Chakma
The Chakma people, are a native group from the easternmost regions of the Indian subcontinent, they are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region in southeastern Bangladesh, and in Mizoram, India (Chakma Autonomous District Council), they are the second largest ethnic group, and in Tripura, India.
The Chakmas are people with their own culture, folklore, literature and traditions. The Chakma women wear an ankle length cloth around the waist which is also called Phinon and also a Haadi wrapped above the waist as well as silver ornaments. The Phinon and the Haadi are colourfully handwoven with various designs by the chakma women. The design is first embroidered on a piece of cloth known as Alaam.
The most important festivals celebrated by the Chakmas are Bizu, Alphaloni, Buddha Purnima and Kathin Civar Dan.
Chakmas celebrate various Buddhist festivals. The most important is Buddha Purnima or internationally known as Vesak. It's also known Buddha Birthday worldwide. This is the anniversary of three important events in Buddha's life—his birth, his attainment of enlightenment, and his death. It is observed on the full moon day of the month of Vaisakha.
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Bizu is the most important socio-religious festival of the Chakma. This festival gave birth to the Bizu dance. The festival lasts for three days and begins one day before the last day of the month of Chaitra, falling in the month of April.
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Bamboo shoot is a traditional food of the Chakma people. They call it "Bajchuri". Shrimp paste and Fish paste are their traditional ingredient of cooking. They call these, "Sidol".
The staple food of the Chakmas is rice, supplemented by millet, corn (maize), vegetables, and mustard. Vegetables include yams, pumpkins, melons, and cucumbers. Vegetables and fruit gathered from the forest may be added to the diet. Fish, poultry, and meat are eaten, despite the fact that many Buddhists are vegetarians.
Traditional diets have slowly been abandoned, as the Chakmas have been forced to flee their homeland. Some typical Chakma dishes include fish, vegetables, and spices stuffed into a length of bamboo and cooked in a low fire; foods wrapped in banana leaves and placed beside a fire; and eggs that are aged until they are rotten.
