[replace with] |
[replace with] Bedey, a community
[replace with] belonging mainly  to the ethnic Mong-tong (Mangta) of arakan, who in 1638,
[replace with] accompanied the fugitive king of Arakan, Ballal Raja, and later settled in
[replace with] Bikrampur area near dhaka. Many of them were converted to islam over time.
[replace with] Later, the Bedeys spread out to remote areas of Bengal and Assam. The Mangta
[replace with] people were popularly called Bedey after the Bangla word Baidda meaning
[replace with] village doctor. Bedeys pretend to know the art of healing, which they use as
[replace with] a source of living. They are skilled in hunting. Physically, they are quite
[replace with] close to Bangalis.
[replace with]
[replace with] Historical Background:
[replace with]
[replace with] Bedeys follow the customs and practices of the
[replace with] Kowma society of Arakan. Apparently the community is patriarchal, but the
[replace with] women tend to play crucial roles in day to day affairs. They do all types of
[replace with] hard work. The community generally lives in clusters on machans (platforms)
[replace with] constructed by the side of rivers or on boats. Throughout the year, and
[replace with] especially during harvesting, they move out in groups from village to
[replace with] village and conduct their trade. Bedeys call this travel gawal. They carry
[replace with] with them wicker-baskets of snakes or bags of herbal medicines. Usually, it
[replace with] is the women who go in gawal. Snake catching and snake-charming make a major
[replace with] source of income for them.
[replace with]
[replace with] Socio Economic Aspects:
[replace with]
[replace with]
[replace with]
[replace with] Livelihood:
[replace with] The Mong-tongs of Bangladesh are divided into nine sects. They are Lauyo,
[replace with] Chapailya, Bajikar, Bej, Gayin, Mellach, Bandaira, Mal and Shapuria (snake
[replace with] charmer). All these groups consider that doing physical work in the field is
[replace with] undignified. Their universal profession is to practise folk medicines and to
[replace with] sell indigenous drugs including different kinds of wild creepers, leaves and
[replace with] roots. Application of mantra (mystical verse) and jhadfuk (exorcism for
[replace with] expulsion of evil spirits) is very dominant in their method of treatment.
[replace with] Many do believe that the Bedeys are experienced in massages and in the
[replace with] treatment of the child diseases, arthritic pain and toothache. Bedeys
[replace with] demonstrate exciting jugglery and tricks, draw tattoos and display different
[replace with] kinds of physical feats. In the matter of treatment they use some of the
[replace with] traditional medicines and instruments, like, holy verses, roots of trees,
[replace with] bones of birds and animals, oil of hornbills (Dhanesh birds), trumpets made
[replace with] of the horns of the cows or buffalos, broken glasses and sharp teeth of
[replace with] Kakila fish.
[replace with]
[replace with] Typically, the Bedeys
[replace with] assemble people in bazaars or open places by attracting them through tricks,
[replace with] magic shows and snake charming. The purpose is to motivate the crowd to buy
[replace with] their goods and services. Methods of treatment and medicines prescribed by
[replace with] different sects of Bedeys are different. The Lauyo Bedeys or the Babajias
[replace with] sell fish and garland of fish bones. These Bedeys hail from Biania of
[replace with] Bikrampur, Charar Ghope of narayanganj and Amirabad, Maichakhali, Hurail,
[replace with] Nargaon, Narayanpur, Hajiganj, laksham and Meherkalibari of comilla. The
[replace with] Gain Bedeys sell fragrant spices. They come from netrokona. The Bej Bedeys (Michchigiri)
[replace with] specialise in treatment of diseases of the eye and they live in barisal,
[replace with] pirojpur and nawabganj. They operate upon eyes with broken glass. The
[replace with] profession of the Chapailya Bedeys (Shajdar) is to sell garlands of fish
[replace with] bones, tiger's paws and bones of birds as healers of pain in muscles and
[replace with] other parts of the body. Besides they sell opium, pearl ornaments, bangles,
[replace with] crescent necklaces and cockles. They are expert in making and marketing
[replace with] beautiful Sanas (weaving sticks) for weavers.
[replace with] They are also expert divers.
[replace with] The diving Bedeys mainly come from Tongi, Demra and Badda of Dhaka, Saturia
[replace with] of manikganj, tea gardens of Mirjapur and Amirabad of Comilla. The Bajikar
[replace with] and Mellach Bedeys sell fox bones and oil of the hornbills. The Shialya
[replace with] Bedeys do not have any transactions with other Bedey groups. They eat
[replace with] everything including cows, boars and snakes and worship the Hindu gods and
[replace with] goddesses. They live in lalmonirhat and in the bordering areas of India. The
[replace with] Bandaira Bedeys, residing largely in Lalmonirhat, sell parts of monkey
[replace with] bodies as medicine and earn by monkey shows. They sing in praise of
[replace with] ramachandra and Laksman and describe the ferociousness of Rama and Raban and
[replace with] the activities of Hanuman. The Mal Bedeys remove snake poison, extract teeth
[replace with] worms, sell medicines for healing arthritis and blow horns. They catch
[replace with] snakes and sell them, but they do not show games of the snakes. They reside
[replace with] in madaripur, Bikrampur, Dhaka, rajshahi, Comilla and noakhali. The
[replace with] Shapurias (snake charmers) sell amulets and talismans. They catch snakes.
[replace with] They show feats of snakes, but do not sell them. They worship the manasa
[replace with] (the goddess of snakes). They live in Bikrampur of Dhaka and sunamganj of
[replace with] sylhet.
[replace with]
[replace with]
[replace with] Social System:
[replace with]
[replace with] Lifestyle: Towards the end
[replace with] of the month of Agrahayan at the beginning of winter and in the last half of
[replace with] Ashad, at the end of the dry season, they go in gawal with their families.
[replace with] The first round of gawal continues up to the middle of the month of Chaitra
[replace with] and the second round continues up to the middle of the month of Aswin. While
[replace with] in gawal, they live with their families mostly in boats, tents or in the
[replace with] verandas of local schools. After the gawal they return to their permanent
[replace with] place of residence and indulge in various festivities, in which young males
[replace with] and females are allowed to choose their partners and marry them with due
[replace with] consent of their guardians. After marriage, the husband goes to the wife's
[replace with] house to live permanently. The wife takes a vow that she will take care of
[replace with] her husband and the children. In case a young man from outside the community
[replace with] marries a Bedey girl by enticement, he has to pay a fine for obtaining
[replace with] consent of the community. Polygamy, child marriage and living in a joint
[replace with] family are not in vogue. Widows are not prohibited from remarriage. If
[replace with] divorced, husband and wife divide their properties including children among
[replace with] themselves. The larger share goes to the wife.
[replace with] Every Bedey family, if not entirely destitute, has its own boat. A few
[replace with] families with their boats form a group and the boats of the group form a
[replace with] fleet. Each fleet takes an identity of a sub-tribe headed by a sardar. The
[replace with] sardar divides his fleet into a number of small groups and appoints a guide
[replace with] for each of the groups through whom he coordinates the community affairs.
[replace with] The sardar determines the trade routes and area of operation for every
[replace with] group. He imposes penalty for violation of norms and pronounces decree to
[replace with] that effect after examining witnesses and evidences. If any group fails to
[replace with] return from gawal in time without showing good reason, the sardar can punish
[replace with] them. Maintenance and subsistence of the sardar are the responsibilities of
[replace with] the fleet. Special fees are paid to the sardar at the time of marriage. The
[replace with] sardar receives gifts on the occasion of different festivals.
[replace with] The Bedey men wear lungi.
[replace with] Their women cut a ten cubit long cloth into two pieces and wear one piece on
[replace with] lower part of the body twisting it around the waist in two folds and hang
[replace with] the other piece like a scarf on the neck. They wear fatua or angi (loose
[replace with] shirt without collar). At present many Bedey men and women wear normal
[replace with] Bengal dresses.
[replace with]
[replace with] Social Structure: Besides
[replace with] the fleet sardars, the Bedey clans and sub-clans also have their own leaders
[replace with] elected in a meeting in the presence of all sardars on a fixed day of the
[replace with] year. In the past, the Bedey sardars used to come to the month-long fair on
[replace with] the occasion of Kartik Baruni Snan (holy bath) held at a place near
[replace with] munshiganj, where the ganges and the brahmaputra meet. They used to meet
[replace with] there with different Bedey groups and conduct election of leaders of the
[replace with] clans and sub-clans. At present they meet together for the purpose at
[replace with] Munshiganj and chittagong every year between 5 Kartik and 15 Agrahayan.
[replace with] These meetings are also used for settling disputes that accumulate
[replace with] throughout the year.
[replace with]
[replace with] Rituals: The Bedeys lead austere
[replace with] and easy life. They do not hesitate to confess their guilt to the sardar if
[replace with] they make any offence, even if they know that the punishment may be severe.
[replace with] They are omnivorous and are usually addicted to drugs. As they claim to be
[replace with] Muslims, they tend to maintain a minimal relationship with the local
[replace with] Muslims. They also practice many rites and rituals of Hindu religion.
[replace with]
[replace with] Language: The Bedeys have their
[replace with] own language called Thet or Ther. They use it within their own community.
[replace with] The language has much similarity with the language of the Arakanese. Most of
[replace with] the words used in the language have their origin in prakrit.
[replace with] Like all other citizens of
[replace with] the country, Bedeys are entitled to all civic rights including right to
[replace with] vote. However, their number in Bangladesh is gradually decreasing. Some
[replace with] Bedeys have changed their profession and have now lost their original
[replace with] identity. [Jainal Abedin]
[replace with] |
[replace with]
[replace with] 
[replace with] 
