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[replace with] Mru, (also Mro) a
[replace with] small ethnic minority,
[replace with]  who
[replace with] live scattered in the hill district of bandarban. They live mostly in Toin,
[replace with] Mangu, Toinfa, Luloing, Uttarhangar, Dhakkinhangar, Tankabati, Harinjuri,
[replace with] Takerpanchari, Renikhyong, Pantola, Thankhyong, Swalok, Tindow, Singpa,
[replace with] Alikhoung and Bhariyatali mouzas. The Mru population in chittagong hill
[replace with] tracts in 1956 was 17000 and in 1981, it stood at 20,000.
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[replace with] Historical Background:
[replace with] Mrus are also known as Mro
[replace with] and murong. chakmas and marmas call them Lengta, Kuki, or Langye or
[replace with] wild/primitive people while some people of the plains designate them as
[replace with] Morungs, which according to many, are different from Mros in some aspects.
[replace with] Murongs living in the district of khagrachhari are in fact a clan of the
[replace with] Tipra (tripura). There is a linguistic affinity between the two groups of
[replace with] people. In the Indian State of Tripura, the counterparts of Murongs are
[replace with] known as Riangs. However, on many occasions, Mros are contemptuously called
[replace with] Mro-Dang or Myawktong, meaning lower type of animal being. But Mros
[replace with] introduce themselves as Mro-cha. The word mro means man and cha stands for
[replace with] being.
[replace with] Rajwang, the chronicle of
[replace with] Arakanese Kings, records that during the 12th century two Mro men helped
[replace with] King Da Tha, the Raja of Arakan (1153-1165) in locating the Mahamuni Statue.
[replace with] In the 14th century, Mros were driven out from arakan by khumis, a powerful
[replace with] tribe. They moved to the Hill Tracts of Bandarban and settled down in the
[replace with] western valley of the sangu along the matamuhuri river. This is supported by
[replace with] a letter of the King of Burma to the Chief of chittagong district. The King
[replace with] stated in the letter that some Murongs along with people of other tribes
[replace with] left Arakan and took refuge in the Chittagong region, from where they
[replace with] operated raids on the both sides of the border.
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[replace with] Social System:
[replace with]
[replace with] Lifestyle: Mros have
[replace with] Mongoloid features but are tall and strong and have dark complexion. They
[replace with] are peaceful and timid. Moustache and beard are hardly seen on their face.
[replace with] Physically, they closely resemble the Semang of Malaysia.
[replace with]
[replace with] They build their houses on hilltops. The
[replace with] houses are big and seem to be built for community dwelling. Mros depend
[replace with] mainly on hunting but many of them are engaged in jhum cultivation, jautha
[replace with] khamar (collective farming) and gardening. They have no permanent abodes.
[replace with] Migratory instincts have prevented them from progress in daily life. Mro
[replace with] women are very active in economic pursuits, weave their own clothes and
[replace with] manage all affairs of the house.
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[replace with] Mros take boiled rice twice a day and consume
[replace with] all types of meat but hardly use spicy items in cooking curry. Dry fish is
[replace with] their favourite food. Drinking is popular and they have no taboo as regards
[replace with] any food.
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[replace with] Traditional Dress: Mro men
[replace with] wear round the waist a strip of cloth called lengti, which is passed between
[replace with] the two legs. The females use a small piece of dark blue cloth (wanglai) to
[replace with] cover the private part of the body; the left side is kept open. It is
[replace with] embroidered in the centre. The wanglai is 6 inches in width from top of
[replace with] bottom. The women hardly cover their breasts. They bind their hairs on the
[replace with] left side of the back of the head. A male wears a lungi, and a shirt and a
[replace with] female uses a piece of cloth on the upper part of her body when they go to
[replace with] the market. Males keep long hairs and also put high hair in a bun just above
[replace with] the forehead and use turbans (pagri) as head dresses.
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[replace with] Mros decorate their body using different
[replace with] colours; both boys and girls colour their lips. They prefer to paint their
[replace with] cheeks, lips and forehead red when they go out for dancing. Females put
[replace with] flowers on head and ears and also a string of small beads on their necks.
[replace with] Only bachelors and spinsters can participate in ceremonial dances. Like the
[replace with] women, the men bore their ears and put on rings. Every Mro blackens his/her
[replace with] teeth. Their musical instruments consist of bamboo pipes called plungs. When
[replace with] dancing, men wear red clothes with a head-dress of feathers and beads while
[replace with] women dress themselves with flowers, beads and coins.
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[replace with] Language: Mros do not have
[replace with] any written language. The language they speak has some similarity with the
[replace with] Burmese and it seems to belong to the Tibeto-Burman family. In all
[replace with] probability, the Mro language was separated from Tibeto-Burma group at an
[replace with] early period. The Mro vocabulary, syntax, and grammar, to some extent,
[replace with] resemble the Kuki-Chin languages of northeastern India and northwestern
[replace with] Myanmar. Nowadays, some Mros receive modern education at Shialoe school
[replace with] (near Bandarban town) established by the government. Mros talk to their
[replace with] neighbours in the local tongue and know Bangla. In this sense, they are
[replace with] bilingual.
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[replace with] Social Structure: The Mro
[replace with] society is patriarchal. Although the father is the head of the family, women
[replace with] play a dominant role in social life. The property goes from father to son
[replace with] but the lion's share is given to the youngest son. In old age, father and
[replace with] mother live with him. Elementary and joint family system are prevalent in
[replace with] the Mro society. Mros are divided into several clans such as Dengua
[replace with] (plantain tree), Premsang (cockscomb plant), Konglai (wild plantain tree),
[replace with] Maizer (jackfruit tree), and Ganaroo Gnor (mango tree). From this division,
[replace with] it appears that totemic tree worship is still prevalent in Mro society.
[replace with] Marriage within the clan is prohibited. They marry within the tribe,
[replace with] although intertribal marriage may also take place on rare occasions.
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[replace with] Family Structure: Two types of
[replace with] marriage are found in Mro society: marriage by elopement and marriage by
[replace with] negotiation. In case of divorce, the husband is repaid all that he had given
[replace with] to his wife except the ornaments, which the wife takes to her father's
[replace with] house. For a woman, a second marriage is unusual but a man can marry after
[replace with] the death of the first wife. Polygamy and polyandry is practically absent
[replace with] and child marriage is rare. Mros dispose of the dead body by burying and
[replace with] burning. They pay tribute to the Bohmong chief.
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[replace with] Rituals: Mros are animists and
[replace with] have three gods: Turai, the creator of the universe, Sangtung, the spirit of
[replace with] the hill, and Oreng, the river deity. In starting any venture, they take
[replace with] oath in the name of Turai; the Sangtung (hill spirit) is considered sacred,
[replace with] and they offer prayer to this hill spirit for good harvest in jhum
[replace with] cultivation. Oreng is worshipped collectively for the welfare of the
[replace with] villagers and to keep out epidemic diseases and bad luck. Mros do not
[replace with] believe in the next world ie, the world after death and they direct all
[replace with] their activities to the present world.
[replace with] Buddhist influences are evident in the daily life of Mros. A section of Mros
[replace with] adheres to christianity. Lately, many Mros have embraced Cramma, a new
[replace with] religion founded by a Mro named Manley. However, all oaths are taken in
[replace with] honour of guns, daos (chopper) and tigers. Mros venerate the sun and the
[replace with] moon but do not offer any sacrifice to them. They do not have scriptures,
[replace with] temples, and priests.
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[replace with] Sacrifice of cow constitutes one of the
[replace with] principal ceremonies of the Mros; it is called Kumulong. Acoording to Mro
[replace with] mythology, the religious book that their god sent to their forefathers was
[replace with] in the form of scriptures written on banana leaves. A messenger was given
[replace with] the scriptures and some clothes for Mro women to wear. In course of his
[replace with] journey, the messenger halted on the bank of a river, left the scriptures
[replace with] and the clothes on the bank and went to take a bath. On his return, he found
[replace with] that a cow had eaten up the leaves and nothing is left out of the holy book.
[replace with] The cow also swallowed up the major part of the clothes. This is how Mros
[replace with] were left without formal religion and their women got to wear few clothes.
[replace with] For this act, Mros punish a cow every year ceremoniously. A well-fed cow is
[replace with] tied to a pole in an open space where the whole village assembles. Drinking
[replace with] and dancing around the cow continue till afternoon, when they start striking
[replace with] the cow with a painted bamboo stick till blood gushes from its body and it
[replace with] dies. The blood of the cow is considered sacred and preserved in bamboo
[replace with] pots. The animal body is cut off with a sharp dao. Then the villagers sit in
[replace with] a circle. The elderly Mro villagers distribute the blood to every member so
[replace with] that they can suck it. Later, they eat the roasted flesh of the cow. In the
[replace with] ceremony, all persons are urged to live in peace with their neighbours and
[replace with] relatives.
[replace with] Another Mro ritual is champua. On a fixed day, young boys and girls go to
[replace with] the dense forest to cut banana leaves and celebrate the festival by dancing
[replace with] and singing till dawn. Such a ritual gives young men and women the chance to
[replace with] select their life partners.
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[replace with] Mros try to maintain a close relationship with
[replace with] other tribes; men and women visit nearby markets to sell agricultural
[replace with] products and purchase necessary items for daily use. [Abdul Mabud Khan]
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