People
There are more than fifteen ethnic minorities living in the district besides the Bengalis, including: the Marma, the Arakanese descendants and Arakanese Rakhine, who are also know as Magh, Mru also known as Mro or Murong, Bawm, Khyang, Tripuri also known as Tipra or Tipperah, Mizo also known as Lushei, Khumi, Chak, Kuki, Chakma and Tenchungya, who are closely related, Reang also known as Riyang, Uchoi also known as Usui and Pankho.
The Mru, also known as Murong, who are famous for their music and dance. The Mru in major numbers have converted to Khrama or Crama, the youngest religion in Bangladesh that prohibits much of their old ways. They are assumed to be the original inhabitants of Bandarban. The Bawm are another major tribe here. Now converted almost totally to Christianity they have taken full advantage of the church to become the most educated people in the district. The Marma are Arakanese descendants of Myanmar by origin and Buddhists by religion, and are the second largest tribe in the hill districts of Bangladesh. The Khumi live in the remotest parts of the district, and the group is thought to include yet unexplored/ unclassified tribes.
These ethnic groups are again divided in hundreds of clans and sects, principally dominated by four religious threads - Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and a number of pagan faiths. All these clans and groups are clustered into two major ethnic families, namely the hill people and the valley people. Since the Kaptai dam flooded the valley creating to Kaptai lake, the valley people have started to live on hill tops along the hill people.
Bengali settlers, coming in with the forced settlements in 1979, and Rohingya settlers, coming in across the Myanmar border since the junta came to power in Yangon in 1992, now has become two major ethnic groups outside minorities. But, there are a number of Bengali families who claim to have settled earlier than some of the tribes.in there live many Barua also.
Landscape
The three highest peak of Bangladesh - Tahjindong 1280 meters, also known as bijoy, Mowdok Mual 1052 meters, and Keokradong 883 metres - are located in Bandarban district, as well as Raikhiang Lake, the highest lake in Bangladesh. Chimbuk peak and Boga Lake are two more highly noted features of the district. Though most Bangladesh sources cite Keokradong as the highest peak in the country, but Tazing Dong sometimes spelled as Tahjingdong, and also known as Bijoy lying further east is recognized both by government and expert sources as a taller peak. Measurements taken by English adventurer Ginge Fullen shows that an officially unnamed peak near the Myanmar border locally known as Mowdok Mual is the highest point in Bangladesh.Recently a team from Nature Adventure Club took part in an expedition in the mowdok range and agreed with the ginge fullens statement. They got the hight of this peak as 3488 feet with gps accuracy of 3 meter. The unnamed summit is known as 'Saka Haphong' to the local Tripura tribes.
The following is a list of mountain ranges in the area and the tallest peaks of each range:
Muranja also known as Meranja range Basitaung, 664m
Wayla range most of this range is in Myanmar
Chimbook range Tindu, 898m
Batimain range Batitaung, 526m
Politai range Keokradang, 884m; Ramiu Taung 921m
Saichal-Mowdok range Bilaisari, 669m; Mowdok Mual 1,003m
Saichal range Waibung 808m; Rang Tlang, 958m; Mowdok Tlang, 905m
Wailatong and Tambang ranges
The River Sangu also known as Sangpo or Shankha, the only river born inside Bangladesh territory, runs through Bandarban. The other rivers in the district are Matamuhuri and Bakkhali. Parts of Kaptai Lake, the biggest lake in, Bangladesh fall under the area.
History
In the early days of 15th century, Arakanese kingdom expended its territories to the Chittagong area of Bengal. After the victory of Arakan on Burma's Pegu kingdom in 1599 AD, the Arakanese king Mong Raja Gree appointed a Prince of Pegu as the governor of newly established Bohmong Htaung Circle by giving the title of "Bohmong" Raja. That area was mostly populated by the Arakanese descendants and ruled by the Burmese Myanmar noble descendants who started to call themselves in Arakanese language as Marma. Marma is an archaic Arakanese pronunciation for Myanmar. As the population of the Bohmong Htaung were of Arakanese descandants, these Myanmar-desendants Bohmong chiefs Rajas of the ruling class took the titles in Arakanese and speak a dialect of the Arakanese language.
Bandarban Hill District was once called Bohmong Htaung since the Arakanese rule. Once Bohmong Htaung was ruled by Bohmong Rajas who were the subordinates to the Arakanese kings. Ancestors of the present Bohmong dynasty were the successor of the Pegu King of Burma under the Arakan's rule in Chittagong. In 1614, King Mong Kha Maung, the king of Arakan appointed Maung Saw Pru as Governor of Chittagong who in 1620 repulsed the Portuguese invasion with great valour. As a consequence, Arakanese king, Mong Kha Maung adorned Maung Saw Pru with a title of Bohmong meaning Great General. After the death of Maung Saw Pru two successors retained Bohmong title. During the time of Bohmong Hari Gneo in 1710, Arakanese King Canda Wizaya recaptured Chittagong from the Mughals. Bohmong Hari Gneo helped King Canda Wizaya in recapturing Chittagong and as a mark of gratitude the later conferred on Bohmong Hari Gneo the grand title of Bohmong Gree which means great Commander in Chief.
During the British Raj, it was declared as the Bohmong circle with limited autonomy. The Mizokaba or the Mizo uprise in the mid 19th century was major catalyst for re-settlemet of the tribes in the area. During World War II the area saw the presence of a formidable British military presence that came to stand against a Japanese invasion. The tribes of these hills held the reputation of unyielding rebellion throughout history. When India, Pakistan and Mynamar went independent from the Raj, the leaders of the tribes people decided unsuccessfully to become a part of Mynamar, then known as Burma. During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 to gain independence from Pakistan, the leaders again sought unsuccessfully to remain a part of Pakistan.
In the late 1970s, a policy of forced settlement of Bengalis into hills was pursued, which later gave rise to much violence against the hill people and the insurgency led by Shanti Bahini, the military wing of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti. There have been an attempt to create divide among tribal cultural lines between the Chakmas, who led Shantibanhini, and the Mrus, by creating an anti-Shantibanhini militia out of them. Now, after the peace treaty, Bandarban stands as a locally governed ethnic region together with the two other hill districts. Representation of numerous tribes of the district in the Hill Council now stands as a thorn of dispute here.
Holidays
Raj Punnyah
It is ceremonial rite of paying tribute and taxes khazna to the king of Bohmang circle, happening in mid February since 1885. The three day festival at the royal palace features the king meeting his subjects in full regalia, accompanied by a ceremonial guard, and receiving tributes.Maghi Purnima
Sangrai
The biggest festival of the Marma tribesmen, akin to Boisabi of the Tripuris and Biju of the Chakmas. In mid-April, this celebration of the new year falls around the same time as Bengali Naba Barsha and Assamese Bihu. Apart frm the songs and dances Sangrai is marked by the water festival and magic charm competitions. Water festival is a game of splashing water from two sides of a marked arena by unmarried boys and girls on each other. It is said that splashing water is a way of declaring a love interest. Non-Marma people can't usually take part in the game.
Understand
It is governed by a Hill Council under the Bangladesh government, headed by the King of Mong Circle. The current monarch, His Highness King Aung Shue Prue Chowdhury, is the 15th to sit on the throne. The front hall Raj Durbar of the Royal Palace is open to visitors, provided that appropriate behavior is maintained. Interestingly the 13th Royal Family claims the current Family to be usurpers to the throne.
Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, and Chramma are major religions along with many pagan faiths.
The best place for information are the Press Club phone: +880 (0 361 62549), the Tribal Cultural Institute phone: +880 (0 361 62424), the office of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, the government owned tourism company and the office of Guide Tours, the largest privately owned tourism company, at Hill Side Resort.