The Chakma, or Changhma people (, 𑄌𑄇𑄴𑄟), are an ethnic group and nation native to the Indian subcontinent and western Myanmar. They are the largest indigenous group as well as the second largest ethnic group of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh. They also form the majority in Chakma Autonomous District Council of Mizoram. Significant Chakma populations are found in the northeast Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Assam and Rakhine State of Myanmar.
The Chakma possess strong ethnic affinities to Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups in Northeast India. Due to a historical language shift aimed at consolidating intertribal power, the Chakma adopted the Indo-Aryan Chakma language, which is closely related to Pali and to the Chittagonian language spoken in adjacent regions. Most modern Chakma people practice Theravada Buddhism, due to 19th-century reforms and institutionalisation by Queen regnant Rani Kalindi. In Myanmar, Chakma people are known as Daingnet and are one of the 135 officially recognised ethnic groups in Myanmar. They are also referred as "Saks", "Sakmas" or "Tsakmas".
The Chakmas are divided into 31 clans or gozas. The community is headed by the Chakma Raja, whose status as a tribal head has been historically recognised by the government of British India and the government of Bangladesh.
Etymology
The ethnonyms Chakma likely derived from the autonym of the Luish speaking peoples like the Kadu who refer to themselves as Sak or Asak. According to Thomas Herbert Lewin，Chakma can also be read as Tsakma or Tsak. According to Pamela Gutman Chakma derives from the Sanskrit word śaktimāna, which means powerful and great. The name was given to the 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 the Burmese court that was disproportionate to their number. The Burmese people still refer to Chakmas as Sak (သက်) or Thet, which are shortened and corrupted forms of śaktimāna. The modern linguistic study suggests that the term "Chakma" originates from two constituent words: "Tsak" and "Ma". In this context, "Tsak" is believed to be derived from "Shak" which is associated with the Shakya clan, and "Ma" signifies "man" in Tibeto-Burmese languages. The Chakma script shows similarities to Brahmi script suggesting Chakmas may descend from the Shakya lineage.
History
Sakya lineage claim The association of the Chakmas with Buddhist origins lie in effort to connect the term Chakma to the clan of the Buddha. Chakma-Kormi in 1941 wrote the Rājnāmā (Chronicle of Chakma Kings) in the Bengali language. Chakma-Korni claimed the document was written in the 19th century by a pandit named Śaṅkarācārya. The document traced the Chakma Chiefs of the Chittagong Hill Tracts back to mythical times such as the Lunar Dynasty among the Indo-Aryan peoples. The earliest figures were attested to be semidivine figures of Indian mythology and rulers of the Gangetic plains. The document claims a Śākya prince of unknown renown called Abhiratha ruled Kapilavastu. His descendants left Kapilavastu and founded a kingdom in Kalpanagar. Sudhanya, a descendant is said to have become the contemporary of the Buddha and joined the Sangha. Following his son Langaldhana's death, the prime minister Shyamala became King and moved east into the Himalayas. His son Champakali was stated to have built a capital on the bank of the Irrawaddy River called Champaknagar.
Origins The Chakmas descend from ancient Tibeto-Burman groups of Southwest China. These groups were categorically labelled as the Southwest barbarians () () and Qiang (). The Qiang splintered into many groups over time in the southwest. The most powerful group becoming the which in Old Chinese is analgous to Kontu or Kondu. This suggests the Chakma who have commonality with the Kadu people both descend from the Qiongdu of Southwest China. Early British colonialists argued that the Qiongdu derived Kadu entered Burma through the passes north of Bhamo. The Chakma and Luish peoples are expected to have entered Northern Myanmar in the 4th century. Their power in northern Burma began to wane in the 9th century with the rise of Burmese peoples. Scholars such as Luce argue the Chakma-Luish peoples precede the Pyu people in entering Burma while others claim theory followed the Pyu. According to Kadu accounts, linguists state that the Chak-Luish peoples entered the Hukawng Valley near the upper Uru River in Kachin State. They diverged from here with two populations forming. The Thet groups went south via the Chindwin River into Manipur and Bangladesh while the Kadu went southeast to Katha and Myitkhina. The Kadu became the most powerful tribe of the Chindwin and that the Kadu contributed to the formation of the Bamar people. The Kadu in Burmese transcriptions were also pronounced as "Thet" when Sak was transcribed. The Kadu also formed one of the three great races of the Burma delta, namely the Burmese, Kadu and Pyu.
According to Fan Chuo's Man Shu (), a passage discusses a little Brahmin Kingdom () discuss that it maintains close relations with Big Ears Kingdom (). Luce argues that these big eared polity in Burma were the early Kadu who have a tradition of wearing heavy earrings and stretching their lobes.
Contemporary records in the medieval era The proposed migration of the Sak-Kadu Qiongdu has been proposed to be around the beginning of the Common era. Excavations of the central Irrawaddy basin have shown evidence of a thriving Pyu culture. In the 8-9th centuries, the Kadu lived in upper central Myanmar with Tagaung Kingdom as their capital. Sak villages were also found further south such as () and (). The Glass Palace Chronicle also states that a Sak settlements is mentioned as the "mount of the Theks" in the Kingdom of Macchagiri. Local Sak history states a king name Cho-phru settled and ruled the hill in the Turang mountains (Tuiwindaung) near Pagan.
Most Chinese records of the Qiongdu/Kadu people are from the 13th century during Mongol rule. The Yuan History Chroncile records about the Jiandu (). During this period, the explorer Marco Polo records of the Caindu people in his book, Travels of Marco Polo. Scholars have argued the Caindu and the Jiandu to be the same group being referenced. Mongol records mention that a general was killed by the Jiandu in 1264. Jiandu is used loosely as a term for a neghbouring kingdom. However, Jiandu is also used as a proper name for an ethnic group with the label "barbarian" (). In 1267, a punitive expedition against the Jiandu was sanctioned according to volume 6 of the Yuan History. The city of Tagaung was described as the nest and hole of the rebels being used to resist the Mongol armies. Tagaung was captured and the twelve towns of Jiandu, Jingchi (Gold Teeth and others submitted. Jiandu lands were stated to be gold abundant and a foundry was established to extract the captured people to regine the gold for the government. Other records mention Jiandu outside of Burma in the territory of Yuexi, which the Mongols named Jianchang (now Xichang in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture). Marco Polo's records state that the Caindu reside in the upper part of the River Brius which is equated to the Yangzi River in the area between Sichuan, Yunna and Tibet. Hence the Caindu and Jiandu were originally Southwestern Chinese inhabitants. The other branch of the Jiandu were the Burmese ruled Jiandu of Tagaung.
The absence of the Jiandu in China suggest that the Burmese branch is the remaining branch left. According to Gordon Luce, Kadu used in Burman inscriptions are just a transcription of the middle Chinese pronunciation of Jiandu (Kantu). Burmese records claim the kingdom of the Kantu was known as Santhway Pran with their capital at Tagaung. It is likely the Jiandu in South Sichuan became absorbed into the various tribes and Han populations over time and diluted their identity and traditions.
Later on, the expansion of the Bamar people and the Shans led to political centralization and agricultural growth in the Irrawaddy and Chindwin valleys. This also meant many groups were forced to migrate west and south. According to the Mahārāzāweng (Royal Chronicle of the Kings of Burma) the Saks were located West of the Chindwin River.
Arakan era According to the Arakanese Chronicles, King Tsulatheng Tsandya (Śūraśiṃhacandra) of Waithali Kingdom died as the last ruler of the Candra dynasty. This death prompted two Mru chiefs to briefly rule Waithali for a period and allowed the Saks to consolidate their power under Nga-Maung-Kadon in the northern Arakan region of Sambowet in Pyinsa and Lemro. Legends of Nga-Maung-Kadon claim that he was the posthumous son of Tsulatheng Tsandya who raiswed among the Sak tribe (which they called Thek) in the hills of the upper course of the Mayu River. Theories have been proposed that the Buddhist Saks allied themselves with the declining Candra dynasty and that the 10th century oversaw Sak domination in the Arakan region briefly with their seat of power at Sambowet. The king Nga-Maung-Kadon was killed in 1018AD when resisting a Burmese invasion. His head was severed and displayed as a trophy, which was mentioned in the Glass Palace Chronicles as the name "Thekminkaton" (King of the Saks), where his head was decapitated and presented to the Burmese King. Following the Burmese takeover of Arakan, the Saks left the Lemro region. Burmese Chronicles allege following this that some Kanran and Sak groups migrated into Prome, which is recorded in Burmese inscriptions depicting the Saks in the vicinity of the Pagan Kingdom. Luce argues that the Old Burmese title of Mahā-sak-thit meant the "Terror of the Sak" which explains the constant tension between the two groups. The Saks of Macchhagiri eventually became an issue, leading to war with the Burmese. The Glass Palace Chronicle records the events of this encounter.