Introduction:

Bawm is one of the small indigenous hill tribe living in Chittagong Hill Tracts(CHT) of Bangladesh. Ethnically, they belong to the Mongolian stock. They look like the Chagmas and the Marmas. The word “Bawm” means “ties”. The concept of such ties has developed from their culture of doing collectively all things of life, including hunting, singing and dancing, eating and drinking or offering homage to gods. Bawms are living in 70 villages; such as Ruma, Thanchi, Roangchari, Bandarban city, etc. of Bandarban district.

Origin:

Bawm people migrated in CHT from Kuki territory (now Mizoram state of India) in 18th century. But after the Mizoram statehood in 1986, many Bawms, Pankhos and Bonjois went back to their homeland.

Population:

According to 1991 census, the total population is 6,978 in 1,349 families in Bangladesh. At present, approximately 8,000 in 2006.

Social System:

Bawms are very gentle in nature. They have their own social structure to regulate their conduct and settle disputes. They do not go to court or to any government agency to settle disputes. They regulate their life according to their own customary laws.

Livelihood:

Bawms have little interaction with Bengalis. The Marmas call them “Langi or Langay”. The main occupation of the Bawms is “Jhum cultivation” on the slopes of hills. They grow paddy, cotton, sesame, papaya, banana, orange, pineapple, vegetables and some other crops. They love to live in dense forests and rarely come to the plains. The scarcity of land for Jhum cultivation and gradual deforestation have affected the lifestyle of the Bawms to a great extent. Many Bawm children now attend schools. They are Christian by religion. The Christian missionaries have been propagating Christianity among the Bawms since the middle of the 19th century.

Lifestyle:

In the past, the Bawms would build their houses on hilltops away from the rivers like the Lushai. They used to fortify their villages with fences of tree trunks. Their houses are called “Machang” and are made of bamboo and timber and erected on a high platform. Their society is patriarchal. A significant element in their culture is the bamboo dance. It is performed only when there is a tragedy in the family, especially in the case of an unnatural death. Through this dance they console their families.

Language:

They have their own dialect with similar to Lushai, but they don't have scripts. The writing scriptures of the Bawms is Latin. Very few people can write and read. Even no any government and non-government employee found among the Bawm community in Bangladesh.

Religion:

In the past, Bawm were Animist. But now, they are converted into Christianity. The Christian missionaries have been propagating Christianity among the Bawms since the middle of the 19th century. In every village, they have church and every Sunday must attend in the Church in order to remember the “Jesus Christ”.

Culture:

The socio-cultural heritage among the Bawm community is well-developed. They are very patriarchal and helping-hand toward their community. Like the Lushai, they are always united to help each other during the death, marriage, suffering. Occasionally, they organise gathering in order to help the poor family by build his house called “Nathalang”. The customary laws is strong in their society. Each and every member of the society must have to obey the customary law. They enjoying singing and dancing during the marriage and festivals. The women wear long clothes woven by themselves and man wear long pants and shirts. They don't respect to their elder. They sleep together with daughter-in-law, daughter, etc.

Food:

The major food crop is rice, maize and vegetables. Like the Lushai, the favourite meat is dog meat. They love hunting and fishing and living in the dense forest in isolated from the people.