The Bohmong Circle () or Bomang Circle () is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the

Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts (), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, refers to the three hilly districts within the Chittagong Division in southeastern Bangladesh, bordering India and Myanmar (Burma) in the east: Kh ...

of modern-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. The jurisdiction of the Bohmong Circle encompasses parts of

Bandarban District Bandarban District (), officially Bandarban Hill District, is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the others ...

. The chiefdom's members are of Marma descent and are known as ''ragraisa''. Most inhabitants of the Mong Circle settled in the south during a migration wave from the

Kingdom of Mrauk U The Kingdom of Mrauk-U (Arakanese language, Arakanese: မြောက်ဦး ဘုရင့်နိုင်ငံတော်) was a kingdom that existed on the Arakan coastal plain from 1429 to 1785. Based in the capital Mrauk-U, near t ...

(modern-day Arakan State in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

) between the 16th and 18th centuries, while inhabitants of the other Marma chiefdom, the

Mong Circle The Mong Circle (, ) is one of three hereditary chiefdoms (or "circles") in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of modern-day Bangladesh. The jurisdiction of the Mong Circle encompasses parts of Khagrachhari District. The chiefdom's members are of Marma ...

, settled in the northwest and are known as ''phalansa'' (ဖလံသား).

Leadership

The Bohmong Circle is led by a hereditary chieftain called a "raja." The Bohmong chieftains appoint and oversee headmen called ''mouza'' and village chiefs called ''karbaris''. The incumbent chieftain is Chaw Prue (ချောဖြူ), an engineer by training. The Bohmong chieftain leads an annual three-day festival called "raj punnah," which has been held since 1875. The Bohmong chieftain also sits on the Advisory Council for the

Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs (; ''Pārbatya caṭṭagrāma biṣaẏaka mantraṇālaẏa'') is the government ministry of Bangladesh responsible for Chittagong Hill Tracts. The Chittagong Hill Tracts have been inhabited by var ...

and the

Bandarban Hill District Council Bandarban Hill District Council is the regional government body responsible for the administration of Bandarban Hill District in Bangladesh. Kyaw Shwe Hla is the chairman of the council. History The Bandarban Local Government Council was establi ...

. In 1975, Circle King

Mong Sue Rru Chowdhury Maung Shwe Prue Chowdhury () is a Jatiya Party (Ershad) politician and a former member of parliament for Bandarban District. Career Chowdhury was appointed the governor of Bandarban District during Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League rule. C ...

was appointed governor of

during

Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (), abbreviated as BaKSAL, was the sole legal ruling party of Bangladesh from January to August 1975. The party comprised politicians from the Awami League, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Na ...

government.

History

The Bohmong chieftains claim descent from

Tabinshwehti Tabinshwehti (, ; 16 April 1516 – 30 April 1550) was King of Burma from 1530 to 1550, and the founder of the First Toungoo Empire. His military campaigns (1534–1549) created the largest kingdom in Burma since the fall of the Pagan Empire ...

and

Nanda Bayin , image = , caption = , title = King of Toungoo , reign = 10 October 1581 – 19 December 1599 , coronation = 15 October 1581 , succession = , predecessor = Bayinnaung , successor ...

of the

Toungoo Empire The First Toungoo Empire (, , lit. "Toungoo Period"; also known as the Second Burmese Empire in traditional historiography, or simply the Taungoo dynasty) was the dominant power in mainland Southeast Asia in the second half of the 16th century ...

. During British rule, the Chittagong Hill Tracts were administratively divided into three circles in 1884, namely the Chakma Circle, the Bohmong Circle, and the

s, each presided over by a hereditary chief from the Chakma and

Marma people The Marma () are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban District, Bandarban, Khagrachhari District, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. They belong to the same comm ...

s. The circles were codified into law with the Chittagong Hill Tract Regulations, 1900, eased revenue collection and administrative burdens on British authorities by delegating tax collection, land administration management and social arbitration responsibilities to the chieftains. In 1901, the Bohmong Circle extended . This administrative structure remained in place until 1964, when the introduction of local self-government abolished the special status of these circles and brought local administration under the control of the central government.

References

{{Bengal Zamindars Bandarban District Dynasties of Bengal Subdivisions of British India Quasi-princely estates of India Lands inhabited by indigenous peoples History of Chittagong Division Bangladeshi families Chakma people