Bangladesh: A Chakma woman weaving cloth, c.1947

The Chakmas, also known as the Changhma, are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or Gozas. A tribal group called Tongchangya are also considered to be a branch of the Chakma people. Both tribes speak the same language, have the same customs and culture, and profess the same religion, Theravada Buddhism.

Chakmas are Tibeto-Burman, and are thus closely related to tribes in the foothills of the Himalayas. The Chakmas are believed to be originally from Arakan who later on moved to Bangladesh, settling in the Cox's Bazar District, the Korpos Mohol area, and in the Indian states of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura.

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