研究員報告

The Livelihood of Marma Community in

Anu Ching Marma

Though Islam is the domi nan t force ， Bangladesh isa multi-cultural and multi-r eli gi ous co u ntry sha r ed by Mus li ms ，Hindus ，C hri st ians， Buddhist and a few animi sts .Th e Buddhi st comm lmit y of Ba ngl adesh compr ises var ious et hni c minority groups ，s uch as Marma ， Chakm a，K heyang ，Lusai ，Tanchanga ，C hak ，νlurn g etc. ， a ll of w hom follo w th e Thera va da B ucldhi st Traclition ll y.They resicle in clifferent reg io ns; u se diff ere nt languages ，scr ipt s and fo ll ow diff erent soc io-re li gio us popu l ar cul ture . Amo ng them ，all othe r communities ar e termecl termecl as Tribes or A di vasi (Incli geno us people) ancl res id es in the hill y ancllittor al re g ions of of C hitt ago ng H ill Tr acts ， the sout h -easte rn sid e of Bangladesh geog rap hical id entit y. Acco rclin g to 199 1 Ce nsus，th e Marma is seco ncl lar gest group contained 1，42 ， 339 peo ple w ith in the tr ib al group s. He re 1 w ill descr i be the li ve lihoocl of Marma Buddhist in Ba nglacl es h through their or igin ，gro up or cl ans，res icl en ti al areas ，a dmini strat ion ，hou sin g， foocl foocl habit ，profession ，utensil s ancl too ls，mu sica l in str um ent s etc Origin Origin of the Marma:

Th e Marm as are kn ow n to the i or ig in peop le as 'Mag¥The worcl Marma h as signi fica n ce m eanin g ancl hi st ory ancl var ious op ini onsa re founcl as to it. Some sc holars t hink th at th e wo rd 'Ma nη a' is cler ive d from th e M ya mm ，a B urm ese () word Accorcli ng to them ，it sc han ges as fo ll ows : Myamma > Mamma > mara > Marma. So m e ot hers think that it cl eri ves from C hin ese wor cl 'M in g' or ‘Mi rma ' and in C hin a th ese two wor cl sa re u se cl to cl enote the Burmese of peop le of Myanma r. They al so belie ve that th e Marmas are the Mango li acl ori gin . Fro m the olcl Myanmar's coi n it is l earnt th at the B urm ese we re ca ll ecl Meyama. So m eo th ers think that th e wo rld B ur ma is deri ve cl fro m Sa nsk rit B rahm a an cl as they are inh abit a nt of Burma so th at they are calle d Marma. It is true th at the forefather s of Marmas were tbe inh ab it ant of Myanma r. As their or ig in was in in Myanmar so that they pr efer to ca ll them as Marma. So it ca n be cl educed that the wo rcl Marma is cl er ive cl from M ya nmar

The Mar m as are not Bang lacles hi orig in. The y are migrated from Araka n. A rakan was a co untr y w hi ch was incorporatecl i nto the Myanma r's geogra phical id entity in 1 795

( 18 ) The Livelihood of Marma Comm unit y in Bangladesh

Th e hi story says that the fir st large wave of Marma immi grant s came to settle in Bangladesh Bangladesh in the 15th century w h en Arakan king Ali Khan (1434- 1459) occupied the so uthern part of Chitta go ng. But the present Marm as are those w ho came to Bang l adesh after after 179 4，when kin g of Burma (M ya nm ar) conq uere cl Arakan and annexed Arakan w ith Burm ese kingclom . Be in g oppressecl by tyranny and inhuman tor tur e of the Burmese ， these Arakanese people were compe ll ed to l eave th eir hom elancl and took their asy lum in Chittagong .King Boclawpa ya threatened the Br iti sh Government ，now ancl then ， to to hand him over all the Arakanese immigrants in C hi ttagong ，wh ich ultimately turned to the the A nglo・Burmese wa r of 1824 . 1n the war ，th e British ca m e victo ri ous ，w hich made the position position of the Aral 王anese immi gr ants more secure to live U1 Bang lad es h. With th e help of British British Government ，t h ey se ttl ed in va ri ous place of Chittagong Hill Tract s. H oweve r， so m e yea rs back man y Marmas went back to Arakan w hen they we re prom ise d to gi ve shelt er by U. N u， the then prime minister of Burma. It is noteworthy that th ey speak Araka nese ，a for m of Burmese c1 ialect ， a ncl use theB ur mese scrip t. The religion of Marmas has has been described by C laude Levi-Strauss as a 'Syancretic re li gion' ， in w hi ch eleme nt s of anc ie nt animistic cults continue in spite of th e official confession of B udclhi sm. It can be saicl saicl t hat Budclhism practiced by th e Ma rm as is not c1i fferent from that of Burma.

The monasteries of them ha ve typica l character istics of B ur mese temples. N owa days ， alth ough the Marmas Ii ve in Bangladesh and co nsid er ed as Ba nglacl es hi but they do n ot like to to in troduc e them se l ves as Benga li .

Group or Clans: There r¥tI ar m a Comm unit y consists of many s mall gro ups or clans. Th ey are: are: Rigre -cha ，Pelain-cha ，Pelainggri-cha ，Kekda in- cha ，We in- cha ，Sorun g-ch a，Phran- groya-c ha ，Kyakpia-cha ，Ce reyan-cha ，Maro-cha ，Savo k- cha ，Chrokkhya-cha ，Teingta- ch iyat-c ha，Kyakma-cha ，Langudu-cha ，Melhuin-cha ， Rakhain-cha or Rakhain etc

Residential Residential Area : All the Marmas li ve in Chittagong Hill Tr ac ts (Khagrac hari ，Bandarbon ， Ran ga mati ancl Cox's ba zaar )， the so uth- easte rn hilly reg ion of Bangl aclesh ，w h ere com mu- nicatioo nicatioo is ve ry difficul t. 10 th ev ill age ar ea electricit y is n ot reache d till date and ve hicl es are not run.

(1 9) The Li ve lih ood of Marma Community in Ba ng ladesh

On ly town areas about soli ng (brick struct ur e) Road is fo und. Moreover ，sc hoo l and co ll eges are also very few. They make their h ouse in the top of th e hills. Ho wever ，a gro up of of Ma rm a，ca ll ed Rakha in ，li ve in Pat uakh ali and Coxes Baza r District ， the littoral regions of of Ba nglad es h.

Social Social Adm ini stratio n: Though the Marmas follow and every regards for the Bangladeshi N ationa l] urisdictions ， they have the ir own adm ini strat ive body of juri sdicti on. Th e Marmars are di vi d ed into two circles an d there are two adm ini st rati ve bodi es that co ntr ol the the Marmas. They are : Bomang C ircl e and Mong C irc les . The Marmas who li ve in th e Ban da rban region follow the Bomang admini strat ion an d w ho li ve in the Khagrachari follow follow the Mong Administration. Every circ le h as a king. Th e Bomang kin g is known as Boma ng king or chie f. The present Boma ng kin g is Kyas hipru Marma and the pre sen t Mong kin g is Penglhapru Marma .

T he administrative body of both circles is formed thu s:

|K in g - Chief of the Circle I ↓ |Headman / Roaza - C hi ef of the Ma u za I ↓ |Kar bar i-Ch ief of th e Vi ll age

Every circl e is di vide d int o fo ll owi ng adm ini strative steps or formation: Circle → Mauza → V illa ge. Every village has ac hi ef w ho known as Karbar i. H e so l ves all judi cia l problems problems of thev illa ge and controls the vil1 age peop les. Every Ma u za h as ac hi ef w ho known as H ea dman or Roaza ，who controls the Karba ri s， the head of the Villages. Finally ， the the king contro lsa l1 these admin istrative bodies .If a Karbari is fai led to so lve the prob lem ， then then the case is pl aced to Headman ，and thus ，Headman to King. The Kin g co ll ects the tax from hi ss ubj ects (people) through Headman and Karbari. Through the se ad mini st r ative bocli es the Ma rm as so lve their all judi cia l problems. However ，nowada ys ，if anybody is dissat isf iecl w ith th e ver di ct of thea dmini strative body ，h e ca n plac e his case to th e

( 20 ) The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bang ladesh

Bangladeshi Bangladeshi N ational Jurisdiction ， but it is very rare .

Profession:

More than 80% Marmas are dependent on cultivation. They cultivate vegetables ，fruits and paddy. But they paddy fie ld is quite different from that of Bengali culture. As they live in in the hilly regions ， they ha ve to pl ugging the paddy on the hills ，where they face problems with with the wate r. So ， they do it in the rainy season. Before rainy season ， they make clear all the the herbs and unnecessar y things from the fie ld and make fire on it. Ashes of them are scattered scattered in field . So ，it is called Jum Cultivation. But this sort of paddy cultivation is depressing ， because it is costly and laborious. As a result ， they emphasize to cultivate vegetables vegetables and fruits as they are easy to cultivate. Moreover ， as the fields are fertile ， vegetables vegetables and fruits produce abundantly . Besides this occupation ， they also engage in weaving. weaving. Especially ，most of the women engage in weaving and their cloths earn high reputation reputation to other peoples. The y earn noteworthy money from it. The women also do firming firming poultry and fig.

About 20% people engage 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 high high sta tus professions as wel l. N owadays ， one will find among them scores of distin- guished guished doctors ，engineers ，judges ，professors ，teachers ，law ye rs ，businessmen ，government officials ，politicians and the like. As they are backward in education ， the Bangladesh government has preserved scope for them to enter into the government services without competition. competition. But it is noteworthy that first the y have to competition with themselves. As the the education is spreading in the society ， they are inclining in the services than cultivation They despise begging. Even ， the poor ，th e hopeless and w idows who are incapable of earning earning their li ve lihood are not found begging ，in stead ，the y work hard to the best of their ability . N 0 kind of labor is disgraceful in this community. Whatever ， their profession ， everybody enj oys 問 ual rights .

Family Structure: Though many tribal groups are Matrimonial ， but the Marmas are Patrimonia l. All the

( 21 ) Tbe Li ve lib ood of Marma Community in Bangladesb members of the family li ve togethe r. 1n their famil y father is chief ， but mother al so pla ys a vital ro le. The Marma women are very laborious than men. N ot only in th e dome st ic activities activities but al so in the firming women take part w ith men . But their l abor wage is lo w than than men.

Housing: Housing is the basic hum an need for any soc iety . However ， the type of hou sin g and design design and the u se of co nstr ucti on materials vary according to place ，e nvironm e nt and cult ur e of the respective soc iety. People in the primiti ve soc ieties also li ve d in hou ses th ey m ade for themselves. 1n the hill districts of Chittagong ，it is the common phenom enon for ll all the trib al soc iet i es that they li ve in bamboo made raise d hou ses w ith an open platform loc all y kno w n as Machang.

The Marmas al so li ve in su ch houses. The hou ses are constructed on pe gs about 6-7 feet feet ab ove the gro und leve l， the materials used for these houses are bamb oo ，wood an d su n grass grass w hi ch are co l1 ected from the fores t. The reason for making the hou ses from the flooding flooding dept h of water during run-off in the rainy days . The houses are arran ged in rows adjace nt to eac h othe r. The indi v idual house has no fencing. Each hou se ha s so m e common char acter istics as regards the Macha ng，room arrangements ，etc . N ormally a piece of bamboo or a thick br anch of a tree with cuts ste ps are used to climb th e Machang from th e gro und leve 1. Each hou se h as a bedroom wit h an attac h ed dr essi ng ro om ，a sittin g ro om w hi chi sa l so u sed as the gu est room ，a kitchen and a store room. The Machang is use d for various various purposes lik e drying of crops and clothes.

The crops w hi ch are dried on the Mac han g includ e paddy ，m ustar d，c hi Il y，M estas and tobacco tobacco leaves. At one corner of the Macha ng there is a sma Il pou ltr y hen for la y ing eggs. The space und ern eath the Machang is u sed for storage of firewood ，pi g sty ，and for weav in g. Houses are made by the mal e members in making bamboo str ip s used for tying the the m ater ials

( 22 ) The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bangladesh

Living Living room: The first room adjacent to the Mac hang is the li ving room which is usually the largest room in the house. This room is used for entertaining guests who normall y s it on a home-made sheet on the floo r. The eld erl y members of the family ofte n sl eep in this room at at nigh t. The floor is made of wood and bamboo. N orma ll y there is a sma ll wi nd ow on one wall wall of the room. Sometimes raised she l ves are made in this room for stor in g different items items

Bedroom : Behind the li ving room norma ll y there is a relatively sma ll room w hich may be called the the bedroom. This room is usually use d by th e yo un g married coup le or by theg rown up daughters. daughters. N ormally unmarri ed male adult m em b ers of the famil y li ve at ni g ht in the commu nit y hou se.

The Marma people normally sleep on a mat and hom e-ma des h eet called posso (home spun cotton s heet). They al so use pillows

Kitchen: Kitchen: 1n 1n one corne r of the house ， usually adjacent to the li ving room ， the space is u sed as kitchen. kitchen. The floor of the kitchen is usually made of bamboo. Entrance to the kitchen is normally normally thr ough the li vin g room. The hear th (smaa l ladder) is made on the bamboo floor on on a slightly raised platform made of earth. Cook in g utensils ，pot ，pan etc. are kept on a shelf shelf in one corner in the kit chen roo m. Stored water is kept in earthen or aluminum pitchers ，Okha (p it cher) The fami li es who are engaged in brewing w ine have specia l arra ngements in the kitchen kitchen for this purpose. Their kitchens are sli ght ly l arger in size and the floors are less raised raised than the other room and even some tim es the hearth is made at the gro und leve l

Latrine: Latrine: There is no specia l provision for latrine in the Marma house ， as they norma ll y relieve themse l ves in the n earby jungle. H owever ， in almost every house there isa sma ll room ac1 jace nt to th e kitchen wh ich is u se c1 for was hin g and as urin als at ni ght. Sometimes chi ldr en use this room for relieving at night also .The floor of this room is made of bamb oo stripes stripes but w ith w id er space in between.

Furniture Furniture and Fixture: The marma people do not use many furniture in their h ouses. The most common furniture furniture see n there is the bamboo-made crad le for th e families w ith s mall childr en. They

( 23 ) Th 巴Li velihood of Marma Com munit y in Bangladesh u se mats made of bamboo in the crad le to sl eep on. They al so u se posso sit on as we ll as to to sl eep at ni gh t. Bamboo made baskets of va rious sizes is commo nl y u sed for stor in g dif fe r ent materials in c1 udin g agric ul tura l p roducts.

T he yo ung members of the marma fam ili es prefer to han g co l our pictures and cinema po sters in their houses. Most of the elderl y peop le expressed no int erest for th ese pictures and and posters ， but they do not mind yo un ge r peop le hanging tho se on the wa ll s of their ho uses.

Cost Cost of making a typicaI r、'1 arma house: The Marma peo pl e do not usua ll y es timate any cost for making their houses. Most of them co ll ect th e required material s namely ，bamboo ，s un grass and lo g wood from the jun g les. As such any es tim ati on of cost for making houses is not easy. Ho wever ，af t er di sc ussio ns the requ i rements for var iou s kinds of housing m ateria ls an d their corres pond- in g market pri ces ha ve been estimated. A typica l Marma house costs about Tak a2 0，000 / 一 i f it is made of bamboo and sun grass only. Howev er ， for th ose hou ses w h ere woo di s u sed for for fl ooring an d for pillar s， the cost of the hou se ha s been es tim ated to a bout Taka 80，000 / 一.A few families in some villa ges made their hous es wit h tin roof an d wood and thick mud walls . Th e cost of such h ouses is much hi ghe r.

For making the traditional Marma hou se it is a traditional practic e for the ma le member s in the villa ge to p ut in th eir labour for w hi ch no cas h payment is m ade. This givin g of labour is rec iprocated by ot h er fa mili es

Every yea r th e Marma pe ople chan ge th e r oof of their h ouses if it is mad e of sun grass and they repair the bamboo wa ll s from time to time. As mentioned earlier ，1 noticed the ch anges in th e sty le and design of the Marma houses . Some hou ses have eith er woo den or mud wa ll s w ith roof s. T h ese hou ses are not constructed on a raised platform. This is a sig ni fi cant cha nge from th eir trad itional “Machang" -type houses w ith sun gr ass roof. This This revea ls the influ enc e of th e cultur e of th ep lain land people on the lif e sty le of the Marm a people. It is int erest in g to n ote that s uch cha nges have taken place among the re lati ve ly well-to-do Marma families ha v ing contacts w ith th e pl ain lan d people .

Food Habit: Rice ，m eat and fish are the staple foods of the Ma rmas li ke the other peop le of Bang ladesh. Vegetables an d other cereals are al so common to their daily food st uff s. B ut they they li ke to take the boil vegetab le in wh i ch chi ll y is not used. This is ca ll ed A ρl'eng in Marma lan guag e. Lunch and dinn er are t heir major meals . In additi on，th ey al so take ri ce

( 24 ) The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bangladesh it em s in dri ed form and eat them later during the rainy seaso n mixed with dried f ish. Recentl y 1 observed a change in their use of vegetab les. Th ey now u se cabbage ，cau li flower ， toma to es ，et c. Mo st of the vegeta bl es they prefer to eat gree n. But th e people do not prefer drinkin g mil k. E ve n th ec hildr end o not drink milk. So m etimes ， they pr ep are curd and keep it it bamboo container s to se ll it in marke t.

Though contrary to Buddhism ， the Marmas ，lik e o th er tribes ，lik e to drink the home br ewe d w ine w hi ch is made by them an d th ey al so indul ge in hunting bird s，w ild animal s and fishing. Some popular food items of the Marma people h ave been described below: below:

Cake s and sweets: The Marmas make and enjoy va rious kinds of cakes. Among them the famous are calle d Chilangmung ，K ya ngdamung ，Chesmamung ， Rifrimung an d Fukyemung in Marma l anguage. A few methods of cake making are described below. C hil angmung is ma de with rice rice powder ，cocon ut s，banana ，su gar or molasses and oi l. First they mixed the ri ce powder ， coco nut s，banana ， sugar or mo lasses with water and make a liquid then it pllt S on the h ot l. oi l. Thus ，thi s kind of cake is made .Th e Kyangdamll ng is made w ric ith e powd er ，coco nll t an dm ola sses. It s making m et hod is pecll liar¥ F ir st the mi x th e rice powder ，w ith coco nut and molasses w ith a few water and mak e a pa st，th en it plltS on bamboo ，th en the bambo o is burnt. ThllS ，this cake is mad e.Th e Ch es mamun g is mad e with rice powd er ，coco nllt s and suga r. First coconuts are fried w ith sugar ，th en ric e powder is fried in an ir on po t wit h a little little oil and on it the frie d coconuts is placed. Then it is wrappe d w ith C hapatt i or Rll t made of wheat.τbe Fllkyemung cake is made w i th ri ce powder ，coconllts ， s llgar and banana. banana. First ，all these ingreclients is mixed wit h water an d make one kind of hard past ， then then the past is placed wrapped by banana l eaf and are boiled at least one hou r. Thus ， this kind of cake is made. These so rts of cakes ared iffe r ent from Bengal i food clll tllr e. The y al so take va riOllS kind of sweet lik e othe r people of Bangladesh

Rice Rice thomoh: Th e people prefer to eat unp er boil ed ri ce w hi ch is cooked in wate r. Most of them d o n ot like so ft cooked rice. Ho wever ，the y serve soft cooked rice to the children as we ll as to to the sick perso ns. The y always ea t ri ce wit h ot h er item s lik e vegeta bl es ，dri ed fish，e tc，

Napp i: N appi is pr epared with shrimp and sa lt. Th e mi xtur e of shrimp and sa lt is dri ed for two da ys in the Slln and then bottled.

( 26 ) The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bang ladesh

in in the early mornin g as their breakfas t. For breakfast normall y they take the left over rice of of the previous ni g ht together with roasted dr i ed fish and chill y. They make a spec ial

pickle pickle of ch ill y mixed with so lt ，garlic ， ginger and dr y fish (ca ll ed Nochuigruil~) ， to take the boi l vegetab les. Thi s food is diff ere nt from Bengali or ig in people. Th ey pr e fer to eat fog and tortoise rather any meats. Dried fish is al so ve ry character ist i cs food among Marmas ， alth oug hi t is shar edb y other people of Bangladesh. But the Marmas do not eat beef. They h ave a food ca ll ed N appi ，wh i ch is made of dry fish th rough a co mpl ex way. This foo di s en joyed onl y by th e tribal people and the Benga li peopJe do not eat it. Th e Marma peopJe eat eat aJm ost all kind s of vegetabJes depending on the ir ava iJ abi lit y in a particuJar season. Co mm onJ y use d vegetables ，a m ong ot h er include include beans ，marpha (s pecial type of cucumb er grow n in the hill s) ，s qu as h，b rinjal ，okra and bamboo shot s， etc. As bamb oo sh oot is ava iJabl e m ostly in the rain y season ，it is a very common and popular foo d item among the Marma durin g th at time. Besides ， they also eat di fferent types of arum potato and ya m and var ious J eafy vegetab l es and herbs . They do n ot prefer to eat fresh fish. Howe ve r， they are now see n to eat hilsha fish ，especially on the market day w h en such fish are availab Je in the marke t. They eat meat on ly on specia J occasions occasions and during festiva Js time. Kr a (chicken) and wah (pig) meat are th eir popuJar meat it e ms. They also eat va rious in sects which includ e among others ants ，crabs ，cricket ， beetles ，s nail s，etc .

During the seaso n whe n in sec ts are common ly avai lab le，th ec hildr en and the wo m en of of this tribe are found to bus y in co ll ec ting suc h in sects from the underground.

The peop le of thi s soc i ety al so eat the meat of diff erent bird s. During Jhum cultivat ion ， part icu lar lyt hey catch and ki ll different birds and th ey eat the ir meat in roasted form w i th wine. wine. The most common bird is dove.

T h ese people al so lik e to eat va riou s frui ts of whic hj ack fruit ，guava ，b anana ，lemon and tama rind are very common ones. Besides ， they al so collect ot h er jun gle fruits ，vario us

type s of leaves ，h erb s，a nd crops from the forest 目 D urin g w in te r they preserve these food

( 25 ) Th 巴 Liv 巴lihood of Marma Community in Bang lad巴sh pepper pepper for one month. During this period they al so eat dried fish but they are restricted from eating v egetables wh ich are beUer in taste.

Cook ing timing and eating customs: 1n 1n the Marma families cooking is normally done twice a day ， once in the morning between 10-11 a.m. and the again in the eve nin g. 1n the early morning they always eat cold rice rice usually cooked in the previous evening. Together with this rice they al so eat cooked vegetab l es left over from the previous nigh t. N orma ll y cooking in the morning is done after the female members of the househo ld return from the field. 1n the even in g normally they complete their dinner soon after su n- set. N ormally all members of the family eat together. There is no preference for male or chilclren chilclren to eat earlie r. The uten sil s they u se for eat in g is plates both tin and eart hen plate. After After finishing their meal they normally pour water in the pl ate and drink th e same . 1n some families ，ho wever ，g las s and aluminum pots are for drinking wate r. N ormally they eat eat sittin g on the floo r. Sometimes however ，on spec ial occasions and for spec ially in vit ed gu ests they serve the foocl on low ， wooclen tables.

Smoking of solik (cigars) is very common for both the male and the female Marmas of of all ages .They also prefer to chew betelleaf ancl nu t. The Marma men are fond of liquor Liquor Liquor is ，h owever ， less popular among the women and children. 1n this soc i ety no festival is comp lete without Ii quo r. They use specia l sma ll si zeg lasses whi le drinking liquo r. Many of of them even drink liquor directl y from the bottle. The Marma woman and chi ldr en smoke home-made cigars primarily.

1 am also observed some changes in the foocl habits among the Marma families. For example ，some family takes breakfast in the morning which includes tea ，bread ，biscuit ， etc. etc. purchased nearby shop. They are ，however ， rich persons and have contracts with the plain plain land people. Perhaps this has influenced them to change their food habits and to discard discard the traditional Marma breakfast items.

Domestic Utensils ， Agriculture Implements ， Fishing Tools and Weapons: The ut ens il s used for cooking are simi l ar with that of Bangladeshi. It is noteworthy that that most of the utensils tha t made of woocl ，ca ne ancl bamboo are macle by themselves. Domestic ut ensil s which primari ly usecl for cooking ，co ll ect ion of water ，sto rin g of water ancl ancl other c1 0mestic uses inclucle pots ， pans ancl pitchers of c1 ifferent sizes. But the utensil use use for carrying things is ver y c1 ifferent from Benga li people. 1n th eir lan guage it is callecl Paroing'. ‘Paroing'.

(2 8) The Livelihoocl of Marma Community in Banglaclesh

These bottles are then put in p its for abo ut a month. During this time the colour of the materials materials in the pots turns blackish.

Vegetables Vegetables with nokroh (dry fish): 1n 1n preparing thi it em various kind s of vegetab l es are c ut int os ma l1 pieces an c1 mixed with with dried fish together w ith powdered turmeric ， green ch ili es and sa lt .The who le thing is cooked for as hort time on fire .

Houtsa(meat): Houtsa(meat): 1n 1n preparation of pig meat they cook the meat in oil mixed wit h onion ，ginger ，gar li c and dried chili. As for chicken ，however ， they eat mostly boiled chicken. Chicken is boil ed in in water together with gin ge r，ga rli c， green chili and sa lt. The wate r part of this prepara- tion tion isa l so u se c1 as so up

Nokrop (dry fish) with mrohtsee (green chilli): 1n 1n the preparation of this item slices of dried fish are put in a stick lik e sate and roaste c1 in fire. The Marma people eat this wit h rice.

Sometimes they mix sma l1 pieces of drie c1 fish ，particula r1 y dried shrimp s， with green chilies chilies and some l eafy vegetab l es wit h salt and make a paste of this mixture. Similar preparations preparations are also ma c1 e with other in sects and snails mixe c1 w ith vegeta bl e，onio n and salt salt

Special Special food for children and sick person: Breast Breast feeding is very common among the Marma peop le. Anot h er common foo c1 item for for ch ild ren is paste rice with sal t. Other than 110 separate meal is prepared for ch il c1 re l1.

N orma l1 y 11 0 spec ial food is prepared for sick perso l1 s eithe r. However ，th eir ric e is cooked

softe r. Alt hou gh there is 110 prescribed food for pregnant mother ， they prefer to eat items

whic h taste. After the child is born the mother eats rice with boiled chick e l1 w ith salt a nc1

(2 7) The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bang ladesh

They wear petticoat under the thobai and a bra ss ier under the bedeangi. They use a sma ll cloth to cover the upper part of the bod y ，especially to cover the breas t. They also use use bangle in hands ， gold or si l ver ring in ears.

The young women usually u se a long cloth of vario us and gorgeous color called Thubuing in Marma lan guag e to cover the lo wer part of the bod y.They use brassier called Krudang in Marma language to cover the brea st and on it th ey use a blouse called Bedai in in Marma l ang u age. The y use bangl e in hands ， ring in ears ，cha in s in neck and waist that are are made of gold ，si l ver and of various colors The use of undergarments among the Marma wo men is very common. They wear petticoat petticoat under the thobai and a bra ss ier under the bedeangi.

The aged men usuall y use Dhuti (Khayaka) ，o ne kind of long white co l or cloth ， to cover the the lower parts of body. They use white shirt s ca ll ed Ra ngji A ρ ru to cover upper parts of the the body. They use a turban called Gougbong on th eir heads. The genera l men use lon gi ，one kind kind of clothe sewing both sid e， to cover the lower part f the body ，and use T -shir ts to cove r upper upper side of the body. Marma men to cover th e upper part of the body wh i ch is like a wa ist coat coat with long sleeves ， six pockets in front with no co ll ar¥

Now -a-d ays it is observed that the marma men do not wear this typ ica l dr ess . Instead they they use a second hand shirt of any design purchased from the market. At present only the Karbari Karbari (chief of the vill age) and few elderly persons wearing th e traditional dress.

There is no typical dress for the chi ld r百 1. When they are very yo un g， they wear second hand cloths mostly shirts ， pants and other common dresses of the plainland people pur- chased chased from market. From 9 to 10 yea rs of age the y u se the typ ica l Marma dress for men and women respectivel y.

( 30 ) The Liv elihood of Marma Community in Bangladesh

Their Their beddings mainly are made with woo l and cotton. They make the cot with bamboo and ca ne. Most of the utensils uses for sitt in g are made with bamboo and ca ne. They make well for water; in many cases they use natural water from the rainfall of hills.

Agricultural Agricultural implem ent s and tools use d by them are mainly u sed for diff erent practices in in jhum cultivation including sowing ，weeding and harvesting. These implement s are mostly mostly made of iron with wooden handles. Am ong the various types of tools used by the Marma people ponkhuyaidah (chopper) is the most important o ne. They always carry ponkhuyaidah with them. It is used multiple purposes. Wh ile going for work the Marma men tie up the ponkhuyaidah on back and women put th em in the baskets which they tie up behind the he ad and on the shoulde r. They use it for cutting jungle for jhum crop ， for har ves ting the jhum crops ，c leanin g the jungle ， cutting bamboos and preparing different bamboo materials ，i. e. ba s ket ancl other items . Sometime th ey al so u se the ponkhuyaidah as as a weapon for protectin g themselves from wi lcl animals.

Dress: Dress: The Marmas ha ve their typical dresses . There dr esses are different from Bengali people people but similar to other tribes to a great extent. Dre sses are ，however ，different for men and women among the Marma s. Women's dress comprises of thobai ， bedeangi and gong- bong. bong. Thobai is the lower part of the clress wh ich covers the body from wa ist upt o the ank le wh ich looks lik e a stitched skir t. 1n older times they us ed to make thobai (marma dress for

woman) wit h sin gle coloured hom esp un materials only 目 Now-a-clays ，however ，the y pur- chase chase printed materials from the market for thobai. This is more common among the women. Bedeangi is like a blouse to cove r the upper part of the bocly of the Marma women The traditional bedeangi is such that it fu ll y covers th e upper part of the body from neck to to waist with a se ri es of deco rativ e buttons on the left side of the body.

1 observed some chan ges in the design of bedeangi among the yo un g Marma women. Tbe bedeangi now -a-clay s alm ost look s like a blouse use db y th e plainland women. But tbe elde rl y wome n normally do not wear becleangi. 1n stead the y wrap their chest w ith a piece of of cloth named lang so ng.

The Marma women cover tbeir heads with a piece of cl ot h，gongbong ，particularly when they go for work outside and also w hen the y attend religious festiva ls. The use of unclergarments unclergarments among the Marma wome n is very common .

( 29 ) The Livelihood of Marma Com mun ity in Ba nglad esh lemo n jui ce . 1n additio11 ， they al so use a kind of fr uit of jun gle tre e to c1 ean th eir hair s.The y believe believe that the u se of this fruit n ot on ly c1 eans their hair ， but also helps in ge tting rid of lic e fr om h a ir.

Travels Travels and Transport: Walking is the co mm on practic e of the Marma people to go from one place to another 111 111 old er days there was no road lin k in the se hilly areas. Bo th men an d women ，therefore ， had to wa lk even with heavy load s of fue l wood ，bamboo ，s un grass and va ri ous crops harves ted fr om jhu m culti vat ion. To cross a ri ve r they u se a boat called “kemo". The se “kemos" are of spec ial des ign whic h has a narrow and long body wit h l ow hackery. 1n recent recent times ，however ，th ere hav e been some deve lopments . Some of the thana headquar ters ters ha ve passen ge rs and goo ds carry in g serv i ces w ith the help of ve ry old j eeps and v ans. These se rv ices are ，howe ver ， very irregular and risk y.Some imp ortant lo cat ions in the hill districts districts h ave good road net wo rk and therefore bus serv ic es are ava ilabl e there

But th e Marma people to ld me that the y do not enjoy ri din g bus as th ey are not acc ustomed to this and they fee l s ick and often vomit wh il e ridjng on a bus. Rickshaw is use d as a loca l transportation for short di stan ce nea r th e urban areas only. Some Marma peop le in the urban areas rid e bic yc1 es

Mus ic and Musical Instrument: Th e Marma soc i ety h as distinct cul tur e of it s own w hi ch in c1 ud es ，among others ， typical typical m u sic and dance. Their music and d ance are ve ry c losely associated with th e soc ial ， cultur e an dr eli gious lif e. 1 obse r ved th e marma peop le celebrated the fo ll ow in g occasions w ith mu sic and songs . These ，among othe rs，in c1 ud et he fu n eral ceremonies of imp ort ant persons persons lik e the vicuu (pr iest) and th e members of the Raj fam il y an d rajp unna (annual jhum ta x collection ce remony) fe sti va l

The Marma peop le ha ve spec ial type of music and danc e for funeral funeral ceremon i es of di stin gui s hed perso ns. Thi s is ca ll ed so ing da nce.

So in g- Thi s isa kind of st ick danc e perform ed by var iou s gro u ps aroun c1 the coff in. The coff in is placed on a bamboo made pa go c1 a c1 ecorate c1 w ith co lore c1 papers . They play different traditional mu sic al in str um ent s in c1 uding spec ial typ e of drums ca ll ed bungpai. Kh rekhong- A s pecial typ e of mouth o rga11 ma c1 e of bamb oo isa l so pla ye d on thi s occasion . The

( 32 ) The Li ve lih ood of Mar l11 a CO l11l11 unity in Bangladesh

The u se of shoes/sanda1s is rath er a recent phenomenon among the Marmas. They never never u se shoes / sanda1s inside their houses. Their u se of shoes /sa nda1s is more common among the men compared to the Marma women. It is note that the u se of shoes and sanda 1s was ea r1 i er limit ed to the m emb ers of the Raj family only.

The Marma men wea r a black coat in addition to 10ng i and angi at th e time of their wedding. wedding. It is common practice to carry a dah (chopper) a posso (homespun sheet) by a Marma man at the tim e of wedding if the groom goes to his father- in -1a ws hou se for living The symbolic meaning of the dah and posso is that wh il e the dah sym boli zes active life which impli es that the man carry in g the dah w ill engage him se lf in earning hi s own li ve liho od ， the posso stands for his wife 's house where he wi ll li ve for his lif e time.

Ornaments: The Marma women are fond of wear in g different ornaments. The common are pai10inodah pai10inodah (earr in g) ，1 0koh (b racelet) ， lakhiah (anklet) ， toagro (waistle) and shoe grudali (necklace) ， these ornaments are common ly made of silver¥

The chain w ith sil ve r coins ，taingloijore is very popular among the Marma peop le.The use use of go ld ornaments is n ot very common among the Marma woman of rura1 area. They u se of imitation jewe1ers .

1 observed th e Marma families 1i vin g in th e urban areas and who's eco nomi ca ll y well-off well-off starte du sin g go ld orn ame nt s. The Marma women are usually fond of using flowers for for bea utifi cat ion .

Personal care: N orma ll y the Marma people go to the fie1d twice a day every day eit h er for jhum cu lti vat ion or for co l1 ect in g fuel woods ， sungrass and food it ems ，etc. As a m atter of normal practice ， they take bath in the nearby stream or ri ver every day wh il e returning from the jungle jungle or field. Other than the Marma people are not much se riou s abo ut ge nera l cleanli- ness. ness. They do however; wash their teeth every day in the morning w ith charcoa l. The Marma men also use tw i gs of neem or guava tree as tooth brush ，whereas the women and children children common ly u se charcoal and sa lt for cleaning their teeth . Most of the children ， howeve r，d o not clean their teeth.

Hair doing is very popular practice among the Marma woman. They seem to be quite se riou s an c1 ca ref ul about their hair ‘ T o clean their hair s the Marma wo man u se soap and

( 31 ) The Livelihood of Marma Comm un ity in Ba ngladesh ot h er instruments played on thi s occas ion are pree ，hnee (flute made of bamboo) ，ching- choak (sma ll brass plate) ，kho r aleo (a kind of flut e made of bell metal) ，mong (made of bell meta l) ，paioa h (mad e of bamboo) ，c hong (made of bamboo) ，ban go krinang (metallic bell w ith woode n hamp er) ，c hin g (m ade of bamboo) ， khoa. They al so sing a song nam e kappa and arow in g.

Kappya song is sung memor y of the li fe of a dead person w h ereas arowing song is sung to to express sat isfactio n th at the dead person wi ll go to hea ve n， Likewise durin g ra jpunna ， they play the t radi tion mus ic al in st ruments and al so perfo rm pankhung w hi ch m eans recitation recitation from mytholog ica l story book

The Marmas celebrate the h arvest ceremony of jhum cu lti va tion w ith song ，mus ic an d dan ce. The perfor m ance in c1 ud e troh ，ruddha whic h are th e songs sun g by the yo ung bo ys and gi rl s to express their feeling of j oys

1n 1n add ition these people al so practice diff ere nt kinds of gro up so n gs on different occasions. occasions. Some of th ese are li s ted belo w

Ragaing -A t th et im e of draught the people in gro up s sing the song on an open field. T hey be li eve that song w ill br in g ra in to fac ilit ate th eir crop pr oduction Aing _Thi s is very spec ial kind of song sung afte r win nin g a com petitive game or spec ially durin g boat race Oing- _Thi s is a popular d ance among the Marma people perform ed by the yo un g girl s spec ially in a marriage ceremony . Another common dance performe d at the we ddin g is is ca l1 ed simuing (candle da nce) w hi ch is an express ion of re s pect to th ee ld erl y people w ho are present there. The other pop ul ar dan ces of Marma people are bain g (m usic al danc e) ，longbaianka (plate dance) ，bamboo dance etc On the specia l occas i ons 1 saw gro u ps of performers coming from the neighbouring areas areas of the Bandarban ， Cox's Bazar an d .

Games/ Play: The Ma rm as enjoy their traditiona l games. They en joy very much their traditiona l games which are different from the Benga li people . Amo ng th e tra di tiona l games ，which are are not found in the Bengal i cul tur e， the follo wings are noteworthy: A lar i，Kuyan g (dha- thu) ，G udu ，Kangchi ，Magrong ，O-kucheng ，Peyingjik ，Aing ，Pain g，Rimiang . Her e some of them are describes.

A lar i:A of seed mim osa scan dens ，th e see ds are loca ll y ca ll ed 'K hai y ang-Da' or gill a is

( 33 ) Th e Live lih ood of Marma Commu ni ty in Bangladesh use d to play it. Fisrt ，p layers are divided into two group s con tainin g 5 to 10 p layers. Th ere are are popular games for the yo un g b oys and girl s.

Khuyang-Da: It is pla ye d with w hee l of woo d. P l ayers are divi c1 ed into two gro up s contain in g5 to 12 play ers

Rim iya ng: Thi s game h as a fantastic hi sto ry. Players are not limi te d in thi s ga m e Fi rst ， one pla ye ri s turned in to croco dil e. H ew ish es to eat oth er pla ye r. If he tou ch es any player player he or s he becomes crocod il e.Then along wit h him ， the cro co dile trie s to touch other pl ayers grac1 uall y. 1n such ， they more he touche s th e more pl ayers are turn ed into croco- di les . This game is int erest in g to play into the wa ter

Aing: Aing: The mo st popul ar indoor ga me s in “Ain g" . 1n the Marma literature “ain g" h as been m e ntioned as one of the most pop ular ga m es. Sma ll thin stick s of about 7" long made of of bamboo is use d in thi s game. 1n addit ion ，th ere is a littl e thick ca ll ed the Queen st ick or “A in gma". Twenty fiv e or forty st i cks are required to pla y thi s game.

1n 1n addition to th ese tra c1 itional games the Marma yo ung b oys and girl s now -a- days play ca rom ，footba ll and badmint on

N ow 1 introduce a few religious festivals:

Buddhist Buddhist religious practices: The Marma tribal people are quite reg ul ar in performing ce rtain dail y rituals on individua l bas is. These ritua ls are the following: 1n 1n the mornin g after th ey come back from the fie ld (hi ll s) at about 10:00 a.m. th e me mb ers of eac h famil y offe r their prayer in their res pecti ve hou ses by ke ep in g some food it em s li ke rice and boil ed vegeta bles or curr y in front of th e idol or the picture of L or d Buddha and bo w th eir h eads. So m e fam ili es then se nd coo ked food ca ll ed suian g (meal to the the kiang (templ e) for thev icc u (Monks) and other s li vin g th ere. This practice of sen din g suian g (m ea l) is performed by alm os t all fami li es uncl er. The familie s ass ig necl to sen cl s uiang (meal) to th e kiang on a give n da y tak e the irm ea l on ly af ter they se nd suian g to the kiang. kiang. N orma ll y th e clistribution of suian g (mea l) is d one before noon. The viccu s (Monks) as as a matter of c1 iscipline cl o not take th eir meal after mid-day. 1n 1n the eve nin g ju st at sunset after the y return from the fie ld (hi ll) th e m em b ers of the Marma families li g ht lamps and put them in front of the id ol or the pi c ture of Lord Buddha in in their respective houses . Suc h li ght s are e ither kupi es (s m all kerosene lamp in a tin couta in er) or canclle li ght s. They al so bow th eir hea c1 s show in g respect to Lo rd Bucldha.

( 34 ) The Livelihoocl of Marma Community in Banglaclesh

Purnima FestibaI (Labra y) : The Purnima fes tibal is clo se ly relatecl w ith the full moon of eac h month. Th e Marma de sig n it

Wor shipin g the Buddh a in full moon d ay

The people consider eve ry purnima (full moon night) as an ausplc lO US reli giou s occas i on. Ho weve r，thr ee such purnimas in a year are rega rd ed as ve ry imp ortant because of of the reIi giou s festivals wh ich are celebrated with great honoure ，forvo ur and ge it y. These are are

• Baishakhi purnim a(Kasu ng labre) ・Ashari purnima(Oaso) and ・Ashwini purnima(W ahgi we)

Description Description of re Ii gious festivaI:

Kasunglabre (Baish akhi Purnima / Buddha P urnima): For the all Buddhist of Bangladesh ，Buddha P urnim a is the most sacre d an d most fes ti ve occasion observed w ith du e so lemnit y. Th e Marma Buddhists also observe it w ith reli gio us fervou r. The B uddha Purnima is associated w ith three eve nt s of the lif e of Gautama Buddha ，i. e. ，birth ，e nli ght enment and death. As these th ree eve nt s of Bu ddha 's life life happene d on thi sf ull moon day so it is called B uddha Purnima. Ito b serves it the first mo nth of Bengal i Ca lend ar (April).The mona ste ry is decorate d wit h l am p，festoons ， balloons balloons and flo we rs for this purpose. On the Buddha Purnima day all the Marmas take leisure from their jo bs. They get up from bed very ea rl y in the morning ， take shower an d put on clean or new dr ess and prepare to to go to the m onast ery to take part in every affair of wo rship. They go to lo ca lm ona stery in in a procession w ith var i ous it ems of wors hip ，s uch as delicious foo ds，inc ense ，can dl e an d a consecrated pot fill ed wit h water ， leaves of mango sp rout s and bo-tree sp rout s A gro up follows the procession singing devotional so ng and playing in stru m ents. This spectacle spectacle is very festive and impr essive. A ll these things have sym bolic meaning. The Marma considers and off ers food for not to face any sorts of food sca rcit y，cand le and

( 35 ) The Livelihood of Marma Community in Bang lades h incen se for enl ightenment and w isdo m ， water for peace ，l eaves for long life and devotional songs songs for enjoyment and drive away the evil spirits. After reaching in the monastery ， they first first offer the worship material s in a decorative manner and lightin g cand l es and incenses ina da is in front of Buddha statue. Then th ey sit in the floor of the shrine for offer ing prayer s in a po se of worship . The hi gh priest of th e monastery directs th e occasion. He utt ers the traditional ve rs es that common to all Banglade shi Buddhists and the lay Buddhi sts follow hi s uttering. At fir st ，all monk s and la y Buddhi sts tak e ref uge in thr ee Jewe ls，i.e .，Buddha ，Dhamma and Sangha and tak e the vow of five precept s ca ll ed Pancha s ila. Among th e aged ，th ose w ho are intere ste d， take vow of observ ing eight precepts precepts ca ll ed Astasila. Th en th ey offe r offerings utt er ing the offering verse. After pray er the y enter tain the monk sw ith delici ous food th at they carriecl . They also give donation in ca sh and kind. Th ey al so entertain poor peop le with cl eliciou s foocl

1n 1n the even ing th ey also perfo rm sa m e wors hip exce pt offering food . Tho se who take ei ght precepts they do n ot tak e any food in the night ， but they can drink juic e and wate r. Thou gh the Marma Buddhists practice ki ll in g a nd taking hand brew w ine but on the Buclclha Buclclha Purnima clay th ey abs tain from it. Th ew hol e da y th ey absorb in reli gious clevotion and practicing m editation . Some monastery observe d the da y fo r thr ee to seve n da ys projecting projecting va riou s programs.

Th e Marma la y Bucldhists ， as answer to my int erview ， report the fo ll owing popular

objectives objectives of th e observation of this festival : They obse rve it in a hop e to 1) obt ai η

en light enment ; 2) get ride 01 S11. 併 n ηgs; 3) reborn 仇 heave 伐 4) get wealth; 6) not to do sins sins and η not ω lall in mise η

Offering Offering in the mon as tery

Oaso (Ashari Purnima):

Oaso is another important religious festi va l for the Marma Buddhists next to Buddha Purnim a ancl so lemni ze d w ith du e reli giou s fa vo ur ¥Th is Purnima day is associat ed with th e following following important incicl e nts of Budclha 's life. On thi s day :1) Bucldha w as conceived in th e w omb of Mayadevi; 2) Buddha renounced his hom e; 3) Buddha preached hisf irst se rmon;

( 36 ) The Li ve lih ood of Marma Community in Bangladesh

4) 4) Buddha introduce first rain retreat; 5) Buddha went to Ta va timsa heave n to pr eac h the dhamma to his deceased mother and other gods; and 6) Buddha exhibited his twin-miracl e. 5 1n 1n order to commemorate thes e s ignificant events of Buddha's life they observe it.

Reali z ing the significance the Ban glad es h Go ve rnment declared the sacred day as an optiona l holiday. Besides ， the peasants are free from their farm work in this season. As a result result many attend in this festi v al. They take part in mass worship and perform all re li gio us rites and ritu als similar to that of Buddha Purnima

Pavarana Purnima / Ashwini purnima(wahgiwe).:

This This Purnima festi va li s ve rys ignificant for th e Marma Buddhist and equa l in status to to the Buddha Purnima as is ev id e nced by its widespread ce lebration. Pavarana m ea ns ulfillment 'f ulfillment of wis h' ，‘ satisfaction of de s ir e' or ‘the day of comp letion of study and meditation¥This meditation¥This is the ceremon y that is performed at the end of rain-retreat of the monk s. It It is held in the Ashvini month (September-october) ， the sixth month of Ben ga li Calendar So ，it is also kno w n as Ashvini Purnima. Like other Purnima festival this Purnima has also some r elation wit h some important eve nt s of Buddha 's life. For example ，on this day Buddha came down to thi s world after pr eac hing the Abh idh amma to his mother and other go ds in Ta v atimsa heaven. 1n th e sa m e day Buddha urges the monks to tak e the res ponsi- bilit y for spreadi ng the faith and welfare of all beings . Bes id es ，from this Purnima day ， the ye llow rob offering ceremony is held in all monasteries for one month. Moreover ， This Purnima festival not only pro v ides monks with comfortable li ving quarter s and suitab le c1 othing ，it also provides opportunity for la y de vo tees to earn meri t.

To observe the festival the d evotees d ecorate th e m onaster yw ith many colorfullamps ， cartoons ，flowers ，balloon s and ga rland s. Many flags are hoisted ，g ate s and wa ll s of the monastery are decorated w ith lamp and banana trees ， decorated pots are placed on bot h sid e of the monaster y gate. Th ey co m e to the monastery with va rious art icl es of worship and w ith accompaniments of mu sic.They carry a Ce les tial-tr ee whic h is decorated w ith all kinds kinds of pleasurable things that a man needs in hi s every dail y lif e and all the things hanged in in thi s tree are donated to monk s. The idea is that if th ey donate all these things ，th ey w ill ge t tho usand fo lds in hea ve n in ret urn. They perform all ritual s lik e that of Buddha Purnima. Purnima. The flying of the 'sky lamp ' known as Panu sbaji ，is the most interesting aspect of of this Purnima festi va l. The ‘sky lamp' is bi g balloon made of pape r. One part of it remains open and is connected w ith a bun ch of cotto nr opes or jute fibers ，which are soaked wit h il oil and fed with fuel gas. The ropes of the balloon are burnt and it gradually release d . It raised raised slowly ascending hi gh in the sky ，a thrillin g ni g ht under the c1 ear sky of the autumn seaso n

(3 7) Th 巴 Liv elih ood of Manna Comm unit y in Ban glad esh

When th e sky lamps fly in th es ky scatter in g li ght ，it looks lik ea moving rocke t. The obj ective of flyin g sky -lamp is to worship Budclha's hair re lic s. Two lege nd s are found in th e Marma soc ie ty in this regard ，w hich run thu s:

Wh en Buddha renounced his horne ，h e cut his hai ，' and thre ω it in to th e ai κsa 戸・ ηg γ rny airn and rnission 01 renunciation are Iruitful ， this tress 01 hair ω II go to

upwards .' Th e M arrnas set off the sky-Ian ψω syrnbol and cornrnernorati oη 01 Buddh a's

ernphatic ρredictio η.

Another view is that Buddha going to Tav atirnsa heaven is shoωη by this flying 01 sky -I arn p. R egardless 01 the lactual accura り 01 th ese legends ，th 里y fly the sky -Iarn ωρ art

Gηdρα rcel 01 their religio 凶 custorn.

The compu l sory performance of Pa vara na h as it s practical impli cat ions .It see ms to us that that the Budclha mad e it compu lso ry beca u se it pro vid es an opportu nit y to perform ye ll ow rob rob offer in g ceremony and durin g th e fes ti va l monk s make a confess ion of gu il t. From this da y the monk s pr eac h th e clhamm a to th e lay d evotees and thu s，e ncoura ge the la y comm unit y to give up sin ful lif e and to lead hon es t lif e. The popular objec ti ves of this fe sti va l are sa m e to th at of Buddha Pu rnim a.

Social Social N orms: Th e Marma s also fo ll ow som e ob li ga tor y soc ial norm s and rituals lik e other commu niti es of Ban glade sh. H ere 1 sh all ju st in troduce it in briefly . As socia l norm s，th ey follow so m e ob ligatory rul es rega rdin g bi rth ，marria ge and dea th. Th ey beli eve many go d and godde ss ，w or shipin g man y thin gs s uch as house ，tr ess ， river etc th ey observed many reli gious fe sti va ls as B udhha purnima ， Asari purnima ，Pa va rana purnima etc . Th ere are various various taboos in Marm a soc i ety. It is al so in flu encin g the peo ple 's every da y dec ision makin g

Conclusion:

Though the Marmas live in Ba nglade sh， they ha ve their own e thnic identit y. Through the the above mentioned in gre di ent s th ey ke ep th eir distinct id entit y as an e thnic an d a se parate co mmunit y. Th eira dmini stration ， family structure ，dress ，food ，games etc. are quit e cliff ere nt from Be nga li cultur e.

Fir st 1 wo uld lik e to convey m y gra titud e to th ea uthorit y of N um ata Fellowship for Provide Provide m e an opportu ni ty to con du ct resea rch in }ap an for one year under the pr ec iou s su pervisor of Prof essor Yusho Wakahara. 1 al so take th e opport unit y to conve y my

( 38 ) Th 巴 Livelihood of Marma Community in Bangladesh gratitude gratitude towards my supervisor Professor Yusho Wakahara ，Kensuke Okamoto ，Enoki Sensei Sensei and lwata Sensei who helped me in man y ways in my research giv ing precious advice advice and instructions. Moreover ，1 am indebt highly ed to the Authority and Professors of Ryukoku Un iversity ，w ho rendered unprecedented ，h elp towards me during my resea rch. 1 al so wou ld like to give m y sincere thanks to the members of libr ary of Ryukoku University ， w ho were kind enough during the u se of librar y materials. Below 1 am pro v iding the information information as to m y research works that 1 conducted under the Numata Fellowship for one one yea r. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. 1. Da lt on ，E.T.:“ Triba l Histor y of Eastern lndia ，" 1872 ，Sup t. of Government Printing ， Calcutta Calcutta 2 . Majid ，Mu sta fa (ed.): “Marma Jatisatta (Marma Nat ionality) ，" 2004 ，Maw la Brothers ， Dhaka. 3. 3. Al 凶am ，Mahbub shani ， Chittagong 4. 4. Rajput ，A. B.: "The Tribes of ，" 1963 ，Karac hi ， Pakistan 5. “Marma Paribarik 0 Bektigata Ain ，" Published by Cares Banglades h，1999 ，Dhaka ，p 52 . 6 . Sagor ，Khurshed Ala m:“ Bangladesher Adivasider Katha (A Tell of ln digenous People of of Bang lades h) ，" 2006 ，Patraput ，Dhaka 7. 7. Chakma ，Sugata : “Bang l adseher Upajati 0 Adivasider Samaj ， Sanskrit 0 Achar Babohar (Society ， Culture and Festivals of Tribal and lndigenous Peop le in Bang- ladesh) ，" 2002 ，Nowraj Kitabstan ，Dhaka 8 . Hasnain ，N adeem: “ Tribal lndia Today ，" 198 3，Harman Publications ，New Delhi. 9. Qureshi ，Mahmud ，Shah: “ Tribal Cultures in Bangladesh ，" 1984 ，lnstitute of Bang- ladesh ladesh studies ， Rajshahi University. 10. “Bangladesh Population Census ，" 1991 ，Ban glad es h Bureau of Statistics ，Dhaka 1. 11. Haque ，Aynal ，Md. ， Upajatider It ihas 0 Ji bondara (History and Life of Tribes) ，J un e 2001 ，Koushik Pub li cations ，Dhaka. 12. 12. Lewin ，T. H. ，Captain ， Bangladesher Dakkhin-Purbanchaler Adeem Jano gost hi ，2002 ， Rangamati.

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