There are
29 ethnic minority groups exist in the country of
Bangladesh. Some of them are Chakmas, Marma, Tripura,
Santals, Garo, Manipuri, Tanchagya, Hajong, Magh,
Rakhain, Mru/Mro, Lushei, Oroan, Munda, Murongm Khasia,
Pankho, Bawm, Bedey, Bagdi, Khumi, Rajbangshi, Chak,
Khayang and Pahari etc. Bangladesh's tribal population
consists of about 1 million people, just under 1
percent of the total population. In the mid-1980s,
the percentage distribution of tribal population by
religion was Hindu 24, Buddhist 44, Christian 13, and
others 19. The majority(778,425 people) of the ethnic
minorities live in the hilly and rural areas (9,388
villages), which are spread throughout the country.
The ethnic communities belong to diverse cultures with
different languages and identities. They differ in
their social organization, marriage customs, birth and
death rites, food, and other social customs from the
people of the rest of the country. speak diffrent
tribal languages. Many of the small ethnic groups have
their own languages, and some have separate alphabets,
too. Broadly speaking, there are three unique
linguistic families among the tribes in Bangladesh.
These are
:
Ø
Tibeto-Burmese:
All the tribal people of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT)
and the Garos, Kochs and Tipras.
Ø
Austro-Asiatic or Mon-Khmer: Khasis, Santal, Mundas,
Mahalis.
Ø
Dravidians: Oroans and Paharis.
Other tribal groups speak some form of Bengla. The
Chakma and Tanchingya, for example, speak a language
that is a
dialect variant of Bangla. The Rajbanshis, Pahari,
Kochs and Pathors have lost their original language,
and primarily speak Bangla. In fact, almost all the
tribal communities are now bilingual. They have learnt
Bangla to communicate with the wider Bangali society,
but they continue to speak in their own language
amongst themselves.
The Oroan minority is one of the minority tribal
group of Bangladesh. They are dravidian tribes and
here is no concrete evidence on how and since when
Oraons have settled in the Bangladesh. In India they
live mostly in Chotonagpur plateu of Jharkhand,
Orissa, Assam, West
Bangal, Rajmahal and the adjoining areas of
Bihar. The Oraon people are short and black in complexion. Their noses
are flat and their hair black and curled. Oroan Tribal
community use two different languages, one is Kurukh
and other is Sadri. However Sadri is the most popular
language among Oroans in
Bangladesh.
Health facilities for medical care, family planning,
water supply and sanitation are very nominal. There
are no constitutional safeguards accorded to the
indigenous peoples. The relation between the Oroan
and other non-tribal people often is not cordial due
to socio-economic and cultural exploitation, abuse of
human rights, forceful eviction from their homesteads
and other causes. Their representation in the local
government is almost negligible.
Population
The Oraon
community of northwest Bangladesh is the second
largest tribal community living on the plains of
Bangladesh in a remote and rural area, Oraon people
are found in the districts of Panchagar, Thakurgaon,
Dinajpur, Rangpur, Joyopurhat, Noagon, Rajshahi,
Chapainwabgonj, Natore, Sirajgonj, Gaibandha, Bogura
in the Northwest and in Gazipur, Habigonj and
Moulavibazar in the East. The density of Oraon people
is also considerable in Rajshahi and Naogaon
districts. Godagari is a densely-populated
sub-district
of Rajshahi. Population of Godagari is 217,811, of
which 50.88 percent is male and 49.12 percent is
female. Religious affiliation of the population
includes Muslims (86.55%), Hindus (8.05%), Christians
(1.93%) and others (3.47%). Those of different
ethnicities, including the Santals, account for 3,749
families. Average literacy is 27.6 percent, (male
32.3% and female 22.6%)
Mother Tongue
Oroan
Tribal community use two different languages to speak,
one is Kurukh and other is Sadri. Both are oral and
having no alphabet of their own, but are used at home
and within the scope of local day to day community
activity. Mother Tongu of the Orons is Kurukh, which
is used to speak among Oroans of Chhotangapur pateau
of Jharkhand state in India. However Sadri is the most
popular language among Oroans in Bangladesh. Only a
section of the community that lives in Rangpur,
Rangpur, Bogra and Rajshai and parts of Dinajpur
districts speak Kurukh. “There are about 90,000 Oroans
live in this area of the community, but major of them
like to speak Sadri rather than Kurukh, only 25,000
Oroans are speaking their mother tongue” said –
Saurave Sikdar, an university professor of
Dhaka University.
"There are about 1,10,000 Kurukhs in the Bangla desh.
Among them only 30,000 can speak their mother tongue
which is Kurukh,". Kurukh is still spoken by the
Kurukhs of Rangpur, and Dinajpur. The highest number
of Kurukh speaking people live in Rangpur and the
lowest number in Sylhet. But it ceased be the mother
tongue of the Kurukhs living in the rest of the North.
A young Kurukh who would have been not more than
twenty told, that his grandfather used to speak this
ancient language. According to observation of Shourav
Sikder, an assistant professor of Linguistics in
Dhaka University:
"One may surmise that two generations ago they used to
speak in their mother tongue. And the way things are
going, within the next 20 to 25 years this language
might completely disappear".
As a language, Sadri is spoken widely in different
districts among the Oraon people, and many of the
words are similar to Bangla. For instance, the word
“mango” in English is called “aam” in Bangla and
”amba” in Sadri. Also, Sadri uses some adopted Bangla
words due to the Oraon people’s long association with
the Bangla-speaking communities. Indeed, many Oraon
can either speak or understand Bangla well. Unlike
Sadri, Kurukh is still in its original form and not
easily understandable by the neighboring.
Education
An
extremely low rate and level of literacy largely
prevails in the tribal communities in
Bangladesh.
According to the 1991 Census, only 14.1 percent of the
population is literate. The situation of tribal female
literacy is much worse. Their rate of literacy is only
7.41 percent, compared to 20.5 percent male literacy.
According to a survey in 1997 conducted by the Oraon
Youth Formation Programme, the literacy rate is at its
highest in Gaibandha (28.2%), followed by Thakurgaon
(26.6%), Rangpur (18.1%), Joypurhat (17.7%), Dinajpur
(17.6%), Shirajgonj (14.1%), Natore (11.6%), Chapai
Nowabgonj (11.3%), Noagaon (7.7%), Rajshahi (5.6%),
Bogra (6.2%) and Panchagar (5.2%).
There is no provision for using tribal languages in
these schools. A very negligible number of teachers
from the indigenous communities are recruited as
teachers at any level of education. Government schemes
related to indigenous literacy and education are few
and far
between. Quotas are applied to minority ethnic groups
for school admission, scholarships and the teaching
profession, but these are not maintained properly.
Fig. 4 : Students in the class room
However, In October 2002, UNESCO started a educational
programme to solve the problem of low literacy among
the Oroans. The purpose of the programme was to
develop mother tongue based education material for the
Oroan communities. Medium of the educational programme
was Sadri, which was most popular language among
Oroans.
Rituals
Like many
other ethnic groups, Oraons worship nature. They
however, believe that there is a creator of the
universe, Dharmesh, who exists in the sun. Most of
their religious ceremonies centre around the sun.
Oraons 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
Hindu community. For example, the Bhadu festival of
Hindus and the Karam of Oraons are almost identical.
This is a worship of trees performed symbolically with
the kadam (anthocephalus chinensis) tree or its
branches. In fact, bhadu and karam are the name of the
same kadam tree in different languages. Religious
festivals like the Hariari and Sarhul are associated
with praying for the fertility of land and a good
paddy harvest.
Oraons worship trees, flowers and fruits for fertility
of land, increased crop production and protection of
the tribe. Women is the same in their religious
prayers. Their vows are closely associated with their
lifestyle, the struggle for existence and the
pleasures of life. Religious ceremonies and seasonal
festivals reflect their way of living and their social
needs. They also believe in the power of magic. All
religious ceremonies and seasonal festivals
of Oraons such as the Basundhara in the month of
Baishakh, Bhadri in Bhadra, Jejuti in Agrahayan, Itu
in Falgun and Sarhul in Chaitra reflect the tribe's
link to agriculture.
Oraons burn the bodies of the dead. As a mark of
respect to the deceased they offer flowers and leaves
of sacred trees to the dead on the pyres. The Oraon
people also express formal condolence.
Social
Structure
Dhumkuria is as important an aspect of their social
life. They make dormitory type of housed, where that
provide the young boys and girls an opportunity to mix
with one another to get training about own culture, rituals, way of
life and choose their partners in life. Marriage
rituals in the Oraon community are similar to those of
Santals and Mundas. Marriages are arranged by the
guardians in the family, but the opinions of the
brides and bridegrooms are also respected. Child
marriage is not recognised. Divorce is allowed.
Divorcees, as well as widows, can remarry. Both men
and women can marry more than once but men are not
allowed a second marriage unless they are widowed or
are divorcees.
Oraons
practise the age-old panchayet system in local
administration. They did not get much modern
education.
Music
and Dance
Like
other tribes, Oraons like to dance, sing and play
musical instruments. Their dances and songs are deeply
rooted in their social and cultural life.
Mandar,
drums, Nagara and Dholak, flute and Mandar are the
main musical instruments. They sing folk songs in
which their life style emerges.
Jhumur songs of Oraons reflect their lifestyle and
their religious philosophy.
Their
songs and dances are seasonal and festival wise, hence
they sing songs according to the season.
All religious ceremonies and seasonal festivals of
Oraons such as the Basundhara in the month of Baishakh,
Bhadri in Bhadra, Jejuti in Agrahayan, Itu in Falgun
and Sarhul in Chaitra reflect the tribe's link to
agriculture.
Marriage songs and dances are also different from
another seasonal dances and songs. following of the
dances and songs of Kurukhs : Karma, Sharhul, Jhumar,
Damkach, Bhadri, Jejuti, Itu and Jatra.
Occupation
The Oroan
Community face ownership of the land. A large number
of them do not even have homesteads. Most of them are
either sharecroppers or work as day-laborers. With
income being small compared to expenditure, the Oraon
people are forced to borrow from moneylenders and other
rich landlords. Farming is the main occupation of
Oraons. Men plough the land and women take part in
other types of work. Almost all adult women work
harder than men and involved in farm activities, sell
fish and vegetables or fruits to earn income as along
with shouldering household responsibilities. Landless
Oraon men and women work as coolie-kamin (land
labourers).
Cloth
Oraon men
and women wear simple dresses. Women wear coarse sari
and men wear the dhuti and the lungi. Poor men wear
the gamchha. Oraon women like to wear ornaments and
use flowers in their make-up. A recognised social
custom is to have tattoos on the body of both men and
women. The better off and educated Oraons wear shirts,
trousers and Coat.
Food
Rice is
the staple food of Oraons. They take vegetables, fish,
or meat with rice. They drink a homemade wine called
pachai, which is generally made from rice. Mahua,
another indigenous variety of homemade wine in
Bangladesh, is rare in the Oraon habitats.
Conclusion
The
involvement of indigenous people in their own
development process is a mandatory precondition for
sustainable development. Education is one of the most
powerful tools for bringing people into the
development process so that they may attain
socio-economic development. Poverty is the main cause
of their illiteracy. Added to this is their strong
adherence to conservative norms and values. Christian
missionaries tried to spread education among them.
Many Oraons are now adopting christianity. At present,
some non-government organisations work among them and
implement programmes for their socio-economic
development.
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If you are
Kurukh and answer is no.
