Rajpunyah

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Rajpunyah is a conventional celebration where the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, assemble to pay taxes to their king (circle head). This festival takes place after every five or six years, though it used to take place every year previously. [1] Following this occasion, a folk fair starts and goes on for three days. Thousands of local and foreign tourists visit Bandarban every year during the festival. [2]

Contents

History

The Bohmong kings have been organizing the Rajpunyah Festival since 1875 AD to collect Jhum tax. The ninth Bohmong king started the formal tax collection in 1875. However, after the death of the 14th Bohmong King Manshaiprue Chowdhury in the 1990s, Rajpunyah did not take place for two years. Rajpunyah Festival has been much enhanced in the last 134 years assimilating different cultural aspects of different people living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. For the people of the hill districts, Rajpunyah is one of the biggest festivals at present. [3]

Place

The Chakma circle celebrates Rajpunyah in Rangamati. [4] On the other hand, the Bohmong circle arranges Rajpunyah in Bandarban. Different indigenous people come to see the king with great interest from different places. [5]

Festival

The Rajpunyah festival was first introduced during British rule. Rajpunyah is better known as ‘Poingjara Powaye’ to various local tribal communities. According to the hill tradition of about two hundred years, the king collects taxes by organizing a fair at the beginning of the year. At the Rajpunyah ceremony, the headmen of the mouzas under the king paid tribute to him and expressed their allegiance. Later the king addresses the people and rewards the tribals who have contributed in various fields. [6]

The king ascends the royal throne through thousands of flower rugs. Later, one by one, the king receives taxes and various gifts from the people. Every year in Bandarban, during Rajpunyah, the courtyard of the palace becomes a unique gathering place for the indigenous people and the Bengalis. Not only has the people of Bandarban, Rangamati, but also Rajpunyah fair attracted thousands of domestic and foreign tourists. As a result, there is an acute seat crisis in hotels and motels in Bandarban during Rajpunyah. This traditional fair of the hill has circus, puppet dance, indigenous instrumental music, dance, song, drama staging and the whirligigs. Besides, businessmen set up hundreds of shops with different products. [7]

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Chittagong Hill Tracts Region in southeastern Bangladesh

The Chittagong Hill Tracts, often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma). Covering 13,295 square kilometres (5,133 sq mi), they formed a single district until 1984, when they were divided into three districts: Khagrachari District, Rangamati Hill District, and Bandarban District.

Chakma people Ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent

The Chakma people are a tribal group from the eastern-most regions of the Indian subcontinent. They are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh, and the second-largest in Mizoram, India. Other places in Northeast India also have significant Chakma populations. Around 60,000 Chakma people live in Arunachal Pradesh, India; a first generation migrated there in 1964 after the Kaptai Dam tragedy. Another 79,000 Chakmas live in Tripura, India, and 20,000-30,000 in Assam, India.

Marma people

The Marma, formerly known as Moghs or Maghs, are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. Some Marmas live in Bangladesh's coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and Patuakhali, while others live in Tripura, India and Myanmar. There are over 210,000 Marmas living in Bangladesh. Since the 16th century, the Marma have considered the Bengal's Chittagong Hill Tracts their home, where they have established the Bohmong and Mong Circles (chiefdoms).

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Bandarban is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the others being Rangamati District and Khagrachhari District. Bandarban district (4,479 km2) is not only the most remote district of the country, but also the least populous. There is an army contingent at Bandarban Cantonment.

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Tanchangya people

The Tanchangya people or Tanchangyas are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, Arunachal and Rakhine state of Myanmar.

Devasish Roy is a Bangladeshi politician and lawyer. He is the titular Raja of the Chakma Circle, Bangladesh's largest indigenous community, and was a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2014 to 2016.

Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation, 1900 popularly known as Chittagong Hill Tracts manual is a manual enacted by the then British India Government describing how to administer Chittagong Hill Tracts of present-day eastern Bangladesh. It was adopted in place of earlier manuals, after the government realised that the act of 1860 would not work satisfactorily. Since the adoption of the manual, the administration of Chittagong Hill Tracts was carried on in accordance with the rules of the manual.

Kheyang is the exonym of the Hyow. There Kheyang or the Hyow (খিয়াং), are a group of indigenous people inhabiting in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the Rakhine State of Myanmar. The word Kheyang originated in khlɔng (see VanBik, 2009: 3–4), which means personin the language. The endonym Hyow means Chin. The Khyang are one of the smallest ethnic groups in Bangladesh with a population of only 2,345 according to the 1991 census. At present, the approximate number of the Khyang in Bangladesh is 4500. They live in Kaptai and Chandraghona in Rangamati Hill District and in Bandarban Sadar, Thanchi and Rowangcchari upazila in Bandarban District. . In Myanmar, they live in the Myebon, Minbya and Ann townships of the Rakhine State.

Bangladeshis Citizens of the country of Bangladesh

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Chakma Circle

The Chakma Circle, also known as the Chakma Raj, is one of three hereditary chiefdoms in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The Chakma Circle encompasses parts of Rangamati Hill District and Dighinala and Rajasthali Upazilas in neighbouring Khagrachari District and Bandarban District respectively. The chiefdom's members are of Chakma descent.

Rangamati Hill District Council is the autonomous government body responsible for the governance of Rangamati Hill District. Brisaketu Chakma is the Chairman of the Rangamati Hill District Council.

Mong Circle

The Mong Circle is one of three hereditary chiefdoms in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Mong Circle encompasses parts of Khagrachhari District. The chiefdom's members are of Marma descent and are known as phalansa. Most inhabitants of the Mong Circle settled in the northwest during a migration wave from the Kingdom of Mrauk U between the 16th and 18th centuries, while inhabitants of the other Marma chiefdom, the Bohmong Circle settled in the south and are known as ragraisa.

Bohmong Circle

The Bohmong Circle is one of three hereditary chiefdoms in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Bohmong Circle encompasses parts of Bandarban District. The chiefdom's members are of Marma descent and are known as ragraisa. Most inhabitants of the Mong Circle settled in the south during a migration wave from the Kingdom of Mrauk U between the 16th and 18th centuries, while inhabitants of the other Marma chiefdom, the Mong Circle, settled in the northwest and are known as phalansa (ဖလံသား).

The three districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachari, still have monarchs. In 1860, the British government divided the Chittagong Hill Tracts into three circles, Chakma, Bomang and Mong. Bomang Circle is located in Bandarban, Chakma Circle in Rangamati and Mong Circle in Khagrachari. The monarchs of these three districts are known as three kings. For hundreds of years, the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been following the orders of the three kings. But the kings do not have much power now. Their activities are limited to issuing permanent resident certificates, tax collection, some social justice, arbitration meetings. But the three kings have a long history.

References

  1. ↑ Illius, Shamsuddin (December 22, 2017). "Chakma Raja Celebrates 40 Years". The Independent. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  2. ↑ "The Bohmong Rajpunyah festival will start on December 21". Prothom Alo. November 30, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Bandarban wears festive look as Rajpunyah starts". The Daily Star. January 15, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  4. ↑ "The traditional Rajpunyah started in Bandarban". The Daily Janakantha. December 20, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Raj Punyah". Bangladesh National Portal. August 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ Chakraborty, Milon (January 4, 2013). "Traditional Rajpunyah Starts in Bandarban". The Daily Ittefaq. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  7. ↑ Das, S. Basu (January 2, 2013). "The 137th Rajpunyah of Bandarban starts on Thursday". Banglanews24.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
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