The Rakhine people ( my, ရက္ခိုင်လူမျိုး, : , ), also known as the Arakanese people, are a
Southeast Asian ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
(Burma) forming the majority along the coastal region of present-day
Rakhine State
Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Ben ...
(formerly officially called
Arakan), although Rakhine communities also exist throughout the country, particularly in
Ayeyarwady and
Yangon Regions. They constitute approximately 5.53% or more of Myanmar's total population, but no accurate census figures exist. Smaller Rakhine communities exist in southeastern parts of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
, especially in
Chittagong Division and
Barisal Division
Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...
, as well as in India. A group of Rakhine descendants, living in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh at least since the 16th century, are known as the
Marma people or
Mog people
The Mog are the Northwest Burmese people who live in the Indian state of Tripura.
They are the Northwest Burmese people who live in the Indian state of Tripura since the Rakhine kingdom's control over Tripura in the 16th centuries. Arakanese ...
.
Ancestral origins
According to traditional legends, beginning in the 900s BC, the
Pyu People
, conventional_long_name = Pyu city-states
, common_name = Pyu City States
, era = Classical antiquity
, status = City
, event_start = Earliest Pyu presence in Upper Burma
, year_start = c. 2nd century BCE
, date_start =
, event_en ...
led by
Kanyaza Gyi
Kanraza Gyi ( my, ကံရာဇာကြီး, ; also spelled Kanraza Gree) was the legendary founder of the Second Dhanyawaddy Dynasty of Arakan. According to '' Hmanan Yazawin'' (the Glass Palace Chronicle), Kanyaza Gyi was the eldest son o ...
(Pyus) began migrating westward, crossing the
Arakan Mountains
The Arakan Mountains ( my, ရခိုင်ရိုးမ), also known as the Rakhine Yoma, are a mountain range in western Myanmar, between the coast of Rakhine State and the Central Myanmar Basin, in which flows the Irrawaddy River. It is th ...
and settling in what is now Rakhine State.
By the 1100s, they had consolidated control of the region, becoming a tributary state of the
Pagan Empire until the 13th century.
Over time, these Pyus and Thets migrants mixed with indigenous hill tribes formed a distinct cultural identity, eventually becoming the Rakhine people.
In the late 18th century, the Rakhine settled in Cox's Bazar and
Patuakhali District after migrating from Myanmar. The
Konbaung Kingdom of Burma annexed Arakan in 1784 and refugees moved to Cox's Bazar in 1796. The British colonial officer of the
East India Trading Company, Captain
Hiram Cox, was given the task of providing land to the refugees in 1799. An estimated 100 thousand refugees were settled in Cox's Bazar, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and Patuakhali by the East India Company government.
They settled in
Patuakhali District and
Barguna District
Barguna ( bn, বরগুনা ''Borguna'') is a district in the division of Barisal, Bangladesh. It is situated in the southern part of Bangladesh. Barguna subdivision was established in 1969 and promoted to district on 28 February 1984.
Hi ...
in the 19th century.
Rakhine descendants spread as far north as
Tripura state in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, where their presence dates back to the ascent of the Rakhine kingdom when Tripura was ruled by Rakhine kings. In northeast India, the Arakanese people are referred to as the
Mog, while in Indian sources, the Marma (descendants of the Rakhine in Bangladesh) and other Rakhine peoples are referred to as the
Magh people.
Geographic distribution
Outside of Myanmar, there are a sizable Rakhine community in the southeast districts of Bangladesh, namely in Khagrachari, Rangamati, Bandarban and southern Cox's Bazar, with the
Mong circle in Khagrachari having administrative duties. There is a small community of Rakhine people inhabiting the coastal areas of
Patuakhali,
Borguna
Barguna ( bn, বরগুনা) is a town in Barguna district in southern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarter and the largest town of Barguna district and a part of Barisal Division. Located on the bank of Khakdon river, the town c ...
and
Cox's Bazar, having migrated to Bangladesh from
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
before the formation of these two contemporary countries. The total population of the community as of 2020 is 16,000. The Rakhine people and the local Bengali population developed a unique dialect through which they could communicate. The Rakhine people were able to preserve their culture, language, and religion in Bengal. Rakhines observe Rakhine festival such as Sanggreng and Nai-chai ka.
The last Rakhine language school in Kuakata closed in 1998 due to shortage of funds, In January 2006, Chin Than Monjur, opened a Rakhine language community school which expanded into three news schools and used Rakhine language books from Myanmar. The schools were forced to close due to shortage of funds.
Persecution
The 150-year old Khaddya Song Chansai Rakhine cemetery in
Taltali Upazila
Taltali ( bn, তালতলী) is an upazila of Barguna District in the division of Barisal, Bangladesh.
History
Taltali Upazila was established on 25 April 2012. It was previously part of Amtali Upazila.
Geography
Amtali is at . It cove ...
,
Barguna District
Barguna ( bn, বরগুনা ''Borguna'') is a district in the division of Barisal, Bangladesh. It is situated in the southern part of Bangladesh. Barguna subdivision was established in 1969 and promoted to district on 28 February 1984.
Hi ...
, was forcefully taken by local land grabbers in 2017. The Rakhine population in the Barguna and
Patuakhali Districts decreased by 95%, from 50,000 in the 20th century to 2,561 in 2014, with Rakhines leaving Bangladesh due to illegal land-grabbing and persecution. Lands owned by them in the districts decreased by 81%. Rakhine land is also being taken over by politicians in Patuakhali District.
Culture
The Rakhine are predominantly
Theravada Buddhists
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
and are one of the four main Buddhist ethnic groups of Burma (the others being the
Burman,
Shan and
Mon people
The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး, ; th, wikt:มอญ, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy ...
). Rakhine culture is similar to the mainstream Burmese culture but with more
Indian influence, likely due to its geographical isolation from the Burmese mainland divided by the
Arakan Mountains
The Arakan Mountains ( my, ရခိုင်ရိုးမ), also known as the Rakhine Yoma, are a mountain range in western Myanmar, between the coast of Rakhine State and the Central Myanmar Basin, in which flows the Irrawaddy River. It is th ...
and its closer proximity to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. Traces of Indian influence remain in many aspects of Arakanese culture, including its literature, music, and cuisine. The traditional Rakhine
kyin
Kyin ( my, ကျင်) is a form of wrestling from Myanmar. It is practiced by the Rakhine people, a minority group in Myanmar. It is practiced in the Rakhine State. Tournaments of this sport are usually held during big occasions, for example ...
wrestling also plays an important role in its culture. Rakhine
mont di, consisting of rice vermicelli noodles, is popular across
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
.
Language
The Rakhine language is closely related to and generally
mutually intelligible with
Burmese. Notably, Rakhine retains an /r/ sound that has become /j/ in Burmese. Rakhine utilises the
Burmese alphabet.
See also
*
History of Rakhine
*
Kingdom of Mrauk U
*
List of Arakanese monarchs
*
Rohingya conflict
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*Loeffner, L. G. (1976). "Historical Phonology of Burmese and Arakanese Finals." Ninth International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, Copenhagen. 22–24 Oct. 1976.
{{Authority control
Ethnic groups in Myanmar
Rakhine State
History of Rakhine
Buddhist communities of Bangladesh
Buddhist communities of Myanmar
Buddhist communities of India
Sino-Tibetan-speaking people