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A Trip To The City Of Rakkhita, Rakhine (1) ရကၡဳိင္ျပည္သို႔အလည္တစ္ေခါက္  (via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAtpUVolEMM)

On our last night in Mrauk U we met another traveler named Luisa eating at a local restaurant along the dried riverbed running through town.  Chatting with her she told us she was from Brazil and had traveled north to Mrauk U along the coast from Ngapali Beach by hitchhiking.  Along with that, she was also another veggie person so I was immediately down with her.  After dinner, we walked around inquiring at the local bus stands about travel out of Mrauk U and we were pretty bummed at what we found.  It may be expensive and time consuming to get into Rakhine state, but getting out of it is even worse: 55,000 kyat was the lowest price we were quoted to take a bus on the mountain road back towards central Burma, just a little under $55 at the time!  To put that into perspective, the 35,000 kyat I spent to get to Mrauk U, which included a fee for U Kyin helping us out, is the most I’ve ever spent on a bus ticket anywhere in the world.  No way were we going to pay 55,000 kyat to get out of Mrauk U.  We watched the sun set that evening while leaning against a nameless golden pagoda that sat perched on a hill overlooking the town and decided that we would just hitchhike over the mountains starting the next morning.  We met up the next day in front of Luisa’s guest house, hit up the morning market for some sticky rice for the road, and headed to the singular highway that ran out of town.  Little kids laughed and waved at us as we marched down the dusty road with our packs on.  Luisa waved down the first vehicle to pass us heading our way, a concrete dump truck heading south, no doubt to a quarry someways out of town.  We talked to the driver, a young man who understood a little English and got the jist of what we wanted to do.  He opened his passenger door and we climbed in, Adrien and I in the front and Luisa in the back, and we headed off down the road.  How easy was that?  We were all smiles as we headed south.  We soon found that the shocks on the truck were total shit and going over any crack or pothole in the road sent the body of the truck into a jerky, bouncing and bumpy frenzy.  This was one of the bumpiest rides I’ve ever taken and I instantly had to fight off motion sickness again while watching the beautiful and open farmland surrounding us roll by.  We road high on the road and motorbikes swerved out of our way onto the rocky shoulder of the single lane road as we passed.  Somewhere along the way, maybe twenty miles south of Mrauk U, the communication wires got criss-crossed when I tried making a “very bouncy” hand gesture at the driver and he took it as “stop”.  Oops.  He dropped us off in a Rohingya village and continued on his way south.  If you don’t know about the Rohingya and their struggle as a stateless people to have the right to simply exist, please please PLEASE stop reading my blog now and educate yourself.  Please.  An air of despair hung heavy in the village as the people living here, survivors of an ongoing genocide and no doubt recently displaced due to unrest and violence in the state capitol of Sittwe, slowly gathered around to stare at these three strange people that had just been dumped off in their village, studying our movements with timid curiosity.  A man approached us who knew a little English and asked where we were from and what we were doing.  We explained to him as simply and as best we could.  He turned around and said something to the small crowd of women carrying babies and men wearing skullcaps gathering around us and a few of them sheepishly smiled and waved at us.  We returned the smiles and the waves.  My heart went out to these people, and how could it not?  A minority tribe facing state sponsored extermination, facing violence and destitution every day, the twenty minutes I spent in this small Rohingya village left me changed and shaken, thinking about who makes and enforces the rules on this tiny, fucked planet.  As a small white pickup truck pulled up to us on the side of the road, I climbed in the back thinking about how easy it is for me to travel anywhere I want to at anytime and how hard it is for these people simply to exist day to day.  We rolled out of the village and two young men on a motorbike followed us, laughing and flashing peace signs at us as we continued south.  Laying in the back and getting burnt by the sun, the pickup truck took us all the way to Ann, the junction town that continues south along the coast or heads east over the mountains, and we arrived there a few hours after leaving the Rohingya village.  The front tire of the truck blew out on the way and the kid in the passenger seat of the truck blew chunks all over my arm that was resting on the side of the bed of the truck, but all in all it was a chill ride through the faux-peaceful countryside of Rakhine state.  The pickup truck driver dropped us off at a small roadside restaurant at the junction point in Ann where we had some Burmese curry for lunch.  The woman cooking at the restaurant was surprised to see travelers stopping through and cut up a huge watermelon for us to eat, free of charge.  We thanked her, paid, and stepped out of the shade of the restaurant into the blazing midday sun and headed to the junction point of the two highways.  We found the single tree to relax under as we waited for a ride.  Soon enough a huge big rig truck pulled over and a tall man in a longyi stepped out of the driver’s chair, beckoning us to come over.  He introduced himself to us as U Kyau as he threw our packs up into the back of his truck with the rest of the cargo.  We climbed in and onto the back bench of the truck, U Kyau threw the truck into gear and we were off.  Sort of.  As we climbed into the Arakan mountain range, U Kyau downshifted and the speed of the truck slowed to a crawl.  Our top speed became 20km per hour as we lurched over the mountain passes, nearly veering over the edge at each turn.  Still, looking out at the vast, never ending Arakan mountains as we inched along the tops of mountain ridges was breathtaking, something I didn’t get to witness in the middle of the night on our way into Rakhine state.  U Kyau was great company too, a jolly man that liked to teach us funny Burmese words (Mrauk U translates to “monkey egg”) and practice his English with us.  He was a truck driver from Yangon and once a week he drives across the Arakan mountains to Sittwee and back, three days each way, with one day off to spend with his family in Yangon before doing it all over again.  While crossing one specific mountain ridge, U Kyau pulled over to the shoulder of the road and beckoned us to get out of the truck.  This, he explained, was his favorite view on the ride back to Yangon and I could see why: 360 degrees of sweeping mountain tops melting into the clear blue sky at the horizon.  Each of us stood silent looking out in wonder, thinking about how we came to be here in this moment.  The silence was broken by the puttering of a tiny pickup truck buzzing over the mountain ridge, coming our way.  U Kyau, knowing the ride in his truck was going to take longer than we wanted, waved down the truck and explained our deal to driver.  The people in the truck agreed to take us to Magway and U Kyau climbed up into the back of his truck and threw our packs into the back of the pickup.  He wrote his phone number down for me and told me to call him if I ever needed help with anything in Yangon.  I shook his hand and we climbed into the back of the pickup, waving at U Kyau as we took off.  The sun had started to set over the Arakan mountains, and soon a blood red moon rose high over us.  We wound our way down the winding road to the plains of central Burma below watching the glow of distant brush fires and breathing in the cool air.  After a dinner of Burmese curries with the pickup truck driver and his friend in a nameless small town, they dropped us off in Magway at midnight and we set off into the streets to find a room for the night.

LANGUAGE&CULTURE Rohingya Religion and Belief Islam is the main religion of Rohingya people. As the followers, they follow five main pillars of Islam namely having faith on Oneness of God, performing five daily prayers, alms-giving to needy, self-purifying through fasting and performing pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able at least once in a life-time. Faith plays an important role for Rohingyas. They are taught to have faith on Oneness of God and Prophet Muhammad as His last messenger. In early childhood, the noble Qur’an and the Hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) are taught at home or in madaras (religious school) and many specialise it becoming scholars. As well as Rohingya children are taught to perform the five-time daily prayers starting at the age of adolescence. Men and boys go to nearby mosques; and women and girls perform at home. Almsgiving and fasting goes hands to hands, having fast a complete lunar month from sunrise till sunset daily. Like all Muslims around the world, Rohingyas too give special attention to this month as they believe that these make them abstain from committing sins; and feel and share with those unfortunate ones how they live, how they feel and how they cope. If someone is capable physically and financially, he or she is obliged to perform pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah once in a life-time. The Hajj is the Abrahamic origin, performed with many rites for several days to fulfil religious belief and feel all are equal before God. Unfortunately, it has been extremely difficult for Rohingyas to practise freedom of Religion in the state of Arakan due to the numerous restrictions placed by Burmese government. Name & Marriage Name is unchangeable from the time of naming to the time of death. Most Rohingyas generally keep two names; one is Muslim name and the other is Burmese. Both names don’t process surnames. For every name used whether from Burmese or Arabic language, there is a meaning for each word. For instant, Noor Hakim is a Muslim name in which Noor means Light while Hakim refers to Wise, but Hakim is not a surname. Calling someone who is older than caller is very sensitive in Rohingya culture. Rohingyas use specific terms for specific age groups and genders. For example; Gera (elder paternal uncle), Cacha (younger paternal uncle), Mamu (maternal uncle), Bodda (eldest brother), Majja (second elder brother), and so on. Name remains the same as the original even after the marriage, husband and wife bearing their original names. Traditionally, betrothal is arranged by the Rohingya parents. Once it is time for marriage, Moharna (ornament) is fixed by the parents or guardians of the bride and the groom and it is most essential according Islamic law. It must be given by the groom for the bride. Both the bride and groom must declare their willingness by pronouncing the words “Khawbul Ahsi” (we do agree) in front of at least three witness and the Molvi Shaheeb (religious scholar) who perform the marriage. Divorce rate among the Rohingyas is less than other races of Burma. The wedding ceremonies are held in receptions as far as possible. The reception diner is usually held by the family of the bride-groom. In special cases called “Salami”, the reception dinner is held at the bride’s home. During the wedding month the relatives of the newly wedded couple use to invite them and are served with at least one meal in consecutive days by each and every household of their relatives which shows their affections for the couple. In almost all Rohingya’s marriage ceremonies, ‘Howlla’ (Group singing) songs and folk-dancing of girls and women are common. Rohingya Language Rohingya (Ruáingga) is the spoken language of Rohingya people which is similar to Chittagonian language spoken in the neighbouring Chittagong region of Bangladesh. The earliest Rohingya writing dated back over 350 years and it used Arabic script. However, our writing was lost during the British colonial period from 1826 until 1946 and therefore English, Urdu and Farsi languages were mainly used for written communications. Then Hanifi script, which is a blend of Arabic, Burmese and Roman scripts, was developed after the independence of Burma. The Hanifi failed among the people due to difficulty in using this script on computers. The latest writing known as Rohingyalish is based only on Roman alphabets which are readily available on all modern media. This script proved to be extremely easy to learn and understand as the written and spoken language match very closely. Language Corner Assolamu Aláikum. (Translation:Peace be upon you) 1. Hi/Hello 2. How are you? Tuñí keén aso? 3. What is your name? Tuáñr nam ki? 4. Where do you stay? Tuñí hoçé táko? 5. Where is your house? Tuáñr gór hoçé? 6. I am Rafique (or) My name is Rafique. Aññí Rafique (or) Añár nam Rafique 7. How old are you? Tuáñr boc hoddúr? 8. What do you do? Tuñí ki goró? 9. It is great pleasure to meet you. Tuáñr lói mili bicí kúci lager. 10. Thank you so much. Tuáñre bicí cúkuria. 11. Welcome. Tuáñre barái luwazar. 12. Hope to see you again. Acágorir abbar dola óiyoum. 13. Ok. Thík ase. Rohingya Holidays Like all ethnicities of Burma, the holidays of Rohingyas can also be categorised into three groups such as national, political and religious based on two calendars – solar and lunar. Rohingyas celebrate national holidays the way all the people of Burma do, but political holidays are not celebrated inside the country due to the restrictions and fears of government crackdown. The only holidays celebrated widely inside the country are the religious holidays, among them one is regard as a national holiday which is Eid-Ul-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice) and others are celebrated separately. Rohingyas celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr widely at the end of Ramadan (Fasting month) for three days by thanksgiving to Almighty Allah (God), reuniting family, visiting friends, giving the poor obligatory charity (known as Zakat), and many more. Another widely celebrated holiday is Eid-Ul-Adha at the end of Hajj (annual pilgrimage to Mecca) to commemorate the trials and triumphs of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) from Allah's (God's) command to sacrifice his son Ishmael. To follow the commandments of Allah, Rohingyas too slaughter animals such camel, or goat and distribute meats to three groups of people (immediate family and relatives, friends and the poor); and followed by visits with family and friends, and exchanges of greeting and gifts. Besides, there are two major spiritual holidays which are commonly celebrated by Rohingyas are Lailatul Qadr (The Night of Power – when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad) and Shabe Barat (The Night of Freedom – Allah (God) frees all His sinful servants who were destined for Hell). In these days, Rohingyas spend days paying homage deceased relatives and feeding poor; and spend nights intensely involved in prayer, meditation and seeking forgiveness. Important Dates Independence Day (January 4th) marks Burma’s independence from the British Empire in 1948 Union Day (February 12th) marks the anniversary of the Panglong Agreement in 1947 Burmese New Year Day (April 17th) marks the New Year of the Burmese calendar Martyr’s Day (July 19th) commemorates the assassination of Aung San and several other cabinet members in 1947 Rohingya Teacher Day (March 3rd) marks the date of birth of a Rohingya Teacher in 1976 Rohingya Martyrdom Day (March 28th) in 1942 when Rohingya laid down their lives while the Thakin the heinous Rohingya massacre on 28th March, 1942 Rohingya Indigenous Ethnic Day (25th September) in 1954 at 8.00 pm the then Prime Minister of Burma, U Nu in his radio speech to the nation declared aboriginal Rohingya as an indigenous Rohingya Community Rohingya Refugee Memorial Day (November 18th) commemorates the deaths of Rohingya Refugees on forced repatriations in Bangladesh from 1993 onwards Darkness Day (December 28th) marks the day of Burma conquered ARAKAN by Burma king Buda Puya on 1784. Lailatul Qadr - Towards the end of Ramadan, Muslims observe the "Night of Power," which is when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad Eid al-Fitr - At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate "The Festival of Fast-Breaking." Shabe Barat - The Night of Freedom when Allah (God) frees all His sinful servants who were destined for Hell and the Eminent Quran descended in it. Hajj - Each year during the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, millions of Muslims make an annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia called Hajj. Eid al-Adha - At the end of the annual pilgrimage, Muslims. Henna Henna is a traditional and religion practise or art both used by women and men alike. It is mentioned in so many of the sayings of the Prophet (Muhammad) that it has effects of medicinal and beauty. Henna paste (Mehendi in Rohingya language) is made from Henna leaves and ground until it become paste and used by women and girls in the occasions of engagement, wedding, religious ceremony or normal day. It is applied overnight on hands, nails and faces with different patterns of art or word. The colour of Henna appears after a few hours of application of the paste and lasts three to four weeks. Elderly Rohingya men also use Henna as a way of the Prophet on either hair or beard which made them golden or light red coloured. From the point of medicine, Henna paste plays an important role in Rohingya lives as a home remedy which is applied on injuries like of opened or closed broken bones, dislocation of joints or acute illnesses such as headache, backache, stomach pain or burns as a source of pain-killer, tissue growth and bone or joint stabilizer. Rohingya Sport & Game Kéla literally means sport or game in Rohingya language, and there are many indigenous Kéla which are held based on seasons, genders and ages. Many are held in summer and winter although there are some in rainy season. One of the most cel-ebrated sports is Gáñthi Kéla (Rowing) with 10 to 20 rowers on a boat which is wider than mod-ern rowing boat. Some of the oth-er popular sports are Boli Kéla (wrestling), Qundha Kéla (Rounded Stone Lifting), Doóp Marani Kéla (Diving and Swim-ming), and Paddy Transplanting Competition. Youngsters of both genders are also very keen in playing various games such as Bosgya Buri Kéla (Bag Jumping), Saws Sa Rani Kéla (Slippering), Kut Kut Kéla (Hopscotch), Rosi Fal Doní Kéla (Rope Jumping), Moól Kéla (a kind of Bounding crossing), Gíla Kéla (Monkey Ladder Bean Throwing), Dhudhu Kéla (Chasing Calling Dhu) and Dhang Kéla (Batting of cylindri-cal piece of wood). Rohingya Music & Song Music and song reflect lives of people the way they think, feel, express and the way they are. Likewise, the lives of Rohingyas are influenced with one of the most important factors of culture; music and song. Rohingyas use many traditional instruments such as Tobla and Juri in combination of modern musical instruments. Song plays an oral medium for transmitting emotion, feeling and sentiment of Rohingyas in order to keep their history alive to the majority of non-literate commu-nity through religious, philo-sophical and country songs. In summer time, many Rohingya youngsters go for singing under the moonlit nights with or with-out their musical instruments to feel fresh. There are also many groups of singers and musicians who release songs of all genres, and even it is easy for anyone who wants to dedicate a song for special one mentioning the name in the song from his or her fa-vourite singer. Howla is a kind of popular song sung in almost every wedding ceremony by women accompa-nied with dancing. Bitayali Geét (song), Jari Geét and Gazír Geét are some of the melodious songs popular among Rohingya com-munity. It is well noted that Rohingya Music and Song was broadcasted on May 15, 1962, the year before Ne Win military regime sieged power. Rohingya Clothes & Dress Rohingyas traditionally follow the Indo-Burmese dresses which date back to the origin of Rohingya hundreds of years ago. Normally, Rohingyas dresses are undistinguishable the way ordinary Burmese dresses. Men wear Bazu (shirt with long sleeves) and Longgi or Doothi (loincloths) covering till ankles. In addition to these, the religious scholars prefer wearing Kurutha, Jubba or Panjabi (long clothes) together with hats with or without turbans. In official or national occasions, Rohingya men sometimes wear Taikpon (collarless jackets) on top of the shirts. Similarly Rohingya women follow the modest Islamic code of dress. Once reached the state of puberty, Rohingya girls are advised to dress as modest as possible and reflect morality and privacy. When going outdoors, they wear Burkha covering from neck to below ankles and wrists along with Hijab (scarves) covering heads accompanying umbrella regardless of weather. But at home, they wear scarves, long or short sleeved clothes with Thain (loincloths with various patterns of art or flowers). For the prayer purpose, they tend to wear white long-sleeved clothes and big scarves. In the time of festivals, Rohingya youths try to wear as nice as possible with the blends of t-shirts, polo-shirts, Panjabi (Indo dresses) and jeans. The commonest of all is wearing slippers (Sandal) both men and women alike; lighter, slimmer and smaller for women. Rohingya Food Rice is the staple food grain for Rohingyas. The diet of Rohingyas is simple rice, fish, vegetables, milk and chillies; meat is taken occasionally. The majority of Rohingyas eat fishes with fresh vegetables or potatoes. Dry fishes and salted fishes are also not uncommon among Rohingyas. On all festive occasions, cows, water buffaloes and goats are slaughtered for sale and distribution. They eat mutton, beef and chicken after “Halal” according to Islamic teaching. People during Manrique’s days were very fond of rice cake and dried fish. The traveller writes; “Rice cakes, the usual food for these people without which, in spite of eating other food, they still feel hungry” (Manrique, 1, 99) People of this district still prepare variety of rice cakes popularly known as Pitha on special occasions or whenever need rises. Sidol (decomposed fish), Xaga (Hak or vegetables), dried fish, etc. were some of the common food of the common people of Arakan-Chittagong region during Manrique’s time. (S.B. Qanungo’s A History of Chittagong P. 545). The Arakan with its geographical location inherits a mixed culture in food Indian cuisine, the Rakhine dish and the English. While snacks of foreign nature are commonly made, the traditional snacks known as “Pira” is in vogue. ‘Pira’ is made of rice powder. Coconut, molasses, etc. Durús Kura (Chicken Roast) Recipe Ingredients: - a whole young chicken without skin - onion - garlic - spice - tumeric - spice - black pepper - cardamon - cinnamon - salt Method: Chicken: - remove skin, giblets and feet - twist and put neck into a chest hole, and legs into abdominal cavity - apply tumeric inside and outside the chicken Marinade: - heat 4 tsp of oil in medium - put 2 tsp of minced garlic, 3 tsp of minced onion, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 2 tsp of spice and stir well for 3 minutes - put whole chicken while applying the mari-nade inside and outside - add 200 ml of hot water and 1 tsp of salt to taste - stir and cook for 30-45 minutes Gravy: - put 2 sliced onions on 2 tsp of medium heated oil until it gets brown - add another onion into halves, 4 cardamon seeds and 2 small pieces of cinnamon- transfer the marinaded chicken and fry until it is brown for 5-8 minutes and now ready to be served.

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