Knowing Bangladesh

Tribal culture (Part-I)

There are many indigenous communities in Bangladesh and each of these communities has its own culture and tradition. Some of them may even have cultural distinctions within their different clans. But some traits are generally common among most tribes. For instance, originally most tribes had been animists.

Celebrations and Festivals'

Most tribes have festivities, particularly dancing and singing. Most of these festivals are celebrated by drinking a lot of alcoholic beverages. A very popular festival of the Manipuris is a type of Gopi dance celebrating the love of Radha and Krishna. In spring, Manipuris, Santals and Oraons celebrate Holi when they drench each other with colour. The Oraons count their year from the month of Falgun. Young Oraon men and women celebrate the first night of the year dancing around a fire. Drums, cymbals and flute provide the music.

Most religious rites and festivities of the Manipuris and the Garos are based on the seasons of the year. For a whole month, starting with the midnight of the Holi full moon, young Manipuri men and women dance in the open. They also celebrate the rice harvest through singing contests.

The youths and maidens of the Malpahari tribe also spend the night in festivities, singing, dancing, and consuming alcohol. Santals celebrate the harvest or sahrai festival for three to four days. Like the Manipuris, young Santal men and women dance and sing to the accompaniment of cymbals and flute. Like Manipuri and Santal youths, Garo ones also sing and dance collectively at the Oyanggala festival, which is connected with sowing of seeds and harvesting of crops.   

  A cultural festival

These celebrations take place at night when the young Garo men and women drink and dance. Buffalo horns are blown on the occasion. As night advances, the music and dancing become wilder, as alcohol is consumed freely. The wild dancing at Garo Oyamgala is intended to appease evil spirits. Food is also offered to the spirits then. The Maghs spend the first three days of the Maghi year singing, dancing and drinking.

Religious beliefs and taboos'

Except for the Sangsarek of the Garos and Buddhism of some tribes of Chittagong and the CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS, all other tribes have no specific religion. They regard their ancient rites, beliefs and customs as their religion. The Samsarek of the Garos is also close to extinction. Most of them have by now become Christians. However, they still follow certain rites of Samsarek. Most Santals are Christians now but they observe their own tribal rites. The periods of the full moon and the dark of the moon are of special significance to the Oraons, Manipuris and Buddhist tribes. Many religious and cultural rites take place during the full moon.

The Oraons follow the sayings of Dak and Khana. They have many superstitions regarding journeys. For example, Oraons will not undertake a journey if they stumble at the start, someone beckons from behind, a house-lizard calls out, a message is delivered about someone’s death, a corpse appears on the way, a crow caws on a dry twig, or an empty pitcher comes in view. When Oraons start tilling the field, they will do so from the east. They will wait for an auspicious day to begin building a house.   

   They believe that it is inauspicious to comb hair at night, to throw women’s hair outside, to sweep a house at sunset, to give something to someone after dusk, to hear an owl hooting, or a dog weeping at night. Oraons also have certain superstitions about cows. Thus they give away the first yield of milk from a lactating cow, and will not let a menstruating woman or a woman who has not completed the period of confinement after childbirth enter a cowshed. Women must not take the name of the husband's elder brother. Oraons believe that magic can be used to enthrall women. They also believe in the power of spells and charms. For protection against witches they go to Ayurvedic physicians. The Garos do not believe in witches. However, they do believe that some men become tigers at night and attack and kill cattle. They also believe that those who are killed by wild animals are reborn as animals. The Oraons believe that the spirit of a still-born child is reborn and that some Ayurvedic physicians have the power to prevent the appearance of evil spirits.

There are many superstitions and taboos regarding women. Thus, a pregnant Oraon woman will not eat rats or eels for fear of making her child hideous. After childbirth she is forbidden to eat khesari (a type of lentils), potatoes, or stale food. She is not allowed to drink cold water. Manipuris do not allow their pregnant women to go out in the open with their hair loose; they are also not allowed to go far at night, nor to cross a river or a bridge.

Malpaharis believe that spirits may possess a woman at her wedding and that they may possess both mother and newborn at childbirth. They are always on the lookout for danger. Khasias and Mundas believe that the spirits of dead children and of one's ancestors may visit a house and therefore they erect a stone platform for these spirits. All tribes believe in household gods that regulate their well being.

Concept of Creation

According to the Garos, a woman named Nastunpantu created the earth from soil brought up by a tortoise from the bottom of the sea and then dried it with the help of the sun god to make it habitable. Manipuris legends narrate how the world was composed entirely of water. Then the great guru Shidara made 9 gods and 7 goddesses. The gods threw soil from the heavens and the goddesses danced on the soil and flattened it to create the earth. The Khasias believe Thyu Blauu first created the earth and then a man and woman from whom the entire human race descended.

Farm work

Some tribes regard the earth as mother; so they worship the earth-mother before sowing crops. Oraons revere the cropland and believe that it is the earth-mother's menstruation that produces crops. This is why they observe a number of ceremonies where the earth is treated as a menstruating or pregnant woman. Some tribes give the land special food, as is the custom in the case of a pregnant woman. The Oraons and the Santals reverently apply vermilion spots on their farm implements. Among Garos, Manipuris, Santals and a few other tribes men and women work together in fields. The men clear the jungles and till the soil while the women, as symbols of fertility, sow seeds and do the transplanting. All tribes celebrate seed planting and crop harvesting in their own colourful ways. Young men and women sing and recite rhymes as they carry the ripe crops home.    

 

Knowing Bangladesh

Tribal culture (Part-I)

There are many indigenous communities in Bangladesh and each of these communities has its own culture and tradition. Some of them may even have cultural distinctions within their different clans. But some traits are generally common among most tribes. For instance, originally most tribes had been animists. Celebrations and Festivals Most tribes have festivities, particularly dancing and singing. Most of these festivals are celebrated by drinking a lot of alcoholic beverages. A very popular festival of the Manipuris is a type of Gopi dance celebrating the love of Radha and Krishna. In spring, Manipuris, Santals and Oraons celebrate Holi when they drench each other with colour. The Oraons count their year from the month of Falgun. Young Oraon men and women celebrate the first night of the year dancing around a fire. Drums, cymbals and flute provide the music. Most religious rites and festivities of the Manipuris and the Garos are based on the seasons of the year. For a whole month, starting with the midnight of the Holi full moon, young Manipuri men and women dance in the open. They also celebrate the rice harvest through singing contests. The youths and maidens of the Malpahari tribe also spend the night in festivities, singing, dancing, and consuming alcohol. Santals celebrate the harvest or sahrai festival for three to four days. Like the Manipuris, young Santal men and women dance and sing to the accompaniment of cymbals and flute. Like Manipuri and Santal youths, Garo ones also sing and dance collectively at the Oyanggala festival, which is connected with sowing of seeds and harvesting of crops. A cultural festival These celebrations take place at night when the young Garo men and women drink and dance. Buffalo horns are blown on the occasion. As night advances, the music and dancing become wilder, as alcohol is consumed freely. The wild dancing at Garo Oyamgala is intended to appease evil spirits. Food is also offered to the spirits then. The Maghs spend the first three days of the Maghi year singing, dancing and drinking. Religious beliefs and taboos Except for the Sangsarek of the Garos and Buddhism of some tribes of Chittagong and the CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS, all other tribes have no specific religion. They regard their ancient rites, beliefs and customs as their religion. The Samsarek of the Garos is also close to extinction. Most of them have by now become Christians. However, they still follow certain rites of Samsarek. Most Santals are Christians now but they observe their own tribal rites. The periods of the full moon and the dark of the moon are of special significance to the Oraons, Manipuris and Buddhist tribes. Many religious and cultural rites take place during the full moon. The Oraons follow the sayings of Dak and Khana. They have many superstitions regarding journeys. For example, Oraons will not undertake a journey if they stumble at the start, someone beckons from behind, a house-lizard calls out, a message is delivered about someones death, a corpse appears on the way, a crow caws on a dry twig, or an empty pitcher comes in view. When Oraons start tilling the field, they will do so from the east. They will wait for an auspicious day to begin building a house. They believe that it is inauspicious to comb hair at night, to throw womens hair outside, to sweep a house at sunset, to give something to someone after dusk, to hear an owl hooting, or a dog weeping at night. Oraons also have certain superstitions about cows. Thus they give away the first yield of milk from a lactating cow, and will not let a menstruating woman or a woman who has not completed the period of confinement after childbirth enter a cowshed. Women must not take the name of the husbands elder brother. Oraons believe that magic can be used to enthrall women. They also believe in the power of spells and charms. For protection against witches they go to Ayurvedic physicians. The Garos do not believe in witches. However, they do believe that some men become tigers at night and attack and kill cattle. They also believe that those who are killed by wild animals are reborn as animals. The Oraons believe that the spirit of a still-born child is reborn and that some Ayurvedic physicians have the power to prevent the appearance of evil spirits. There are many superstitions and taboos regarding women. Thus, a pregnant Oraon woman will not eat rats or eels for fear of making her child hideous. After childbirth she is forbidden to eat khesari (a type of lentils), potatoes, or stale food. She is not allowed to drink cold water. Manipuris do not allow their pregnant women to go out in the open with their hair loose; they are also not allowed to go far at night, nor to cross a river or a bridge. Malpaharis believe that spirits may possess a woman at her wedding and that they may possess both mother and newborn at childbirth. They are always on the lookout for danger. Khasias and Mundas believe that the spirits of dead children and of ones ancestors may visit a house and therefore they erect a stone platform for these spirits. All tribes believe in household gods that regulate their well being. Concept of Creation According to the Garos, a woman named Nastunpantu created the earth from soil brought up by a tortoise from the bottom of the sea and then dried it with the help of the sun god to make it habitable. Manipuris legends narrate how the world was composed entirely of water. Then the great guru Shidara made 9 gods and 7 goddesses. The gods threw soil from the heavens and the goddesses danced on the soil and flattened it to create the earth. The Khasias believe Thyu Blauu first created the earth and then a man and woman from whom the entire human race descended. Farm work Some tribes regard the earth as mother; so they worship the earth-mother before sowing crops. Oraons revere the cropland and believe that it is the earth-mothers menstruation that produces crops. This is why they observe a number of ceremonies where the earth is treated as a menstruating or pregnant woman. Some tribes give the land special food, as is the custom in the case of a pregnant woman. The Oraons and the Santals reverently apply vermilion spots on their farm implements. Among Garos, Manipuris, Santals and a few other tribes men and women work together in fields. The men clear the jungles and till the soil while the women, as symbols of fertility, sow seeds and do the transplanting. All tribes celebrate seed planting and crop harvesting in their own colourful ways. Young men and women sing and recite rhymes as they carry the ripe crops home.