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This article was downloaded by:[Uddin, Nasir]On:2 February 2008Access Details:[subscription number 790329946]Publisher:RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Asian Ethnicity Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713402859 Living on the margin: the positioning of the 'Khumi'within the sociopolitical and ethnic history of theChittagong Hill Tracts Nasir Uddin aa Kyoto University Japan & University of Chittagong, BangladeshOnline Publication Date:01 February 2008To cite this Article:Uddin, Nasir (2008) 'Living on the margin: the positioning of the'Khumi' within the sociopolitical and ethnic history of the Chittagong Hill Tracts',Asian Ethnicity, 9:1, 33 - 53To link to this article: DOI:10.1080/14631360701803211URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14631360701803211PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLEFull terms and conditions of use:http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdfThisarticlemaybeusedforresearch,teachingandprivatestudypurposes.Anysubstantialorsystematicreproduction,re-distribution,re-selling,loanorsub-licensing,systematicsupplyordistributioninanyformtoanyoneisexpresslyforbidden.Thepublisherdoesnotgiveanywarrantyexpressorimpliedormakeanyrepresentationthatthecontentswillbecompleteoraccurateoruptodate.Theaccuracyofanyinstructions,formulaeanddrugdosesshouldbeindependentlyverifiedwithprimarysources.Thepublishershallnotbeliableforanyloss,actions,claims,proceedings,demandorcostsordamageswhatsoeverorhowsoevercausedarisingdirectlyorindirectlyinconnectionwithorarising out of the use of this material. D o w n l o a d e d B y : [ U d d i n , N a s i r ] A t : 1 3 : 2 3 2 F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8 Living on the margin: the positioning of the ‘Khumi’ within thesociopolitical and ethnic history of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Nasir Uddin* Kyoto University Japan & University of Chittagong, Bangladesh The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh has long been represented as a regionof multi-ethnic setting, ethnic conflict and ethnic movement in South Asia. However,inter-ethnic relationship through the practice of unequal power and positions among the‘Pahari’ (hill-people), the inhabitants of the CHT, has largely been ignored in the deeperunderstanding of the CHT. In addition, available CHT literature talks mostly aboutnumerically dominant ethnic groups, whereas less attention is paid to the marginalized‘Pahari’ ethnic groups. This paper examines the positioning of the ‘Khumi’, one of marginalized Pahari ethnic groups, within the larger canvas of CHT vs state acrosstimes and regimes. In an attempt to identify the position of the Khumi within thesociopolitical and ethnic history of the CHT, it seeks answers to three central questions:(a) How did the Khumi appear in the demographic configuration of the CHT? (b) Howhad they, along with the CHT and its other inhabitants, been dealt with during thecolonial and postcolonial regimes? (c) How do they position themselves in the recurrentsociopolitical dynamics of CHT vs state relationship? The paper is based on criticalconsideration of secondary sources on the region in collaboration with relevantcomprehensive data collected through ethnographic fieldwork undertaken fromNovember 2005 to April 2007 in the CHT of Bangladesh. Keywords: colonial policy; marginality; post-colonial state; ethnic history; Pahari Introduction This paper deals with the positioning of a particular group of people known as Khumi,within the political, social-economic and ethnic history of the Chittagong Hill Tracts(CHT) in Bangladesh. Three central concerns motivated the author to write this paper:first, to investigate how and when the Khumi appeared in the demographic configurationof the CHT; second, to examine the colonial policy adopted to regulate CHT affairs andhow postcolonial states—first Pakistan and then Bangladesh—dealt with the CHT issuewithin the politico-economic and regional context of South Asia; and third, to look at theplace of the Khumi in the contemporary circumstance of CHT vs state relationship inBangladesh.The paper is based mostly on secondary sources and relevant comprehensiveethnographic data. Accessible literature—travel notes of an early traveler (Buchanan1798 [Schendel ed. 1992b]), writings by colonial administrators (Lewin 2004 [1870];Hutchinson 1909, 1906) and writings by western ethnographers (Levi-Strauss 1951, 1952; *Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, 46, Shimoadachi-Ku,Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Email:
[email protected] Asian Ethnicity Vol. 9, No. 1, February 2008, 33–53 ISSN 1463-1369 print/ISSN 1469-2953 online 2008 Taylor & FrancisDOI: 10.1080/14631360701803211http://www.informaworld.com D o w n l o a d e d B y : [ U d d i n , N a s i r ] A t : 1 3 : 2 3 2 F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8 Bessaignet 1958; Bernot 1964; Brauns and Loffler 1990) have been reviewed and criticallyexamined to illustrate an early history of the people—now collectively known as Pahari 1 (hill-people) including Khumi—living in the CHT. In addition, critical consideration of some legends, popular myths, hearsay and collective memory of aged people documentedthrough ethnographic fieldwork in the CHT have also been contextualized in mapping outhow the early history of, people’s migration to and human settlement in the CHT havebeen conceptualized by the people themselves. Discussing, examining and analyzing allthese, the author intends to identify the position of the Khumi within the sociopoliticaland ethnic history of the CHT. Previous studies and available literature on the CHT dealmostly with the numerically dominant Pahari ethnic groups—the Chakma, the Marma,the Tripura, etc.—whereas mention of minority Pahari groups, such as the Khumi, hasbeen absent. This paper aims to fill this vacuum in wider understanding of the CHT. Inaddition, there has not been a single study conducted particularly on the Khumi to addresstheir position within the sociopolitical and ethnic history of the CHT. This paper attemptsto identify the position of the Khumi within the larger picture of CHT vs state, which willbe a substantial contribution to the critical understanding of the CHT from the perspectiveof a group which is marginalized within the Pahari.Following a brief introduction, the paper is organized into six sections. The first sectioninvestigates the ‘emergence’ of the Khumi based mostly on ethnographic data concerninghow the Khumi themselves view their ‘emergence’ in the world. The second section dealswith the early history of, and people’s migration to, the CHT. It examines the historicalmaterial regarding people’s migration and introduces Khumi narratives about theirappearance as inhabitants in the demographic composition of the CHT. The third sectionanalyses the colonial policy adopted to regulate the CHT and its people, including theKhumi. The fourth section examines the sociocultural, economic and political reality of dealing with the CHT during the postcolonial state of Pakistan. The fifth section addressesthe condition of the CHT and Pahari people in the process of nation-building and state-formation of the newly independent Bangladesh. The sixth section focuses on identifyingthe position of the Khumi within the current sociopolitical dynamics of the CHT vs state.Throughout all these discussions, the paper centrally argues how the evolving history of the CHT within the colonial policy and postcolonial geopolitical consequences of theSouth Asian sub-continent created a marginalized position for the Khumi in both theCHT and the state of Bangladesh. Third creation of God: who are Khumi and how? There is no written record and no authentic reference to know ‘who the Khumi are’. Theauthor observed that the Khumi themselves do not talk about their ‘srcin’ and emergence.This observation is made from visiting different Khumi inhabited areas of Rowanchari,Ruma and Thanchi of Bandarban districts and undertaking ethnographic fieldwork amongthe Khumi between November 2005 and April 2007 in the CHT. Despite there being no earlyhistory written on the Khumi, Lewin (2004 [1870]), the first British colonial administrator of 1 The people, except Bengali, living in the CHT are generally addressed with various terminologies,such as ‘Pahari’ (hill people), ‘Adivasi’ (absrcinals or early people of the region), ‘Tribal People’,‘Ethnic People’ and ‘Indigenous people’, etc. There have been considerable debates concerning theseterminologies. To avoid these debates, this paper initially uses Pahari, because they tend to beaddressed by the terms Pahari as their collective identity. In addition, ‘CHT people’ and ‘its people’are used together. 34 N. Uddin D o w n l o a d e d B y : [ U d d i n , N a s i r ] A t : 1 3 : 2 3 2 F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8 the CHT and reportedly first ethnographer of CHT people, tried to trace out the ‘srcin’ of the Khumi, looking at their dress and making meaning out of their naming ‘Khumi’. Hepronounced the Khumi as the people of the ‘dog race’. Here, in fact, the British colonial viewof sketching the image of colonized people as ‘exotic’ was strongly reflected. He wrote: ‘Kwey’ or ‘Khweee’ in Arakanese language means ‘a dog’ and ‘mee’ is an affix conveying theidea of man; ‘Khwey mee’ therefore means ‘dog man’. [To support his argument, Lewinexplains] Now a ‘Kumi’ wear a very scanty breech cloth, which is so adjusted, that a long endhangs down behind him in a manner of a tail; add to this that the dog is a favourite article of food among them, and derivation of name seems pretty clear. (p. 220) This dog thesis may come across as rather trivial to us today, yet strikingly, a fewethnographic accounts by St. John (1873), Hutchinson (1909), Grierson (1927) and Bernot(1964) also in some way supported that the orthography of ‘Khumi’ is somehow connectedwith the dog or dog’s tail. Colonial administrators and western ethnographers completelyfailed to understand the Khumi and Khumi language.A century later, a few Bangladeshi writers rejected this notion and explanation of thecolonial and British view of Khumi ‘srcin’ by giving birth to an alternative narrative.Sattar (1983, p. 336, 2000, p. 206), Barua (2001, p. 56) and Mohsin (2002, p. 17) arguedthat the Khumi believe they are the best human ‘race’ in the world. They tried to find outthe rationale behind this credence, explaining that, in Khumi language, ‘Kha’ means ‘man’and ‘mi’ means ‘best race’. They are therefore Khami, i.e. the best human ‘race’.Bangladeshi writers, in fact, neither had any direct contact with the Khumi who have beenliving, according to Bengali narratives, in the remote and inaccessible areas of the CHT fordecades, nor have they any idea about the Khumi language. Despite the lack of substantialcontribution to any knowledge on the Khumi, they followed the legacy of Lewin trying totrace out the ‘srcin’, based on the etymology of the naming of a particular group of people, which is unknowable. The author’s experience of fieldwork reveals that the Khumiare not aware of this discourse, but some of them have heard that Bengali peoplesometimes indicate them as the people of ‘dog-race’. Indeed, the Khumi are not concernedabout whether they are the ‘best race’ or the ‘dog race’.In Khumi language, ‘ khumi ’ means ‘human’, 2 male is ‘ nemchu ’, female is ‘ nempu ’, and achild is ‘ khumi-chu ’. The Khumi have a very popular, and widely narrated, myth abouttheir ‘srcin’, in which their view of their ‘emergence’ in the world is reflected. This myth iswidely known and frequently cited among the Khumi. According to the myth, the Khumiare the third creation of Thuram (God in Khumi language).Thuram created the world, the trees and reptiles first, then the dog, and finally theKhumi. After creating the world, trees and reptiles, Thuram, in fact, tried to create thehuman body with clay, but could not complete it in a day. When Thuram went to sleep atnight, a big snake came and devoured the half-finished model of the human body. Ithappened twice, thrice, and it was continuing the following day. Then Thuram decided tocreate a dog to guard the model of the human during the night. Thuram created a dog andput life into it. In addition, Thuram made half a human body for the day. When Thuramwent to sleep, the snake came but could not commit any harm. When the watchful dogbarked, the snake was frightened and ran away. On the following day, Thuram completed 2 St. John also wrote in 1873 that Khumi means ‘man’. Perhaps St. John wanted to indicate ‘human’by coining ‘man’. For details see St. John (1873). Asian Ethnicity 35 D o w n l o a d e d B y : [ U d d i n , N a s i r ] A t : 1 3 : 2 3 2 F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 8 the half-finished human body in full shape and put life into it. This is the creation of Khumi, ‘the Human’, and they appeared in the world. There is, according to the Khumibelief, an invisible relationship between dog and human. The Khumi believe that the dogtherefore howls when a human dies. According to the Khumi oral tradition, human beingsowe their creation to a dog. Because the dog had saved humans from total annihilation,they accordingly pay homage to it.As the dog is ritually very significant, as is the cow among the Hindu, the Khumi,according to them, never eat dogs, contrary to what Lewin mentioned in support of hisargument.There are some colonial records (Phayre 1841; Hughes 1881; Lewin 2004 [1870];Hutchinson 1909) in which the early settlement of the Khumi is clearly narrated. An AsianDevelopment Board (ADB) report published recently said that the Khumi originallyinhabited the Arakan State of Myanmar, and 90 per cent of Khumi are still living there(ADB, 2001). Historical records (Phayre 1841; Hughes 1881; Hutchinson 1909) alsoshowed that the Khumi had been, and are still, living in the Arakan. Hughes stated thatthe Khumi lived in the Arakan hills as early as the mid-nineteenth century (1881, p. 11).Phayre specifically stated that the srcinal home of the Khumi was on the Koladyne Riverof Arakan (1841, p. 679). Hutchinson stated, ‘the great majority [of the Khumi], however,are settled on the Kaladan [Koladybe] River of Arakan’ (1909, p. 88). However, exactlywhen the Khumi migrated to the CHT region has not been recorded in any accessibleliterature.From the above discussion, it is clear that the Khumi were never inclined to trace outtheir emergence in the world, but the existing debates of their ‘race of srcin’ is an outcomeof the intellectual practice of colonial administrators and Bengali scholars. However, it isevident that the Khumi had been living on the bank of Koledyne River of Arakan evenbefore they migrated to the CHT region. Crossing the border: the Khumi among early settlement of Pahari in the CHT There has hardly been any reliable reference on early settlement and migration of Pahari, 3 including the Khumi to the CHT, before Francis Buchanan’s 4 travel note on SouthEastern Bengal (1798). Nevertheless, the history of the CHT is discussed with the adjacenthistory of Bengal and Arakan. 5 The early history of, and people’s migration to, the CHTcan be traced out based on two sources: (1) the linguistic and ethnic srcin of the Paharipeople, and (2) the political history of neighboring states. 3 The CHT people, indeed, became Pahari during the British period when the British administrationstarted calling them ‘hill people’. Since then, Bengalis called them Pahari as the Bengali meaning of hill people is Pahari. Before the British, they were called ‘Joomea’ by the Bengalis (see Buchanan1789). 4 Francis Buchanan traveled through Southeastern Bengal in the late eighteenth century in search of a suitable place for spice cultivation by the order of the ‘Board of Trade of British’. He wrote on histraveling experience ‘Account of Chittagong and Triperah’ in 1798 (see Schendel 1992b). Buchanancame in contact with many Pahari groups during his visit to the CHT, and he wrote details in histravel notes. Therefore, he is often cited as the earliest and authentic source of information in most of the literature written on the CHT. 5 There are some referable research works done on Ancient Bengal and the Arakan State where thehistory of the CHT has been discussed as adjacent history. See, for details, Berbe (1845), Phayre(1884), Qanungo (1988) and Serajuddin (1971). 36 N. Uddin
