King of the Chakma Circle
A Chakma woman
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 743,110 (2011) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Bangladesh,India and Myanmar | |
| Languages | |
| Chakma | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism with Hindu influences |
The Chakmas, also known as the Changma, Daingnet people, are an ethnic group scattered in Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya and West Bengal of India and in Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. Today, the geographic distribution of Chakmas is spread across Bangladesh and parts of northeastern India, western Burma, and diaspora communities in Yunnan Province, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Japan and Australia.
Within the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Chakmas are the largest ethnic group and make up half of the region's population. The Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or Gozas. They have their own language, customs and culture, and profess Theravada Buddhism. The community is headed by the Chakma Raja.
The name Chakma derives from Sanskrit word Sakthiman or beholder of power. This name was given to Chakmas by one of the Burmese kings during the Bagan era. Burmese kings hired Chakmas as ministers, advisers and translators of Buddhist Pali texts. As employees of the king, the Chakmas wielded power in Burmese court disproportionate to their number. The Burmese people still refer Chakmas as Sak or Thit which are shortened and corrupted forms of Sakthiman. At one stage, the accepted name of the tribe was Sakma. Later it was further corrupted to Chakma.
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