marmas are thosewho came to Bangladesh after 1794， when king Bodawpaya of Burma (Myanmar)conquereclArakan and annexed Arakan with Burmese kingclom. Being oppressecl by tyranny and inhuman torture of the Burmese， these Arakanese people were compelled toleave their homelancl and took their asylum in Chittagong. King Boclawpaya threatened the British Government， now ancl then， to hand him over allthe Arakanese immigrants inChittagong， which ultimately turned to the Anglo・Burmesewar of 1824. 1n the war， the British came victorious， which made the position of the Aral王aneseimmigrants more secure to live U1 Bangladesh.With the help of British Government， they settled invarious place of Chittagong Hill Tracts.However， some years back many Marmas went back toArakan when they were promised to give shelter by U.Nu， the then prime minister ofBurma. Itis noteworthy that they speak Arakanese， a form of Burmese c1ialect， ancl usethe Burmese script.The religion ofMarmas has been described by Claude Levi-Strauss as a 'Syancretic religion'， in which elements of ancient animistic cults continue inspite of the official confession of Budclhism. Itcan be saicl that Budclhism practiced by the Marmas is not c1ifferent from that of Burma.
The monasteriesof them have typical characteristics of Burmese temples. N owadays， although the Marmas Iive in Bangladeshand considered as Banglacleshi but theydo not like tointroduce themselves as Bengali.
Group or Clans: There
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Itarma Community consists of many small groupsor clans. They are: Rigre-cha， Pelain-cha， Pelainggri-cha， Kekdain-cha， Wein-cha， Sorung-cha， Phran -groya-cha， Kyakpia-cha， Cereyan-cha， Maro-cha， Savok-cha， Chrokkhya-cha， Teingta -chiyat-cha， Kyakma-cha， Langudu-cha， Melhuin-cha， Rakhain-cha or Rakhain etcResidentialArea: All the Marmas livein ChittagongHill Tracts (Khagrachari， Bandarbon， Rangamati ancl Cox'sbazaar)， the south-eastern hilly region of Banglaclesh， where com mu-nicatioo isvery difficult.10 the villagearea electricity is not reached till dateand vehicles are not run.
The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bangladesh
Only town areas about soling (brick structure) Road isfound. Moreover， school and colleges are alsovery few. They make their housein the top of the hills. However， a group of Marma， called Rakhain， livein Patuakhailand Coxes Bazar District， thelittoral regions of Bangladesh.
Social Administration: Though the Marmas follow and everyregardsfor the Bangladeshi N ational ] urisdictions， they have theirown administrative body ofjurisdiction.The Marmars are dividedinto two circles and there aretwo administrativebodies thatcontrol the Marmas. They are: Bomang Circle and Mong Circles. The Marmas who live in the Bandarban region follow theBomang administration and who live in the Khagrachari follow the Mong Administration. Every circle has a king. The Bomang king is known as Bomang king or chief.The present Bomang king isKyashipru Marma and the present Mong king is Penglhapru Marma. The administrative body of both circles isformed thus: ￨ King - Chief of the Circle
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↓ ￨Headman / Roaza -Chief of the MauzaI
↓ ￨Karbari-Chief of the Village Every circle is divided into following administrativesteps orformation: Circle→ Mauza→ Village. Every village has a chief who known as Karbar Hi. e solves all judicial problems of the village and controls the vil1age peoples.Every Mauza has a chief who known as Headman or Roaza， who controls theKarbaris， thehead of theVillages. Finally， the king controls al1theseadministrativebodies. If a Karbariisfailed to solve theproblem， then the caseisplacedto Headman， and thus， Headman to King. The King collects thetax from his subjects (people) through Headman and Karbari. Through these administrative bocliesthe Marmas solve their alljudicial problems. However， nowadays， ifanybody is dissatisfieclwith the verdict of the administrative body， he can place hiscaseto theThe Livelihood of Marma Community inBangladesh Bangladeshi N ational J urisdiction， but itis very rare.
Profession:
More than 80% Marmas are dependent on cultivation. They cultivate vegetables， fruits and paddy. But theypaddy field is quite different from that of Bengali culture. As they live in the hilly regions， they have to pluggingthe paddy on thehills， where they face problems with the water.So， they do itin therainyseason. Before rainyseason， they make clear all the herbs and unnecessary things from the field and make fire on it.Ashes of them are scattered in field. So， itis called Jum Cultivation. But thissortof paddy cultivation is depressing， because itis costly and laborious. As a result， they emphasize to cultivate vegetables and fruitsas they are easy tocultivate. Moreover， as the fields are fertile，
vegetables and fruits produce abundantly. Besides this occupation， they alsoengage in weaving. Especially， most ofthe women engage inweaving and theircloths earn high reputation to other peoples. They earn noteworthy money from it.The women also do firming poultry and fig.
About 20% peopleengage in Service. Previously most of the Marmas were dependent on cultivation， at present they are not confined simply to firming， but are engage in many highstatus professions as well.N owadays， one will find among them scores ofdistin -guisheddoctors， engineers， judges， professors， teachers， lawyers， businessmen， government officials， politicians and the like.As they are backward ineducation， the Bangladesh government has preserved scope for them to enter into the government services without competition. But it is noteworthy that first they have tocompetition withthemselves. As the educationisspreadingin thesociety， they are inclining in theservices than cultivation They despise begging. Even， the poor， the hopelessand widows who are incapableof earningtheir livelihood are not foundbegging， instead， they work hard to the best of their ability. N 0 kind of labor is disgraceful inthis community. Whatever， their profession， everybody enj oys問ualrights.
Family Structure:
Tbe Livelibood of Marma Community inBangladesb
members of the familylive together.1ntheirfamily father is chief， butmother alsoplays a vitalrole.The Marma women are verylaborious than men. N ot onlyin the domestic activities but alsointhe firming women take part with men. But theirlabor wage is low than men.
Housing:
Housing is the basichuman need for any society. However， the type ofhousing and design and theuse of construction materials vary according to place， environmentand culture of the respective society. People in theprimitive societies alsolived in housesthey made for themselves. 1n thehilldistricts of Chittagong， it is the common phenomenon for allthetribal societies that theyilveinbamboo made raised houses withan open platform locally known as Machang.
The Marmas alsoliveinsuchhouses. The houses are constructed on pegs about 6-7 feet abovetheground level， the materials used for these houses arebamboo， wood and sun grass which are col1ected from the forest.The reason for making thehouses from the floodingdepth of water during run-off in the rainy days. The housesare arranged inrows adjacentto each other.The individualhouse has no fencing. Each househas some common characteristics as regards the Machang， room arrangements， etc. N ormally a piece of bamboo or a thickbranch of a tree withcutssteps are used to climbthe Machang from the ground leve.1Each househas a bedroom with an attacheddressing room， a sitting room which is alsoused as theguest room， a kitchen and a storeroom. The Machang is used for various purposeslike drying of crops and clothes.
The crops which aredried on the Machang include paddy， mustard， chiIly， Mestas and tobaccoleaves. At one corner of the Machang there isa smaIlpoultry hen forlayingeggs. The spaceunderneath the Machang is used forstorage offirewood， pig sty， and for weaving.Houses are made by themale members inmaking bamboo strips used for tying thematerials
The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bangladesh Living room:
The first room adjacentto the Machang is the livingroom which is usually thelargest room in the house. This room is used for entertaining guests who normally siton a home-made sheet on thefloor.The elderly members of the family often sleepin this room at night.The floor ismade of wood and bamboo. N ormally thereisa smallwindow on one wall of the room. Sometimes raised shelves are made inthisroom for storing different items
Bedroom:
Behind the livingroom normally there is a relatively smallroom which may be called the bedroom. This room is usually used by the young marriedcouple or by the grown up daughters. N ormally unmarried male adult members ofthe family live atnight inthe community house.
The Marma people normally sleep on a mat and home-made sheet called posso (home spun cotton sheet).They also use pillows
Kitchen:
1n one corner of the house， usually adjacent to the living room， the space is used as kitchen. The floor of the kitchen is usually made of bamboo. Entrance to the kitchen is normally through the living room. The hearth (smaal ladder) is made on the bamboo floor on a slightly raised platform made of earth. Cooking utensils， pot， pan etc. are kept on a shelf inone cornerinthe kitchen room. Stored water iskept inearthen or aluminum pitchers， Okha (pitcher)
The families who are engaged in brewing wine have special arrangements inthe kitchen for this purpose. Their kitchens are slightly larger in size and the floors are less raised than the other room and even sometimes the hearth is made at the ground level Latrine:
There is no special provision for latrine in the Marma house， as they normally relieve themselves inthe nearby jungle.However， inalmost every house there is a smallroom ac1jacenttothe kitchen which is usec1forwashing and asurinalsatnight.Sometimes children use this room for relieving at night also. The floorof this room is made of bamboo stripes but with wider space inbetween.
Furniture and Fixture:
The marma people do not use many furniture in theirhouses.The most common furniture seen there is the bamboo-made cradle for the families with small children. They
Th巴Livelihoodof Marma Community inBangladesh
usemats made ofbamboo inthe cradle tosleep on.They alsousepossositon as wellas tosleepatnigh.t Bamboo made basketsofvarioussizesiscommonly usedforstoring differentmaterials inc1uding agricultural products.
The young members ofthe marma families preferto hang colourpicturesand cinema postersintheir houses. Most of theelderly people expressedno interestforthesepictures andposters， butthey do not mind younger people hanging thoseon thewalls oftheir houses.
Cost ofmaking a typicaI
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、'1armahouse:The Marma people do notusually estimateany costfor making their houses. Most of them collectthe requiredmaterials namely， bamboo， sun grass and log wood from the jungles. As such any estimation of costfor making houses is not easy.However， after discussions the requirements forvarious kindsofhousingmaterials and theircorrespond -ing market priceshavebeen estimated. A typical Marma housecostsabout Taka 20，000/ 一ifit is made ofbamboo and sun grassonly.However， for thosehouses where wood is used forflooring and forpillars， thecost ofthehousehas beenestimated to aboutTaka 80，000/ 一.A few families insome villagesmade their houseswith tinroof and wood and thick mud walls. The costofsuch housesis much higher.
For making the traditional Marma houseit isa traditional practice for the male members inthevillagetoput intheirlabour forwhich no cash payment is made. This giving oflabour is reciprocated by other families
Every year the Marma peoplechangethe roof oftheirhousesifitis made of sun grass and theyrepairthe bamboo walls from time to time.As mentioned earlier， 1 noticed the changesin the style and design of the Marma houses. Some houseshave either wooden or mud walls withroofs. Thesehousesarenotconstructed on a raised platform. This is a significant change from theirtraditional“Machang" -type houseswith sun grassroof. Thisreveals the influence ofthe culture ofthe plainland peopleon the life style ofthe Marma people.Itis interesting tonotethatsuchchanges have takenplaceamong the relatively well-to-do Marma familieshavingcontacts with the plainland people. Food Habit:
Rice， meatand fish are thestaple foodsof theMarmas like theother people of Bangladesh. Vegetablesand other cereals are alsocommon to theirdaily foodstuffs. But theylike to take the boilvegetable inwhich chilly is notused.This iscalled A
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l'eng in Marma language. Lunch and dinner are theirmajor meals. Inaddition， they alsotakericeThe LivelihoodofMarma Community inBangladesh
items indried form and eat them later during the rainy season mixed with dried fish. Recently 1 observed a change intheir useof vegetables.Theynow usecabbage， cauliflower，
tomatoes， etc.Most of thevegetables they preferto eat green.But the peopledo notprefer
drinking milk. Even the children do notdrink milk.Sometimes， theypreparecurdand keep
it bamboo containers to sellitinmarket.
Though contraryto Buddhism， the Marmas， like othertribes， like todrinkthe
homebrewed winewhich is made by them and they alsoindulge in huntingbirds， wild
animals and fishing. Some popular food items of the Marma peoplehave been described below:
Cakes and sweets:
The Marmas make and enjoyvarious kinds of cakes. Among them the famous are called Chilangmung， Kyangdamung， Chesmamung， Rifrimung and Fukyemung inMarma
language. A few methods of cake making aredescribed below. Chilangmung is made with rice powder， coconuts， banana， sugaror molasses and oi.lFirsttheymixed thericepowder，
coconuts， banana， sugar or molasses with water and make a liquid thenitplltS on thehot oil.Thus， this kindof cake ismade. The Kyangdamllng is made with rice powder， coconllt and molasses.Its making method is pecllliar¥Firstthe mix the rice powder， withcoconut
and molasseswitha few water and make a past， then itplltS on bamboo， then thebamboo is burnt.ThllS， thiscake is made. The Chesmamung is made withrice powder， coconllts and sugar.First coconuts are fried withsugar， then rice powder is friedinan iron pot with a little oiland on itthe fried coconutsis placed. Then itiswrapped withChapatti orRllt made of wheat.τbe Fllkyemung cake is made withrice powder， coconllts， sllgarand banana.First， allthese ingreclients is mixed with water and make one kind of hardpast， then the pastisplaced wrapped by banana leaf and are boiled atleast onehour.
Thus， thiskindofcake is made. These sorts of cakes are different from Bengali food cllltllre.They also takevariOllS kind of sweetlike other people of Bangladesh
Rice thomoh:
The peopleprefer to eat unperboiled ricewhichis cooked in water.Most of them do
not like softcooked rice. However， they serve soft cooked rice to the children as wellas to the sickpersons. They always eat rice with other items like vegetables， dried fish， etc， Nappi:
N appiis prepared withshrimp and sal.tThe mixture ofshrimp and salt is driedfor two days in the Sllnand thenbottled.
The Livelihoodof Marma Community inBangladesh
inthe earlymorning astheirbreakfast.For breakfastnormally they take theleft overrice ofthe previous night togetherwith roasted dried fish and chilly. They make a special pickleof chilly mixed withsolt， garlic， ginger and dry fish (calledNochuigruil~) ， to take the boil vegetables.This food isdifferent from Bengalioriginpeople. They prefer to eatfog and tortoise rather any meats. Driedfish isalsovery characteristicsfoodamong Marmas， although it isshared by otherpeopleof Bangladesh. But the Marmas do noteatbeef.They have a food called N appi， whichismade ofdryfish through a complex way. This food is enjoyed only by the tribal peopleand the BengalipeopJe do noteatit.The Marma peopJe eat aJmost all kinds ofvegetabJesdependingon their avaiJability in a particuJarseason. Com monJy used vegetables， among other
include beans， marpha (special type of cucumber grown in the hills)， squash， brinjal， okra and bamboo shots， etc. As bamboo shootisavaiJable mostlyinthe rainy season， it is a very common and popular food itemamong the Marma during thattime. Besides， they alsoeat different typesof arum potato and yam and various Jeafy vegetablesand herbs. They do not prefer to eatfresh fish. However， they are now seen toeathilsha fish， especially on the market day when suchfishare availabJe inthe market.They eatmeat only on speciaJ occasions and duringfestivaJs time.Kra (chicken) and wah (pig) meat are theirpopuJar meat items. They alsoeatvarious insectswhich include among others ants， crabs， cricket， beetles， snails， etc.
During theseason when insects are commonly available， the children and thewomen ofthistribe arefound to busy in collectingsuch insects from the underground.
The people of this society also eat the meat ofdifferentbirds.During Jhum cultivation， particularly they catchand killdifferentbirds and they eattheir meat inroasted form with wine. The most common birdis dove.
Thesepeoplealsolike toeatvarious fruits of which jack fruit， guava， banana， lemon and tamarindare very common ones. Besides， they alsocollect otherjungle fruits， various types ofleaves， herbs， and cropsfrom the forest目 Duringwinter they preserve these food
Th巴Liv巴lihoodofMarma Community inBanglad巴sh
pepper for onemonth. During this period theyalso eatdriedfishbut they are restricted from eating vegetables which are beUer in taste.
Cooking timing and eating customs:
1ntheMarma families cooking is normally done twicea day， oncein the morning between 10-11 a.m.and the again in theevening.1n theearlymorning theyalways eatcold rice usually cooked in the previous evening. Together withthis rice theyalso eatcooked vegetablesleftoverfrom the previous night.
N ormally cooking inthe morning is done after the female members of thehousehold return from the field. 1nthe evening normally theycompletetheir dinner soon aftersun-set. N ormally allmembers ofthe familyeattogether. There is no preference for male or chilclren to eat earlier.The utensils theyuseforeating is plates both tin and earthen plate. After finishing their meal they normally pourwater in the plate and drink the same. 1n some families， however， glass and aluminum potsarefor drinkingwater.N ormally they eat sitting on the floor.Sometimes however， on specialoccasions and forspeciallyinvited gueststheyservethe foocl on low， wooclentables.
Smoking of solik (cigars)isverycommon forboth themale and the female Marmas of all ages. They also prefer tochew betelleafanclnut.The Marma men arefondofliquor Liquor is， however， less popularamong the women and children. 1n thissocietyno festival is complete withoutIiquor.They usespecial smallsize glasses while drinkingliquor.Many of them even drink liquor directly from the bottle. The Marma woman and children smoke home-made cigars primarily.
1 am also observed some changes in the foocl habits among the Marma families. For example， some familytakes breakfast in the morning which includes tea， bread， biscuit， etc.purchased nearbyshop.They are， however， rich personsand have contractswiththe plainland people. Perhaps this has influenced them tochange their food habits and to discard the traditional Marma breakfast items.
Domestic Utensils
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AgricultureImplements，
Fishing Toolsand Weapons:The utensils used for cooking aresimilar with that ofBangladeshi.Itis noteworthy that most of the utensilsthat made of woocl， cane anclbamboo are macle by themselves. Domestic utensils which primarily usecl for cooking， collection of water， storing ofwater ancl otherc10mestic uses inclucle pots， pansanclpitchersofc1ifferentsizes.But the utensil use forcarryingthings isvery c1ifferentfrom Bengalipeople. 1ntheirlanguage it is callecl ‘Paroing'.
The LivelihooclofMarma Community in Banglaclesh
These bottlesarethen put inpitsforabout a month. During this time the colour of the materialsinthe pots turns blackish.
Vegetables with nokroh (dryfish):
1n preparing thiitem various kinds of vegetables are cut into smal1pieces anc mixed 1 withdried fish togetherwithpowdered turmeric， green chiliesand salt. The whole thing is cooked for a shorttimeon fire.
Houtsa(meat):
1npreparation of pig meat theycook the meat inoilmixed with onion， ginger， garlic and driedchili.As for chicken， however， theyeatmostly boiled chicken. Chicken isboiled inwater together withginger， garlic， greenchiliand salt.The water part of this prepara -tionis also usec1 as soup
Nokrop (dry fish) with mrohtsee (greenchilli):
1n the preparationof thisitemslices of dried fish areputin a sticklike sate and roastec1 infire.The Marma peopleeat this with rice.
Sometimes they mix smal1piecesofdriec1 fish， particular1y driedshrimps， with green chilies and some leafy vegetables with salt and make a paste of this mixture. Similar preparations are also mac1e with other insects and snailsmixec1withvegetable， onion and salt
Special food for children and sickperson:
Breastfeeding isvery common among theMarma people. Another common fooc1 item forchildren is pasterice with salt.Other than110separatemeal is prepared forchilc1rel1. N ormal1y 110 specialfood is prepared forsick persol1s either.However， their rice iscooked
softer.Although thereis110prescribed food for pregnant mother， they prefer toeatitems which taste. After thechild is bornthemother eatsricewithboiledchickel1with salt anc1
The Livelihoodof Marma Community inBangladesh
They wear petticoatunderthethobaiand a brassier under the bedeangi. They usea smallclothto cover theupperpart of thebody， especiallytocoverthe breast.They also use bangle in hands， gold or silver ring in ears.
The young women usuallyusea long clothofvariousand gorgeouscolorcalled Thubuing inMarma language to cover thelower partof thebody. They use brassiercalled Krudang inMarma languageto cover thebreast and on ittheyusea blouse called Bedai inMarma language.They use bangle in hands， ringin ears， chains in neck and waistthat aremade of gold， silver and of various colors
The useofundergarments among the Marma women is very common. They wear petticoatunderthe thobaiand a brassier under the bedeangi.
The aged men usually use Dhuti(Khayaka)， one kind oflong white colorcloth， tocover thelower parts of body.They usewhiteshirts calledRangji A
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ru to coverupper parts of the body. They usea turbancalled Gougbong on theirheads. The general men uselongi， one kind of clothesewing bothside， tocover thelower partf the body， and use T-shirtsto coverupperside ofthe body.Marma men to coverthe upper partof thebody whichis like a waist coat withlong sleeves， six pocketsin frontwithno collar¥
Now-a-daysit is observedthat the marma men do not wear thistypical dress. Instead theyuse a secondhand shirt of any design purchased from the market. At present only the Karbari (chiefofthevillage) and few elderlypersonswearing the traditional dress.
There is no typical dressforthechildr百1.When theyare very young， theywear second
hand cloths mostlyshirts， pants and other common dressesofthe plainland people pur -chased from market.From 9 to 10 years of agethey use the typical Marma dress for men and women respectively.
The Livelihoodof Marma Community inBangladesh
Their beddings mainlyaremade with wool and cotton.They make the cotwith
bamboo and cane. Most ofthe utensils uses forsitting aremade withbamboo and cane.
They make well forwater;in many cases they use naturalwater from the rainfall of hills. Agriculturalimplements and tools used by them are mainlyusedfordifferentpractices in jhum cultivation includingsowing， weeding and harvesting. These implements are mostly made of ironwith wooden handles. Among thevarioustypes of tools used by the Marma people ponkhuyaidah (chopper) is the most importantone.They always carry
ponkhuyaidah with them. Itis usedmultiplepurposes.While goingfor work the Marma men tie up the ponkhuyaidah on back and women putthem in thebasketswhich theytie
up behind the head and on the shoulder.They use itfor cuttingjungle for jhum crop， for
harvesting the jhum crops， cleaning the jungle， cuttingbamboos and preparing different bamboo materials， i.e. basketancl otheritems. Sometime they alsousethe ponkhuyaidah
as a weapon for protecting themselvesfrom wilclanimals.
Dress:
The Marmas havetheir typical dresses. There dresses aredifferent from Bengali people butsimilarto other tribes toa great extent.Dressesare， however， differentformen
and women among the Marmas.Women's dresscomprises ofthobai， bedeangiand gong
-bong. Thobai is the lowerpart ofthe clresswhichcovers the body from waistupto theankle which lookslike a stitchedskirt.1nolder timesthey used to make thobai (marma dress for
woman) with single colouredhomespun materialsonly目 Now-a-clays，however， they pur -chaseprinted materials from themarket for thobai. This is more common among the
women. Bedeangi is likea blouse tocover the upper partof theboclyof theMarma women
The traditional bedeangi is suchthat itfully coversthe upperpart of the body from neck towaistwith a series ofdecorative buttonson the left side ofthe body.
1 observedsome changesin the design of bedeangiamong theyoung Marma women. Tbe bedeangi now-a-clays almostlooks like a blouse used by the plainland women. But tbe
elderly women normally do notwear becleangi. 1nsteadthey wrap their chestwitha piece
of clothnamed langsong.
The Marma women cover tbeir heads with a piece ofcloth， gongbong， particularly when theygo forwork outside and also when they attend religious festivals.The use of
The LivelihoodofMarma CommunityinBangladesh
lemon juice. 1nadditio11， theyalsouse a kind offruitofjungle tree to c1ean theirhairs. They believe that theuse of this fruitnot only c1eans their hair， butalso helpsingetting ridof lice from hair.
Travels and Transport:
Walking is thecom mon practice ofthe Marma people togo from one place to another 111olderdays therewas no road link inthesehillyareas. Bothmen and women， therefore， had to walkeven withheavy loads of fuel wood， bamboo， sun grass and various crops harvestedfrom jhum cultivation. To cross a river theyusea boat called“kemo". These “kemos" areof special design which hasa narrow and long body with low hackery.1n recenttimes， however， there have been some developments. Some ofthethanaheadquar tershavepassengersand goods carrying services withthehelp of very old jeepsand vans. These servicesare， however， veryirregular and risky. Some importantlocations inthehill districtshave good road networkand thereforebusservicesareavailable there
But the Marma peopletoldme that they do notenjoy riding busastheyarenot accustomed to thisand they feel sickand oftenvomit while ridjngon a bus. Rickshaw is used as a local transportationfor shortdistancenear the urban areas only. Some Marma people inthe urban areasride bicyc1es
Musicand Musical Instrument:
The Marma societyhasdistinctculture ofits own which inc1udes， among others， typicalmusicand dance. Their musicand dance are very closelyassociated withthe social，
culture and religious life.1 observedthe marma people celebrated the following occasions with musicand songs. These， among others， inc1ude the funeralceremonies ofimportant personslike thevicuu (priest) and the members ofthe Rajfamily and rajpunna (annual jhum tax collectionceremony) festival
The Marma people have special type ofmusicand dance for funeralceremonies ofdistinguishedpersons. This iscalled soing dance.
Soing-This is a kindof stick dance performed by various groupsarounc1thecoffin.The coffinis placed on a bamboo made pagoc1a c1ecoratec1withcolorec1papers.
They play different traditionalmusical instruments inc1uding special type ofdrums called bungpai.Khrekhong-A special type of mouth orga11mac1e ofbamboo is alsoplayed on this occasion. The
The Livelihoodof Marl11a COl11l11unity in Bangladesh
The useof shoes/sanda1sis rather a recentphenomenon among theMarmas. They neveruseshoes/sanda1s inside their houses. Theiruseofshoes/sanda1s is more common among the men compared tothe Marma women. Itis note that theuseof shoes and sanda1s was ear1ier limited tothemembers oftheRajfamily only.
The Marma men wear a blackcoat inaddition to10ngi and angi atthe time of their wedding.Itis common practice to carrya dah (chopper) a posso (homespun sheet)by a Marma man atthetime ofwedding ifthe groom goesto hisfather-in-1aws housefor living The symbolic meaning of the dah and possois thatwhile thedah symbolizesactive life which impliesthatthe man carrying the dah willengage himself inearninghis own l
ivelihood， the possostandsfor hiswife's housewhere he will live for hislife time. Ornaments:
The Marma women arefondof wearing differentornaments.The common are pai10inodah(earring)， 10koh (bracelet)， lakhiah(anklet)， toagro (waistle) and shoegrudali (necklace)， these ornaments arecommonly made of silver¥
The chain withsilver coins， taingloijoreisverypopular among theMarma people. The use ofgoldornaments is not verycommon among the Marma woman of rura1 area. They useof imitationjewe1ers.
1 observedthe Marma familiesi1ving in the urbanareasand who'seconomically well-offstarted using gold ornaments.The Marma women are usually fond of using flowers for beautification.
Personal care:
N ormally the Marma peoplego to the fie1d twicea day every day eitherforjhum cultivation orforcol1ecting fuel woods， sungrass and fooditems， etc. As a matter ofnormal practice， they take bathinthenearbystreamorriverevery day while returning from the jungle or field. Other than the Marma people are not much serious about general cleanli -ness.
They do however;wash their teetheveryday inthe morning withcharcoal.The Marma men alsousetwigsof neem or guava tree astooth brush， whereas thewomen and children commonly usecharcoaland saltforcleaningtheirteeth. Most ofthe children， however， do not clean their teeth.
Hair doing isverypopular practiceamong theMarma woman. They seem tobe quite serious anc1carefulabout theirhair‘ To clean theirhairs the Marma woman use soap and
The Livelihoodof Marma CommunityinBangladesh
otherinstruments playedon this occasion arepree， hnee (flute made ofbamboo)， ching -choak (smallbrass plate)， khoraleo (a kind offlute made ofbell metal)， mong (made of bell metal)， paioah (made ofbamboo)， chong (made ofbamboo)， bango krinang (metallic bell withwooden hamper)， ching (made ofbamboo)， khoa. They also singa song name kappa and arowing.
Kappya song is sung memory of thelifeofa dead personwhereasarowing song is sung toexpress satisfaction thatthe dead person willgo toheaven， Likewiseduring rajpunna， they play the tradition musical instruments and alsoperform pankhung whichmeans recitationfrom mythological story book
The Marmas celebratethe harvest ceremony ofjhum cultivation withsong， music and dance.The performanceinc1ude troh， ruddha which arethe songs sung by the young boys and girls to express their feeling ofjoys
1naddition these peoplealsopracticedifferentkindsofgroup songson different occasions. Some of thesearelistedbelow
Ragaing -At the time of draught the peopleingroups singthesong on an open field. They believe thatsong willbring rainto facilitatetheir crop production
Aing _ This is very special kind of song sung after winning a competitive game or speciallyduring boat race
Oing-_ This isa populardance among theMarma peopleperformed by theyoung girls speciallyina marriage ceremony. Another common dance performed at the wedding is cal1ed simuing (candledance) whichis an expression ofrespect tothe elderly people who are presentthere.The other popular dancesof Marma people arebaing (musical dance)， longbaianka (plate dance)， bamboo danceetc
On thespecial occasions1 saw groups of performers coming from theneighbouring areas of theBandarban， Cox's Bazar and Rangamati.
Games/ Play:
The Marmas enjoy their traditional games. They enjoy very much their traditional games which are different from the Bengali people. Among the traditional games， which arenotfound in theBengali culture， thefollowings arenoteworthy:Alari， Kuyang (dha -thu)， Gudu， Kangchi， Magrong， O-kucheng， Peyingjik， Aing， Paing， Rimiang. Here some of them are describes.
The Livelihood of Marma Communityin Bangladesh
used to play it.Fisrt， playersare dividedinto two groups containing 5 to 10 players.There are popular games for the young boys and girls.
Khuyang-Da: Itis played withwheel of wood.Players aredivic1ed into two groups contain ing 5 to12 players
Rimiyang: This game has a fantastichistory. Players arenot limited in this game First， oneplayer is turnedinto crocodile.He wishes to eat otherplayer.Ifhe touches any playerhe or she becomes crocodile. Then along with him， thecrocodile tries to touchother players grac1ually. 1nsuch， they more he touches the more playersare turned intocroco -diles. This game is interesting toplay intothe water
Aing:The mostpopular indoorgames in“Aing". 1ntheMarma literature“aing"has been mentionedas one of the most populargames. Smallthin sticks ofabout7"long made of bamboo is used in this game. 1n addition， there isa little thick called theQueen stickor “Aingma". Twenty five or forty sticks are required to play this game.
1naddition to thesetrac1itionalgames the Marma young boys and girls now-a-days play carom， footballand badminton
N
ow1
introduce a few religious festivals: Buddhist religious practices:The Marma tribalpeople arequiteregular inperforming certain daily ritualson individual basis.These rituals are the following:
1nthemorning afterthey come back from the field(hills) at about10:00a.m. the members of each family offer their prayerintheirrespective housesby keeping some food items like rice and boiled vegetables or curry in front ofthe idolorthe pictureofLord Buddha and bow their heads. Some families thensend cookedfood called suiang (meal to the kiang(temple) for the viccu (Monks) and others living there.This practiceof sending suiang (meal)is performed by almost allfamiliesuncler.The families assigne tclosencl suiang (meal)to the kiangon a given day take their meal only after theysend suiang tothe kiang. N ormally the clistribution of suiang (meal)is donebeforenoon. The viccus (Monks) as a matter of c1isciplinelco nottake theirmeal after mid-day.
1nthe evening just at sunset after they return from the field(hill)the members of the Marma familieslight lamps and put them infrontof theidol orthepictureof Lord Buddha in their respectivehouses. Such lights are eitherkupies(smallkerosenelamp ina tin coutainer)or cancllelights.They also bow their hea1cs showing respect toLord Bucldha.
The LivelihooclofMarma Community inBanglaclesh Purnima FestibaI (Labray):
The Purnima festibal isclosely relateclwith the full moon of each month.The Marma design it
Worshiping the Buddha infullmoonday
The people considerevery purnima (full moon night) as an ausplclOUS religious
occasion. However， three such purnimas in a year areregarded as very importantbecause ofthe reiIgious festivalswhich are celebrated with greathonoure， forvour and geity.These are • Baishakhi purnima(Kasunglabre)
・
Asharipurnima(Oaso)and・
Ashwinipurnima(W ahgi we) Description of reIigious festivaI:Kasunglabre (Baishakhi Purnima/ Buddha Purnima):
For the all BuddhistofBangladesh， Buddha Purnima is themost sacred and most festive occasion observedwith due solemnity.The Marma Buddhistsalso observeit with religious fervour.The Buddha Purnima is associatedwiththreeevents of thelife of Gautama Buddha， i.e.， birth， enlightenment and death. As these three events of Buddha's life happened on this full moon day soit is calledBuddha Purnima. It observesitthe first monthof Bengali Calendar (April).Themonastery isdecorated with lamp， festoons， balloonsand flowers for this purpose.
On the Buddha Purnima day allthe Marmas take leisure from theirjobs.They getup from bed very early inthe morning， takeshower and put on cleanornew dress and prepare togo to the monasteryto take part in everyaffairof worship. They go to local monastery ina processionwithvariousitems of worship， such asdeliciousfoods， incense， candle and a consecrated potfilled with water， leavesof mango sprouts and bo-treesprouts
A group followsthe procession singingdevotional song and playing instruments.This spectacleisveryfestiveand impressive. Allthese thingshave symbolicmeaning. The Marma considers and offersfood for not to faceany sortsof foodscarcity， candle and
The LivelihoodofMarma Community inBangladesh
incenseforenlightenmentand wisdom， waterfor peace， leaves forlonglife and devotional songs for enjoyment and driveaway the evil spirits. Afterreaching in the monastery， they firstoffertheworshipmaterials in a decorative manner and lighting candles and incenses in a dais in front of Buddha statue.Then they sitinthe floorofthe shrineforoffering prayers ina poseof worship. The high priestofthe monastery directs the occasion.He utters the traditionalversesthatcommon to allBangladeshiBuddhistsand thelay Buddhistsfollowhis uttering.At first， all monks and lay Buddhiststake refuge in three Jewels， i.e.， Buddha， Dhamma and Sangha and take the vow offiveprecepts called Panchasila. Among the aged， those who areinterested， takevow ofobserving eight precepts called Astasila.Then they offer offeringsutteringthe offering verse. Afterprayer they entertain the monks with delicious foodthatthey carriecl. They also givedonationin cash and kind. Theyalsoentertainpoor people withclelicious foocl
1ntheevening theyalsoperform same worshipexceptofferingfood. Thosewho take
eightprecepts theydo nottake any foodin the night， but they candrink juice and water. Though theMarma Buddhists practicekilling and takinghand brew wine butonthe BuclclhaPurnima clay they abstainfrom it.The whole day theyabsorbinreligiousclevotion and practicingmeditation. Some monastery observed theday for threetoseven days
projectingvarious programs.
The Marma lay Bucldhists， asanswer to my interview， reportthe following popular objectives ofthe observationofthis festival : They observe it ina hope to 1)obtaiη
enlightenment; 2) get ride 01S11.併nηgs;3)reborn仇 heave伐 4)get wealth;6) nottodo
sins and
η
notω
lallin miseηOffering in the monastery
Oaso (
A
s
h
a
r
i
Purnima):
Oaso is anotherimportant religiousfestival for the Marma Buddhists next toBuddha Purnima anclsolemnized with due religious favour¥This Purnima day is associated withthe
followingimportant inciclentsof Budclha'slife.On this day : 1)Bucldhawasconceivedin the womb of Mayadevi; 2) Buddha renouncedhis home;3)Buddha preached his first sermon;
The Livelihood of Marma Community inBangladesh
4)Buddha introduce first rain retreat; 5)Buddha went to Tavatimsa heaven to preach the dhamma to his deceasedmother and other gods; and 6) Buddha exhibitedhis twin-miracle.5 1n order to commemorate these significant events of Buddha'slifethey observe it.
Realizing the significance the Bangladesh Government declared the sacred day as an optional holiday. Besides， the peasants are free from their farm work in this season. As a result many attend in this festival.They take part in mass worship and perform all religious rites and rituals similar to that of Buddha Purnima
Pavarana Purnima/ Ashwini purnima(wahgiwe).:
This Purnima festival is very significant for the Marma Buddhist and equal instatus to the Buddha Purnima asisevidenced by itswidespread celebration.Pavarana means 'fulfillment ofwish'，‘satisfaction ofdesire'or‘theday of completion of study and meditation¥Thisis the ceremony that is performed at the end of rain-retreat of the monks.
Itis held in the Ashvini month (September-october)， the sixth month of BengaliCalendar So， it is also known as Ashvini Purnima. Like otherPurnima festival this Purnima hasalso some relationwith some important events ofBuddha'slife.For example， on thisday Buddha came down to this world after preaching theAbhidhamma to his mother and other gods in Tavatimsa heaven. 1n the same day Buddha urges the monks to take theresponsi -bility for spreading thefaith and welfare of all beings. Besides， from this Purnima day， the yellow rob offering ceremony is heldinallmonasteries for one month. Moreover， This Purnima festivalnotonly provides monks with comfortableilving quarters and suitable c1othing， it also provides opportunity for lay devotees to earn merit.
To observethe festival thedevoteesdecoratethe monastery with many colorfullamps， cartoons， flowers， balloons and garlands. Many flags are hoisted， gates and walls of the monastery are decorated with lamp and banana trees， decorated pots are placed on both side of the monastery gate. They come to the monastery with various articles of worship and with accompaniments of music. They carry a Celestial-treewhich is decoratedwithall
kinds of pleasurable things thata man needs in his everydaily life and all the things hanged in this tree are donated to monks.The idea is that if they donate all these things， theywill
get thousand foldsin heaven in return. They perform all rituals like that of Buddha Purnima. The flying of the 'sky lamp' known as Panusbaji， isthe most interesting aspect of this Purnima festival.The‘sky lamp' is big balloon made of paper.One partofitremains open and is connected with a bunch of cotton ropes or jute fibers， which aresoaked with oiland fed with fuel gas. The ropes of the balloon are burnt and itgradually released. It raised slowly ascending high in the sky， a thrilling night under thec1earsky of the autumn season
Th巴LivelihoodofManna Community in Bangladesh
When the sky lamps flyinthe sky scattering light， itlookslike a moving rocket.The
objective offlying sky-lamp is to worship Budclha'shairrelics.Two legends arefoundin the Marma societyinthis regard， which run thus: WhenBuddha renounced his horne， he cuthishai and ，' threωitinto the ai
κ
sa戸・ηgγ
rny airn and rnission 01 renunciation are Iruitful， this tress 01 hairω
II go to upwards.' The Marrnas set off the sky-Ianψωsyrnbol and cornrnernoratioη01Buddha's ernphaticρ
redictioη.Another view is thatBuddha goingto Tavatirnsaheaven is shoωηbythis flying 01 sky-Iarnp. Regardless 01 the lactual accuraり 01theselegends， th里yfly thesky-Iarn
ωρ
art Gηdραrcel 01 their religio凶 custorn.The compulsoryperformance ofPavarana hasits practicalimplications. Itseems tous thattheBudclhamade itcompulsory becauseitprovidesan opportunity to perform yellow roboffering ceremony and during the festival monks make a confession of guilt.From this day themonks preach the clhamma tothe lay devoteesand thus， encourage thelay community togiveup sinfullife and tolead honest life.The popularobjectivesofthis festival aresame to thatof Buddha Purnima.
Social N orms:
The Marmas also follow some obligatory social norms and ritualslike other commu nitiesofBangladesh.Here 1 shalljust introduceit inbriefly. As social norms， they follow some obligatoryrulesregarding birth， marriageand death. They believemany god and goddess， worshiping many things suchashouse， tress， riveretctheyobserved many
religious festivals as Budhha purnima， Asaripurnima，Pavarana purnima etc. Thereare
varioustaboos in Marma society.Itis alsoinfluencing thepeople'severyday decision
making Conclusion:
Though the Marmas live inBangladesh， theyhave their own ethnic identity.Through
the above mentioned ingredients they keep their distinctidentity as an ethnicand a separatecommunity. Their administration， family structure， dress， food， games etc. are quite clifferent from Bengaliculture. First1 wouldlike toconveymy gratitude tothe authority of NumataFellowship for Provideme an opportunitytoconductresearchin}apan for oneyearunder theprecious supervisorof ProfessorYusho Wakahara. 1 alsotakethe opportunity to convey my ( 38 )
Th巴Livelihoodof Marma Community inBangladesh
gratitude towards my supervisor ProfessorYusho Wakahara， Kensuke Okamoto， Enoki Sensei and lwataSensei who helped me in many ways inmy research givingprecious advice and instructions.Moreover， 1 am highly indebtedto the Authority and Professors of Ryukoku University， who rendered unprecedented， help towards me duringmy research.1
alsowouldliketo givemy sincerethanks tothemembers of library ofRyukoku University， who were kindenough during theuseoflibrary materials. Below 1 am providingthe
informationas tomy research works that1 conductedunderthe Numata Fellowship for one year.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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2. Majid， Mustafa(ed.):“Marma Jatisatta (Marma Nationality)，"2004， Mawla Brothers， Dhaka.
3. Al凶am，Mahbub shani， Chittagong
4.Rajput， A.B.:"The Tribesof ChittagongHill Tracts，" 1963， Karachi， Pakistan 5. “Marma Paribarik 0 Bektigata Ain，"Published by Cares Bangladesh， 1999， Dhaka， p
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6. Sagor， Khurshed Alam:“Bangladesher Adivasider Katha (A Tellof lndigenousPeople
of Bangladesh)，"2006， Patraput， Dhaka
7. Chakma， Sugata:“Bangladseher Upajati 0 Adivasider Samaj， Sanskrit 0 Achar
Babohar (Society， Culture and Festivals of Tribal and lndigenousPeople in Bang-ladesh)，"2002， Nowraj Kitabstan， Dhaka
8. Hasnain， N adeem:“Tribal lndia Today，"1983， Harman Publications， New Delhi.
9. Qureshi， Mahmud， Shah:“Tribal CulturesinBangladesh，" 1984， lnstituteof
Bang-ladeshstudies， RajshahiUniversity.
10.“Bangladesh Population Census，"1991， Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics， Dhaka
11.Haque， Aynal， Md.， UpajatiderItihas0 Jibondara (History and LifeofTribes)， J une 2001， Koushik Publications， Dhaka.
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