" I see people " - Indigenous People || Chittagong Hill Tracts

Have you ever tried to notice people who live around you? We always busy living our life that's why we rarely notice our surroundings especially people. We admire nature, we pay attention to other's lifestyle, celebrity figure often but we rarely notice the general people those who work for us.

Those whose life completely depends on us somehow, those who work every single day to earn some money for their living, for their family. Yes, I am talking about those who are not highlighted, who stay behind the scene.

I have written so many travel posts where I have highlighted beautiful places but I kept some pictures to write this post. It took me a few days to decide how I am going to present this post.

I see people, I relate their life and I can see their struggle. I often said that I observe people, I see people and I mean it. Maybe my writing is not that much up to mark but I am proud that sometimes my own capture images describe a lot.

I have taken these pictures when I was in my country; Bangladesh, exploring Bandarban. Bandarban is a district of Chittagong division which is also known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A very beautiful picturesque scenic mountain area where people live with nature.

These are indigenous people, their world is different, they live their life depending on nature. They are away from monotonous robotic life, they are far behind from the real world but they are living. They exist...

Daily these people go up and down the hills, along the winding roads for work. I saw how enthusiastic they are. These mountains are their home, they produce food here, they live their life here and they take their last breathe here.

I have noticed these people thoroughly, these people don't have any idea I was noticing, they thought I am just a tourist who came here to explore the beauty of Bandarban. They don't even care where the world is going, all they just care about food, shelter, and a little bit of money.

Several fishermen depend on this Sangu river like this fisherman. They go fishing from the morning till afternoon and if they are lucky, they sell some fishes in the local market. This fisherman was also the same, was checking his luck on this river, If he is lucky, he will have a nice dinner with some money.

This boat is for fishing but sometimes carry people from one place to another. Basically, these indigenous people use this boat rather than tourists. I tried to take a top view of this boat so that you can see the entire boat with an engine. Basically they carry 8-10 people once at a time.

We called this type of area called "River Ghat" where fishermen keep all of their boats. This is a very common scenario in our country and if you go to the countryside, you will see this scenario. The only difference is the location and environment. Normally, RiverGhats are one of the busiest crowded areas but here the entire scenario is completely opposite. These boats are not only fishing boats; they also carry goods from one place to another.

I have already mentioned before in my previous post about their agriculture system which is known as JHOOM FARMING/ JHUM Cultivation. Basically what these indigenous people do is first they clear the land of trees and vegetation and burn them there. Later, they grow crops there. This is an indigenous cultivation method where they slash and burn the trees. When the fertility of soil decreases they move to another place and start doing same process.

The burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil.

Many people especially environmentalist are against this cultivation method because it destroys the forest area and destroys the habitats of wildlife.

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These indigenous people's house is different, materials are collected from local areas, basically soil, tree leaves, bamboo they use for the structure. They also use wood and bamboo for column structure and the floor is leveled up from the ground. They do this to keep themselves safe from snakes, insects, and other wild animals.

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Here are more pictures of their home, seems tropical but it doesn't. Houses are surrounded by tall coconut trees, some banana trees, in front of there home, paddy field. Amazing isn't it. They also have domestics animals and sometimes depend on wild chicken for protein.

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These two pictures are one of the best shots I have taken so far according to my eyes, the reason is simple, Reality of Life. This is basically Marma Woman from the biggest tribal group of Bandarban. these women do not only household work, but they also work in the agricultural sector of Chittagong hill tracts as well. They carry their children like this and go up and down the hills, cross high steeps of the mountains for livelihood.

Also this Sangu River part of their life as well. They take bath here, washes their clothes and also drink water from here but sometimes they collect rainwater as well for drinking. 50% of their living depends on this river.

Some Bengali people also live here but the ratio is very little according to indigenous people. A large amount of different tribal communities live here for almost centuries. Most of them were Arakanese, later they divided into different tribes.

I don't know why I capture this picture but I feel this picture speaks a story.

We can't live our lives without our gadgets, we need electricity and a modern lifestyle, we need a house made of concrete with utilities. But these people living their life without electricity, without modern gadgets. All these people are far away from modern facilities if they need to contact the city, they need to go to the shop, maybe one and only shop which provides telephone services.

Despite all these, those indigenous people are living in remote areas happily without complaints.

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"I am @priyanarc.... An architect, a dreamer, and a passionate writer who loves to write about life. I try to present my own perspective and experiences. Please leave your feedback and criticism because it's the only way I can know and reach your mind and thought easily..."

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Original post written by @priyanarc

All pictures are captured by the author.