Jumma (term)

"Jumma people" redirects here. For the Brazilian indigenous people, see Juma people.
Members of Jumma militia during the first phase of Chittagong Hill Tracts conflict in Khagrachari, 1994

The term Jumma (from Jhum cultivation, Bengali: জুম্ম),[1] also called Pahari (Bengali: পাহাড়ি, lit. 'Hill people') by Bengalis,[2] usually referred to the minority tribal group of people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh, who used to claim a separate state called Jummaland.[citation needed] They include the Chakma, Arakanese (Rakhine), Marma, Tripuri, Tanchangya, Chak, Pankho, Mru, Bawm, Lushai, Khyang, and Khumi.[3][4]

With the exception of the relatively well-integrated Chakma and Tanchangya, most of the peoples referring themselves Jumma are native speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages, unrelated to the Bengali language spoken by ethnic Bengalis. They are religiously and culturally distinct as well, with most being Buddhists, some Hindus, and some are converted Christians and Muslims. In addition, they have retained some traditional religious practices.[5]

  1. ^ Roy, Rajkumari Chandra Kalindi (2000). Land Rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. IWGIA. p. 28. ISBN 978-87-90730-29-1.
  2. ^ International Labour Office (2000). Traditional occupations of indigenous and tribal peoples: Emerging trends. International Labour Organization. p. 78. ISBN 978-92-2-112258-6.
  3. ^ পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রামে মাথাচাড়া দিয়ে উঠছে ‘স্বাধীন জুম্মল্যান্ড’ সংগ্রাম | সারাদেশ | The Daily Ittefaq. The Daily Ittefaq. 8 November 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. ^ Van Schendel, Willem (2001). Willem van Schendel, Erik J. Zurcher (ed.). Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World. I.B.Tauris. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-86064-261-6.
  5. ^ Samaddar, Ranabir (2003-07-04). Refugees and the State: Practices of Asylum and Care in India. SAGE Publications. p. 251. ISBN 978-81-321-0377-6.