Introduction

Bangladesh has a lot of tribes. For this assignment we tried to gather information as many as possible. The tribes of Bangladesh has their own culture, customs, religion, rules and regulations. They so much enriched with their culture that it is very hard to put every details in a single report, but still we tried. Different tribes of Bangladesh and their colourful lifestyles have significantly enriched the entire culture of Bangladesh. For centuries, Bangladesh has been the dwelling place of different tribes. In fact, 35 smaller groups of indigenous people covering about two percent of the total population have been living in different poc ets of the hilly !ones and some areas of the plain lands of the country. Their historical bac ground, economic activities, social structure, religious beliefs and festivals ma e them distinctive. The beauty of the hilly !ones as well as the plain areas has been enhanced by the colourful culture and traditional practices of different tribal groups, li e the "andi and #a$ong in the northern part, the "anipuri and %hasia in the northeast, the &ha ma, Tripura, "arma, 'a hain, "ru, Tanchyanga, "urong in the eastern and southeastern parts and the (antal and 'a$bangshi in the western part of the country.

Population of Tribes

The tribal population consisted of )*+,),) persons, $ust over - percent of the total population, at the time of the -*)- census. They lived primarily in the &hittagong #ills and in the regions of "ymensingh, (ylhet, and 'a$shahi. The ma$ority of the tribal population ( 778,425) lived in rural settings, where many practiced shifting cultivation.

Residential Ares of the Tribes

Tribes of Bangladesh live in two different geographic patterns, the plains and the hills, which geographically divide them into two groups, the plains tribal people and the hill tribal people. The plains tribal people dwell mostly in different districts of ra$shahi, dha a, %hulna and barisal divisions and the flat land section of the chittagong and sylhet divisions. .ccording to the -**- census, the largest tribal group in the plains is the santals who numbered ,/,,-0, while the second largest group was the garos numbering 01,,)/.

.mong the tribes, (antals are concentrated in 'a$shahi and Dina$pur disricts, 2aros and ha$ongs in %amalpur, %ishoregan$, "ymensingh, 3etro ona and Tangail districts, maghs in Barisal, &hittagong, 4atua hali and %hulna districts and manipuris in (ythet district. (antals in Dina$pur are called paliya. #ill tribal people are divided into many tribes and live in the three hill districts of chittagong hill tracts 5&#T6 vi!, rangamati, hagrachhari and bandarban. These district border India and "yanmar as well as some part of (ylhet division. The -**- census estimated the adivasis of Bangladesh at -,,/5,*+) persons, which constituted -.-37 of the country8s total population. .bout ),7 of the adivasis live in rural areas. The ma$or hill tribal groups or tribes of Bangladesh include cha mas, marmas, tripuras, manipuris, ha$ongs, maghs, tanchangyas, mros, uchais, lusheis, bawms, pan hos, cha s, hyangs, humis, ra$bangshis, ra hains, hasias, oaches, urangs, and mahatos.

Description
There are so many tribes in Bangladesh that we cannot discuss about every tribe. (o, according to the population and social ethics we described some of the tribes in here. These tribes are9 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. . !. 1". 11. 12. The &ha mas The (antals The :raons The 2aros The 'a$bangshi The Bagdis The "urong The Bedeys The %hasias The "anipuris The Tripuras The "armas

Discussing about all the tribe together will not help us now about each tribe .(o, here we described each tribe separately to now the most about them.

The #ha$%as
The &ha mas are the largest tribe in Bangladesh. The &ha mas are divided into different clans. . sheaf is made up of a number of clans. The head person of the &ha ma tribe is called the &ha ma 'a$a 5%ing6. #e is the only $udge presiding over all sorts of activities of the &ha ma. &ha mas can get married within or outside their clan;sheaf. They sing and dance before the day of marriage and arrange 8&hungulong8 worship on the day of marriage. The &ha mas call their village the 8.dam8. The &hief of an adam is called 8%arbari8. "ost of the &ha mas live on bamboo9made platforms with huts on them also made of bamboos. They use ladders for climbing up and down. The &ha ma language has its own alphabet. They have their own dance, songs and literature. They use their own system of numbers for counting. The vast ma$ority of &ha mas are Buddhists, and they are the largest Buddhist population in Bangladesh. Integrated in their Buddhist practice are older religious elements, such as worship of the power of nature. :ne of their annual highlights is the Bi!u festival held in &haitra.

The &antals
(antals have their own language and culture, they have village 4.3&#.<=T administration, social values and characteristic love for dance, singing and music. (antals are nown as the progenitors and maintainers of agricultural production system and agro9based culture. .lthough the chief god of (antals is the god of the sun, the god of mountain is also dignified enough to have become a village9god. Influence of fol #indu deities is also visible in their religious ceremonies. In fact, (antal men and women are animistic, but again they ac nowledge Tha ur$iu as &reator. (antals are fond of festivities. .lmost each month or season has a festival or fiesta celebrated with the pomp of dances, songs and music. It turns splendid with dance, songs, music and pleasant beauty of flowers along with food and drin s. 4robably its greatest attraction is the chorus dance of (antal girls. .nother important ceremony of (antals is called Baha or the festival of blossoms. The (pring Festival of (antals provide young men and women an opportunity to e>change hearts. The hub of such e>change of hearts or choosing one8s partner is the a hra 5sort of club6. Divorce is allowed in their community. Both widows and divorced women have the right to remarry. Domination of the male is more prominent in the (antal society although, the role of women in the family is by no means insignificant.

The 'raons
:raon, The a tribe of the 4roto9.ustralian origin. "any specialists consider that the word :raon is a distorted form of a totem in the ancient %uru h language. ?i e many other ethnic groups, :raons worship nature. They however, believe that there is a creator of the universe, Dharmesh, who e>ists in the sun. "ost of their religious ceremonies centre around the sun. :raons believe in different gods having symbolic representation in villages, agricultural assets, forests, epidemics etc. They satisfy these gods through religious festivals similar to those of the #indu community. :raons worship trees, flowers and fruits for increased crop production and protection of the tribe. Fertility of land and women is the same in their religious prayers. Their vows are closely associated with their lifestyle, the struggle for e>istence and the pleasures of life. ?i e other tribes, :raons li e to dance, sing and play musical instruments. Their dances and songs are deeply rooted in their social and cultural life. @humur songs of :raons reflect their lifestyle and their religious philosophy. "arriages are arranged by the guardians in the family, but the opinions of the brides and bridegrooms are also respected. rice is the staple food of :raons. They ta e vegetables, fish, or meat with rice. They drin a homemade wine called pachai, which is generally made from rice. Farming is the main occupation of :raons. Aomen wor harder than men. :raons burn the bodies of the dead. .s a mar of respect to the deceased they offer flowers and leaves of sacred trees to the dead on the pyres:raons practise the age9old panchayet system in local administration.

The (aros

The 2aro tribe is divided into ten clans.Their main professions are $hum cultivation in the slopes of the hills, livestoc farming and hunting. They live in an isolated world and within their own geographic, economic and cultural boundaries and follow their own customary norms. They do not have any ing but are ruled by the tribal chief. Fruit is the staple food of 2aros and therefore, they hardly suffered from any shortage in food supply in the past. This contributed to their fast growth. 2aros coo their food in bamboo pipes. They drin plenty of wine and entertain guests invariably with meat. :n festive occasions, guests bring coc s or pigs while visiting someone8s house. .t present, almost all 2aros are &hristians and only a few are "uslims. Besides traditional beliefs, 2aros follow their own religion (angshareB, which has roots in agriculture. They are not concerned about worshipping idols and do not bother about sin and virtue, gods and goddesses and heaven and hell. They observe thirteen or more brata 5vows6 and festivals in a year and pray for the fertility of the soil, safety of the harvests and protection from evil spirits, diseases and epidemics. They believe that evil spirits may steal away ripe and harvested crops from the field and storehouses. To protect themselves against spirits, they perform religious rituals in the form of festivals under different names while sowing seeds and harvesting crops. The largest among these festivals is the Aangala. This is celebrated in the whole 2aro area in full fanfare. .dults drin homemade wine, young boys and girls wear specially designed dresses, colour their s in and sing and dance wildly. They also entertain each other with drin s and in their celebrations, chose their husbands or wives. The musical instruments used in the festival include buffalo horns and drums of different si!e. (trong and young boys dance vigorously with shields and swords in hands to frighten evil spirits. These performances are part of the (angshareB religion and aim at neutralising spirits, ghosts, and demons in two ways, by offering rogala 5oblation6 to them and by frightening them. 2aros are matriarchal. #usbands live in the houses of wives and are engaged in household wor . The mother is the owner of all the property of a household. .fter her death, the youngest daughter or any daughter nominated by the mother becomes the heir and is called 3a ma. The wife of a husband acBuires ownership of the assets earned by him. The children are also treated as assets and are owned by the mother. They are nown after the family of their mother. The mother is responsible for rearing the children. .fter the death of the wife, the husband has no moral right to stay in that house. The rate of literacy in the 2aro community is higher among the women than among the men.

The Ra)ban*shi 'a$bangshis are people of a mi>ed race, although identified by many as a branch of the satriyas nown as the %otch. They are followers of vaisnavism. (ome of them now adopted islam and some christianity. 'a$bangshis are now a declining community in Bangladesh area..griculture is the main profession of 'a$bangshis. They also catch and sell fish. 'a$bangshi women are s illed in handicrafts and cottage industry. In their community, the father is the head of the family. :nly male children inherit the property of their father after his death. 'a$bangshis worship #indu gods and goddesses 5(hiva, Cishnu, Durga and %ali6 and observe the Baridhara brata 5vow6, a symbol of ancient farming communities. They also perform religious rites and rituals related to fertility and procreation. .mong 'a$bangshis, many are animists while many others worship the nature, including mountains, rivers, forests and the soil. They pray to the god of the homestead 5Bahasto or Bahusto6 for the welfare of their family and to the Balibhadra Tha ur before sowing crop seeds. They perform indigenous songs and dances in religious festivities. In case there is a prolonged drought, they organise the #uduma 4u$a, which often turns into a large religious festival. "arriage rituals of 'a$bangshis have elements of the santal and oraon rituals. Divorce, remarriage and widow marriages are allowed in the 'a$bangshi community. But in case of widow marriage, the younger brother, if there is any, of the deceased husband gets the preferential right to marry her. 'a$bangshis burn the bodies of the dead and organise shraddha after one month of death.

The +a*dis
. bagdi was traditionally restricted from marrying outside the sub9caste. (ocial and economic factors, especially the intent of not allowing their property to be en$oyed by people outside their community, produced strict endogamy among them. &urrently, however, they are fle>ible in marriage customs. Bagdis practise both infant and adult marriages, though cases of infant marriage are not common today. 4olygamy is permitted, depending on a man8s material condition. . bagdi can marry two sisters at a time. Bagdis have borrowed many rituals from the Brahminical system. But they have also preserved some interesting rituals, which belong to different and perhaps more primitive societies. Before formal marriage, the bridegroom goes through a moc marriage to a "ahua tree. The religious practices of bagdis combine orthodo> hinduism and nature worship of their ancestors. They worship the sna e goddess manasa Devi. The occupation of bagdis differs from region to region and from sub9caste to sub9caste. (ome bagdis still wor in fishing, some as palanBuin bearers, lime producers, gunny bag ma ers and cotton weavers. (ome bagdis are also engaged in agriculture, usually as under9raiyats, and a few of them have attained the position of occupancy tenants.

The ,uron*
"urongs are patriarchal. (ons inherit the property. They have different clans and many sub9clans. "urongs do not marry within the same clan or sub9clan. Their boys and girls are also not allowed to marry within two different clans involved in war even after when they enter into truce or peace agreement and become friends. "urongs have many different ways of performing marriage ceremony but the ceremony is usually very short. :nce a couple is selected for marriage, they slaughter a coc in presence of the couple. "ost "urongs are Buddhists and some are converted &hristians. In general, they are still animists and they worship nature. They revere Thurai as the creator of this universe. .ll their pu$as are directed to :reng, the 2od of household and day9to9day business. They believe in signs and omens and their immediate underta ings are affected by these beliefs. (ungteung is another deity "urongs pay homage to. Before the harvest, the "urongs observe a pu$a called %umlang, in which they ceremonially ill a cow. "urongs love songs and dances. They use homemade musical instruments, which are made of bamboo. They dance in a group of -/ to -, unmarried boys and girls.The main profession of the "urongs is $hum cultivation and lumbering wood from $ungle. Before $hum cultivation they offer :reng pu$a. The women wor harder than the men. They have a language but no written script. "urongs build houses on machangs 5platforms6 on the top of the hills. Their houses are bigger than the houses of other tribes. "urongs burn the bodies of the dead. "urong is a symbol of peace.

The +ede-s
The "angta people were popularly called Bedey after the Bangla word Baidda meaning village doctor. Bedeys pretend to now the art of healing, which they use as a source of living. They are s illed in hunting. .pparently the community is patriarchal, but the women tend to play crucial roles in day to day affairs. The community generally lives in clusters on machans 5platforms6 constructed by the side of rivers or on B:.Ts. (na e catching and sna e9 charming ma e a ma$or source of income for them. <oung males and females are allowed to choose their partners and marry them with due consent of their guardians. .fter ".''I.2=, the husband goes to the wife8s house to live permanently. =ach fleet ta es an identity of a sub9tribe headed by a sardar. The sardar divides his fleet into a number of small groups and appoints a guide for each of the groups through whom he coordinates the community affairs. Besides the fleet sardars, the Bedey clans and sub9clans also have their own leaders elected in a meeting in the presence of all sardars. They are omnivorous and are usually addicted to drugs. .s they claim to be "uslims, they also practice many rites and rituals of #indu religion. They sing in praise of 'amachandra and ?a sman and describe the ferociousness of 'ama and 'aban and the activities of #anuman.

The .hasias
%hasia, The 5or %hasi6 "ongolite ethnic group. They build their cottages with a balcony on a platform made of wood and bamboo. The changes that have ta en place in the %hasia community are most evident in their religious practices. %hasias were originally monotheists, who believe that the 2od first created the universe and then a man and a woman. (ubseBuently, the 2od created gods and goddesses for the purpose of controlling various aspects of the universe. They also believe in the e>istence of the god of a village. "oreover, they believe in the e>istence of evil spirits and adore nature and animals. They perform numerous rituals. They do not have any religious scripture. The %hasia language does not have alphabets. They perform various inds of rituals throughout the whole year and pray for the fertility of their land. They perform hya hang brata at the time of sowing seeds. :ther rituals are pisthol, pirdong and hya lam. "arriage is compulsory for %hasia men and is treated a command of 2od. . They dance and sing in a chorus in marriage ceremonies and other regular festivals. They celebrate birth and death. They are good in dancing and singing. .ccording to a %hasia proverb, the civilisation originated from the female. Because of the e>istence of a social system based on matriarchy. In %hasia society cultivation and household wor are done on the basis of mutual cooperation and understanding between wife and husband.

The ,anipuris
The "anipuris are one of the ma$or ethnic communities of Bangladesh. "anipuri men and women wor together in the field. They celebrate seed planting and crop harvesting in their own colourful way."anipuri culture has a rich and colourful tradition where dance and music play a vital role. The most vibrant branch of "anipuri culture is dance. 'asa dance is the finest product of their culture. The dress they wear during a dance is really gorgeous and beautiful. "ost of the festivals of the "anipuris are accompanied by the consumption of alcoholic beverages.. very popular festival of the "anipuris is a type of 2opi dance celebrating the romantic liaison of 'adha and %rishna. In the spring, "anipuris celebrate #oli, when they drench each other with colour. "ost religious rites and festivals of the "anipuris are based on the seasons of the year. They also celebrate the rice harvest through a singing contest."anipuris put up colourful wedding pandals, and the bride and groom go round the pandal to be greeted with paddy and durva grass. "anipuris cannot marry within their own clans."onipuris have their own rituals regarding disposal of the dead body. They eep the dying person outside the house on a banana leaf, while %irtans are chanted. Dead bodies are washed with the head pointed northward. They bury bodies of adolescents and cremate bodies of older persons. .fter disposing of the body, the pallbearers ta e a bath and dry their hands by holding them above a fire before entering their house.

The Tripuras
The Tripuras are another large ethnic group in the &hittagong #ill Tracts 5&#T6 region. Tripuras call their society Dafa. .mong the Tripura community, all the groups and subgroups have their own dialects, dresses and ornaments. This tribal group does not have a uniform lineage system. In some groups, sons draw their lineage from the father8s side while daughters draw their lineage from the mother8s side. Tripuras are mainly #indus though their beliefs and religious practices are different from those of caste #indus in many aspects. They worship the god (hiva and the goddess %ali along with -1 other gods and goddesses. They also believe in a number of evil spirits, incorporeal beings and demons, who have their domicile in $ungles and who do harm to people by inflicting diseases. They sacrifice animals and birds in the name of their gods and goddesses. The most important social festival of the Tripuras is the Baisu that lasts for three days. . group of about -5 dancers performs fol dances and are offered chic en, rice and drin s by the householders they visit. Their dances are really colourful and en$oyable. This ethnic community follows a custom of arranged marriage which is traditionally not allowed within one8s group. The father of the bridegroom has to pay the e>penses for the bride8s dress and ornaments. Before marriage the bridegroom ta es up residence in the bride8s home for two years and becomes a member of her family. The Tripuras burn their dead and when the fire is e>tinguished the ashes and unburned bones are collected and thrown into a river or pond. The (raddha is observed -3 days after the death.

The ,ar%as
The "armas are the second largest ethnic minority in Bangladesh. They spea an .ra ansese dialect and their language is written in Burmese characters. "armas are divided into several clans. =ach clan is named after the place from where it migrated. The material culture of the "armas includes many basic tools and weapons of primitive societies. The houses of the "arma people are made of bamboo, wild grass and straw. These are built on elevated bamboo or wooden platforms 5machang6. =very room is a bedroom cum store. The space underneath the machang is used for various purposes such as eeping livestoc and storing fuel wood. (ome of their houses, however, are made of mud and built without a machang. 'ice and boiled vegetables are ma$or food items of the "arma people. 3appi, a paste made of dried fish, is a favourite food item. They en$oy rice beer and smo e indigenous cigars. The nuclear family is predominant in the "arma community. .lthough the husband is the head of the household, the wife also has a significant role in the family. .griculture is the main occupation of the "armas and @hum

cultivation is their primary agricultural pursuit. They also supplement their food reBuirement by gathering tree leaves, roots, and tubers from the hill forests. "armas believe that their birth, death and all activities in life ta e place under the influence of a supernatural power, which they try to satisfy through their rites and rituals. They celebrate Buddhist religious festivals and also perform various forms of ritual worship to placate different gods. Dreams have a very strong influence in decision ma ing in their everyday life. "arriage is a very important part of the social life of "armas. &ross9cousin marriage and monogamy are predominant features of this society. 4olygamy is also allowed. &hild marriage is practically forbidden. 4remarital love is common. The traditional political administrative system in the "arma community is a three9tier one. Cillage level administration is headed by a %arbari and mou!a level administration by a headman, while the circle level is headed by the &ircle &hief 5'a$a6. The main responsibility of these leaders is the collection of @hum ta>. In addition, each is entrusted with various socio9cultural responsibilities including arbitration of disputes, pronouncing $udgment as well as maintaining law and order at their respective levels of administration.

#onclusion
.lthough we have described a lot of tribes above, lot tribes are left describing as well. The tribes of Bangladesh are very rich in their lifestyle, but todayDs they are becoming more li e a general Bangladeshi. They are receiving education, going out of their clans for wor and brea ing the bondages of their religions.

Bibliography -. Boo s ,. 3. 1. 5. 0. (ociology 9 3eil @. (melser (ociology 9 &. 3. (han ar 'ao httpE;;banglapedia.search.com.bd;#T.html www.google.com google image search www.bangladeshinfo.bd www.thedailystar.com