Mru: Hill People on the Border of Bangladesh

250 Pages·1990·60.454 MB·English

by  Claus-Dieter Brauns, Lorenz G. Löffler (auth.)

Claus-Dieter Brauns
Lorenz G. Löffler
Hill People on the Border of Bangladesh
Springer Basel AG
Colour photographs by Claus-Dictcr Brauns Frontispiecc:
Text by Lorenz G. Liiffler Harvest festival. Beating the drum and three plate-shaped
Translated from German by Doris Wagner-Glenn gongs, four mcn circumambulate the place of sacrifice in
front of the open platform of the field house. Three bam
boo poles have been decorated with tassels, thread
squares, and double-funnelled spirit traps. At their foot - a
miniature altar flanked by swallow-tailed bamboo tubes.
Endpaper:
Map of the southern Chittagong Hill Tracts, r 96 r.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data CIP-Titelaufnahme cler Deutschen Bibliothek
Brauns, Claus-Dicter. Mru : Hill people on the border of Bangladesh 1C laus
[Mru. English] Dieter Brauns; Lorenz G. Loffler. Transl. from German
Mru : Hill people on the border of Bangladesh 1C laus by Doris Wagner-Glenn. - Basel ; Boston ; Berlin : Birk
Dieter Brauns, Lorenz G. Loffler : translated from Ger hăuser, 1990
man by Doris Wagner-Glenn. Dt. Ausg. unter dem Titei: Mru, Bergbewohner im Grenz
p. cm. gebiet von Bangladesh
Rcvised translation of: Mru, Bergbewohner im Grenz
gebiet von Bangladesh.
Bibliography: p. 245-247 NE: Brauns, Claus-Dieter [III.]; Loffler, Lorenz G. [Text]
Additional material to this book can be downloaded from
http:// extras.springer.com.
ISBN 978-3-0348-5696-6 ISBN 978-3-0348-5694-2 (eBook)
r. Mru (South Asian people)-Sociallife and customs. DOI 10.1007/978-3-0348-5694-2
2. Chittagong Hill Tracts (Bangladesh)-Sociallife and
customs. l. Loffler, Lorenz G. Il. Title.
This work is subject to copyright. AU rights are reserved, Original publication in German
whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, © Springer Basel AG 1986 and 1990
specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illus Originally published by Birkhiiuser Verlag Basel in 1990
trations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1990
machine or similar means, and storage in data banks.
ConceptiCoveriTypography: Albert Gomm, Basel
Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law where copies Layout: Helga and Claus-Dieter BraunsiL. G. Loffler
are made for other than private use a fee is payable to
'Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort', Munich.
Table of Contents
Introducdon
Author's concern: Claus-Dieter Brauns I9; author's concern: Lorenz G. Löffler
2 I; previous studies 2 2
The Chittagong Hill Tracts and their Inhabitants
Landscape and climate 2 5; major ethnic groups 26; colonial administration
30; minor ethnic groups 32; population figures and development 36
House and Horne
Harnlets GI; paths 62; houses 64; hause construction 69; baskets and other
utensils 72
Food and Clothing
Swidden farming Io9; selecting, slashing, and burning I w; planting and
weeding I 13; hunting and trapping II 8; harvesting 122; food 12 5; domestic
animals qo; cotton, textiles and jewelry I33; harvest festival I4I
Kinship and Life Stages
Clans and marriage rules I 69; premaritallife I 7 3; wedding and marriage
I8I; birth and childhood I87; illness and death I95
Cattle Ceremonies and Feasts of Merit
Women's work: alcoholic beverages 226; men's work: mouth argans and
decorations 22 8; the sacrifice 2 3 I; interpretations 2 3 5; feasting 2 3 8
Epilogue
Bibliography 24 5
Glossary of Terms Related to the Administrative Structure 24 7
Glossary of Mru Terms 248
Picture Credits 248
The three standard patterns of decorative bamboo
weaving. The motifs appear also in beaded jewelry and the
embroidery of women's skirts.
Right side:
First meeting with the strange white man at the bazaar in
Lama.
Next page:
Morning fog in the valley of the Matamuri.