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Marma people
The Marma (Burmese: မရမာ) are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. They belong to the same community as the Rakhine people. There are three endogamous groups of Marma within the Magh Community, known as (i) the Thongtha, Khyongtha, or Mrokpatha, (ii) the Marma, Mayamma, or Rakhaing Magh, (iii) the Maramagri, otherwise called the Barua maghs.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Rakhine began calling themselves Mranma (မြန်မာ) and its derivatives like Marama (မရမာ), as attested by texts like the Rakhine Minrazagri Ayedaw Sadan and the Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon. This endonym continues to be used by the Marma. The term "Marma" is derived from "Myanmar," which was first used in the early 1100s. In the Marma and Arakanese, Myanmar is pronounced Mranma ([mɹəmà]), not Myanma ([mjəmà]). In the Burmese language, the Marma are known as the Marama (မရမာ).
By 1585, European, Persian, and Bengali sources began referring to the Marma and other regional Buddhist communities, such as the Barua people, as Mugh or Magh—terms not used by the groups themselves. The word's etymology is likely to derive from Magadha, the name of an ancient Buddhist kingdom. The Marmas considered these names to be pejorative because of the word's association with piracy, and thus assumed the name Marma in the 1940s. Some Marmas in the Indian state of Tripura continue to self-identify as Marima, or as Mogs.
The ancestors of the Marma, the Rakhine, live in a coastal region between Chittagong and the Arakan Mountains, in what is now Rakhine State of Myanmar. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the Rakhine and all the Buddhist groups in the region received a reputation for piracy in association with the Portuguese, due to endemic piracy in the Bay of Bengal.
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Marmas migrated from their homeland to the Chittagong Hill Tracts, coinciding with the Kingdom of Mrauk U's conquest of Chittagong. Generally, the Rakhine people settled in the hill tracts during Mrauk U invasion of Chittagong gradually formed the Marma identity. The Rakhines who migrated later to the coastal plains of Chittagong during the Burmese invasion of Arakan continued using the term "Rakhine."
Records of the East India Company and others indicate that the Marmas migrated from the Kingdom of Mrauk U to Chittagong of Bangladesh in two phases of migrations during 14th to 17th centuries in the golden period of Mrauk U. In the first phase, during the Mrauk U Kingdom expanded to some parts of Chittagong Division. Secondly, Marma ancestors fled to Chittagong and settled down as the Arakanese kingdom was conquered and annexed by Burmese king Bodawpaya in 1785.
In 1971, following the Bangladesh Liberation War in which Bangladesh achieved independence, the country's majority Bengali Muslims began settling in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which has displaced native inhabitants.
Genetic studies have indicated that the Marma populations share a high frequency of Indian and low frequency of East Asian specific maternal haplogroups, and have the highest haplotype diversity when compared with Tripura and Chakma populations, suggesting deep colonization of the region by Marmas.
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Marma people
The Marma (Burmese: မရမာ) are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. They belong to the same community as the Rakhine people. There are three endogamous groups of Marma within the Magh Community, known as (i) the Thongtha, Khyongtha, or Mrokpatha, (ii) the Marma, Mayamma, or Rakhaing Magh, (iii) the Maramagri, otherwise called the Barua maghs.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Rakhine began calling themselves Mranma (မြန်မာ) and its derivatives like Marama (မရမာ), as attested by texts like the Rakhine Minrazagri Ayedaw Sadan and the Dhanyawaddy Ayedawbon. This endonym continues to be used by the Marma. The term "Marma" is derived from "Myanmar," which was first used in the early 1100s. In the Marma and Arakanese, Myanmar is pronounced Mranma ([mɹəmà]), not Myanma ([mjəmà]). In the Burmese language, the Marma are known as the Marama (မရမာ).
By 1585, European, Persian, and Bengali sources began referring to the Marma and other regional Buddhist communities, such as the Barua people, as Mugh or Magh—terms not used by the groups themselves. The word's etymology is likely to derive from Magadha, the name of an ancient Buddhist kingdom. The Marmas considered these names to be pejorative because of the word's association with piracy, and thus assumed the name Marma in the 1940s. Some Marmas in the Indian state of Tripura continue to self-identify as Marima, or as Mogs.
The ancestors of the Marma, the Rakhine, live in a coastal region between Chittagong and the Arakan Mountains, in what is now Rakhine State of Myanmar. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the Rakhine and all the Buddhist groups in the region received a reputation for piracy in association with the Portuguese, due to endemic piracy in the Bay of Bengal.
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the Marmas migrated from their homeland to the Chittagong Hill Tracts, coinciding with the Kingdom of Mrauk U's conquest of Chittagong. Generally, the Rakhine people settled in the hill tracts during Mrauk U invasion of Chittagong gradually formed the Marma identity. The Rakhines who migrated later to the coastal plains of Chittagong during the Burmese invasion of Arakan continued using the term "Rakhine."
Records of the East India Company and others indicate that the Marmas migrated from the Kingdom of Mrauk U to Chittagong of Bangladesh in two phases of migrations during 14th to 17th centuries in the golden period of Mrauk U. In the first phase, during the Mrauk U Kingdom expanded to some parts of Chittagong Division. Secondly, Marma ancestors fled to Chittagong and settled down as the Arakanese kingdom was conquered and annexed by Burmese king Bodawpaya in 1785.
In 1971, following the Bangladesh Liberation War in which Bangladesh achieved independence, the country's majority Bengali Muslims began settling in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which has displaced native inhabitants.
Genetic studies have indicated that the Marma populations share a high frequency of Indian and low frequency of East Asian specific maternal haplogroups, and have the highest haplotype diversity when compared with Tripura and Chakma populations, suggesting deep colonization of the region by Marmas.