Spirit Worship in Chakma Community
Spirit Worship in Chakma Society refers to a set of indigenous religious practices followed by the Chakma people, primarily found in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and parts of northeastern India. This tradition involves appeasing various local spirits and supernatural entities to cure illnesses, recover lost possessions, and protect against misfortune. The rituals often involve animal sacrifices, invocations by shamans (ojhas), and offerings of food and light.
Overview
While spirit worship is not unique to the Chakma people—similar practices exist in places like Rangadhor, Jamtara (Jharkhand), where rooster sacrifices are performed—it has a distinctive expression within Chakma culture. Among the Chakmas, spirits are not merely feared but are actively appeased, negotiated with, and respected as forces of nature capable of both harm and healing.
Major Spirits Worshipped
The Chakma community venerates a number of spirits, each associated with specific functions, illnesses, or natural locations:
1. Dibuja Shugor
Dibuja Shugor is the primary healing spirit. When a person falls ill, especially with fever or mysterious ailments, a ritual offering is made at noon. A pig is sacrificed at a crossroads, its meat is cooked, and then presented again in a platter at the household courtyard with puffed rice and assorted vegetables. A shaman lights an oil lamp, chants mantras, and strikes the offering platter to summon the spirit. If Dibuja Shugor is pleased, the illness is believed to be cured.
An additional healing ritual known as “Kha Fela” involves the patient throwing boiled vegetables over their head at a crossroads while pleading for mercy from the spirits.
2. Sajha Kurah
Sajha Kurah is worshipped at twilight (shondhya bela), typically at the foot of the stairs inside the home. A sacrifice is made to this spirit as a preventative measure or in response to spiritual disturbances or ailments.
3. Boro Shiyalya
Boro Shiyalya is another spirit associated with illness. Rituals to appease this spirit are usually conducted near riverbanks. It is believed that this spirit has elemental power over water and nature and must be satisfied to ensure recovery.
4. Chela
Chela is regarded as the most powerful and dangerous spirit. It is described as a gigantic, headless being with blazing, fireball-like eyes. The ritual to appease Chela is considered a last-resort effort to save someone critically ill.
The ritual is conducted deep in the forest at midnight, while the village sleeps. An ojha takes a pig, oil lamp, and puffed rice into the forest and begins the ritual by calling “Ku” three times. The pig is sacrificed at the base of a tree, and incantations are chanted. If strong winds and supernatural sounds surround the area and the oil lamp remains lit, the patient is believed to survive. If the lamp extinguishes, death is presumed inevitable. Many shamans are said to have lost their lives performing Chela’s ritual, with their bodies later found in the forest.
Bhudei Ma and Lost Items
In cases where valuable items, children, or livestock go missing, the Chakma people believe spirits have taken them. In such situations, they invoke Bhudei Ma, or “Mother of Ghosts,” pleading:
“Bhudei Ma, dekhei de, deghai de, bij kurabaya kabi dim.” (“Mother of ghosts, show it to me. If I get it back, I will sacrifice a rooster to you.”)
If the item is recovered, the promised rooster sacrifice is fulfilled.
Ritual Structure and Role of Shamans
All these rituals are overseen by shamans, known locally as ojhas, who possess specialized knowledge of mantras, offerings, and the correct procedures for contacting spirits. The presence of the ojha is crucial, as laypersons do not typically conduct these ceremonies alone.
Comparative Beliefs
The Chela spirit shares features with other South Asian folk spirits, such as Magor in Rajbanshi culture and Nishikanta among the Fulia Brahmin-Kuchar tradition, indicating cross-cultural parallels in regional animist beliefs.
Cultural Significance
Spirit worship is deeply embedded in the Chakma worldview. It serves both a religious and practical function—managing health, explaining misfortune, and maintaining community cohesion through shared rituals and belief in unseen forces. While some of these practices coexist with Buddhism or Christianity (also followed by some Chakmas), spirit worship continues as a powerful, living tradition in remote and rural areas.
References
- Chorkoborti, Mriganko. Banglar Debota Opodebota o Lokodebota.