Marma is the name of a
nation /community. This nation / community has been living in Chittagong,
Bangladesh for a long time. There is a lot of debate about where and when the
original inhabitants of this nation started living in this region. There has
been a long-standing desire to learn about the history of the Marma people, but
this has not been possible due to the lack of written books or documents on the
subject. When I studied history at the University of Chittagong, I felt
terrible for knowing about the history of the Marma community. Because we can
learn about the ancient civilizations of different nations and community about
their social, cultural, economic and religious activities from different
history books. But it was not possible to know about the ancient civilization
of the Marma people as there was no written history book of the history of the
Marma people. After long times, there has been an opportunity to conduct
fact-finding research on the history of the Marmas by collecting data from
accessible history books and online. I have tried to write the history and culture of the
Marma people by incorporating the knowledge and information gained from this accessible
history books and online based research.
In
Marma society, birth, marriage and death are the three chapters that are
socialized through various social ceremonies following religious and social
customs. Although these rituals are performed in modern Marma society, the
traditional practices are often omitted in the Marma society due to the touch
of modernity, in the case of social ceremonies. Indigenous culture is
neglected, no longer nurtured. The Marma people are the second largest
indigenous people in Bangladesh. But their cultural practice and maintenance
facilities are very limited. If this continues, the existence of the Marma
nation will no longer be found. So, through this writing, to try to sustain the
existence of the Marma nation.
The
life and livelihood of the Marmas is full of its own characteristics. Their
language, food habits, dress, social customs and administrations are completely
different from other peoples. The Marmas have their own culture, education and
religious practices. Traditional Marma social management is divided into three
stages namely village, mouza and circle. "Karbari" is the head of
village management. The “headman” at the socks stage and head of the mouza. The circle head is the king or mang. There are
currently two circles of Marmas. Mong Circle in Khagrachari and Bohmang Circle
in Bandarban in the country of Bangladesh. From time immemorial, the Marmas
have been observed in their daily life in pursuit of a variety of habitual
practices and characteristics, which I have tried to highlight in this article.
Hopefully, those who are interested in learning about the Marma people or the Marma tribes will find this information very useful. This research work focusing on the cultural and history of the Marma people in Bangladesh.
