Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com A Study on the Settlement Morphology of Tipra ethnic group in Sreemangal, Bangladesh 1 Sazdik Ahmed*1, Shahla Safwat Ravhee1, Shah Mohammad Adnan 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh 2 Architect, Insignia Studio, Dhaka, Bangladesh *Corresponding Authors: sazdik-arc@sust.edu ABSTRACT Tipra community is one of the major ethnic groups living in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh Tipra tribes are living in the Chittagong Hills tract, Cumilla, Noakhali, and Sylhet region. They have a distinct culture, socio economic pattern, food habits, marital customs, rites and rituals and other customs from the rest of the people of the country. Their large historical background and lifestyle is manifested in their significant housing and settlement pattern. Their neighborhood and community life is strong though they have a poor economic condition. This paper attempts to search for the settlement pattern and archetype of their settlement. A limited work had been done on settlement pattern of Tipra ethnic group also their socio-cultural condition and socioeconomic situation needs more to be revealed .Moreover, this study tries to collect information from a Tipra village called Dolubari Tipra Village at Sreemangal, Moulovibazar. It is expected that after examining all the information about Tipra ethnic group an archetype and settlement pattern of ethnic housing can be construct. Keywords-- Tipra tribe, ethnic community, ethnic housing, archetype, settlement pattern, Neighborhood INTRODUCTION Somewhere about most of the Tipra ethnic groups living in the state of Tripura, India, notwithstanding a large number of them also found in Bangladesh. Tipra are called sometimes as “Tipperah” or “Tripura”. Their native language is KOKBOROK but most of them know Bengali who are living in Bangladesh. Tipra people are an age old ethnic group of Bangladesh. Mostly they are found in the Chittagong Hills Tract district as well as in Noakhali and Cumilla. During British period they are known as plains Tipperah in this region [1]. Nowadays they are found in Sylhet and some far north of Bangladesh. These places are 22 characterized by low mountains, hills and valleys, and some flat lands all covered by dense tropical growth [2]. The ethnic people reveal their cultural identity through their unique rituals, social organization, language, festival dress, art and craft and also in their spatial characteristic of the house forms and settlements [3]. Development of an ethnic housing as well as settlement depends on the activity pattern, available building material, socioeconomic condition, socio-cultural activities, neighborhood, environment and geo-climatic factors as in [4]. The change of places effects on their built forms and day of living because they do not have any written documents about their history, culture or house form and settlement pattern. They used to move into modern masonry buildings, which are threatening the existence of the particular house form and settlement pattern of this ethnic community. This paper aims to identify the ethnicity, habitat, socio-economic, cultural practice, building material and technique of this community. After analyzing the information of Ethnographic research, this study also tries to find out the archetype and settlement pattern of ethnic housing. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY This research aims to investigate suitable information for the analysis of "Tipra Tribe”. Their living pattern, social condition and the economic condition of the Tipra people living in Bangladesh region has some identical attributes. To identify the core attributes, which are essential for sustainable domestic environment of ethnic housing trough analyzing the Tipra community this study will help. This study analyzes different stages of human settlements (rural, semi urban and urban) and specially the migration of Tipra ethnic group form upper courses of the Yangtze kiang and the Hwang Ho Rivers in Western China. Contribute towards an analytical architectural characteristic, ethnicity, habitat, space distribution, building material and technique of this community and to search for the pattern language and archetype of their settlement this study may assist. Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com METHODOLOGY The main approach of the research was Ethnographic research method to address the key problems due to lack of literature and data on the study area. To collect the data preliminary survey on site was the main key. Research method is following below stages. Selection of the Study Area According to the objectives of the research at first the study area was selected to study. Dolubari Tipra Village at Sreemangal, Moulovibazar was selected by researcher. Almost every physical structure is located beneath this area [5]. Collection of Data According to Linda Groat [6], participation of users of that context should be the main source of information. Data collections were incorporated with users’ perception in this research. The collection of data process is followed by the User perception Investigation and Literature survey. User perception Investigation: During this research period all over the village was surveyed. Users were interviewed with 30 questions which deal with their occupation, settlement history, climatic comfort, use patterns of forms, legal or ownership issues and some social aspects. Some other issues like the living environment condition were also included in that questionnaire. All the data collected form the ethnographic surveys were accrued to provide a brief response of governing context when this particular settlement pattern emerged. Literature survey: In this research literature survey did not played an effective role due to lack of evidences on them [7]. But publish books, articles, magazines, published and unpublished theses on Tipra were used as the reference to understand socio-economic condition and cultural ethnicity of the community. Physical Survey of site and structures A team comprising with the researchers and some volunteers was formed to conduct the site survey and collect the data of the structures. The houses were surveyed to know the indoor outdoor spatial connection, courtyard and settlement pattern. Location of kitchen, cow shed, tube well, verandah and other service area were examined carefully to identify the functional use and daily activities. Interviews and group discussions with the community people and the village council gives a broad understanding about the context and their housing style. Analyzing Data This study report was made after collecting all the data from ethnographic survey. After analyzing all the data form the view point of an ethnographic survey this study helps to reveal a particular style. BACKGROUND STUDY Historical Background Figure 1: Geographical and Migration mapping of Tipra community in Bangladesh (Dolubari Tipra Village at Sreemangal, Moulovibazar). 23 Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com Assumed that “Tipra” word originated from Tuipra and after that it gradually becomes Tipra and Tripura. By the non-Aryan Kirates, in accordance to “Kailash Chandra Singh” Tipras used ‘Tui” in their dialect to state water. The word “Pra” comes from the Tuipara which have been suffixed with “Tui” and invent that word “Tipra” [8]. Tipra ethnic groups are Indo-mongoloid or Kirata, also identified as the inhabitants of prominent Bodo community of Brahmaputra valley and northern part of Bengal [9]. Tipra are thoughtfully considered as the part of TibetoBurmese ethnic group [10]. Nearby the uppers courses of two intended river the Hwang Ho and the Yangtze kiang Rivers of Western China they started their migrated. Before the Sui dynasty came to power they left China. Because of they used to be animists at the time of their migration, it may be reasonably accepted that their migration occurred before the Buddhism was introduced in China in 65AD. It is said by the Central Institute of Indian Languages that the common reference to Tipra ethnic group as “Kiratas” and “Cinas” are found in the early Sanskrit texts of India. It confidently indicates that long before the dawn of Christian era, they came down to the Assam valley. During the British rules, Tripura was divided into two parts. Who are living in the hills are called “Hill Tipperah” and the groups of plain lands are called “Chakla Roshnabad”. Both of the names are given by the British rulers and after 1920 the Hill Tipperah becomes the Tripura The Zamindari rule of Chakla Roshnabad came with the vast areas of the districts of Tipperah (Cumilla, Noakhali and Sylhet) of the then Colonial Bengal [11]. Among the 36 groups of Tripuras, 16 are currently living in Bangladesh [12]. If we see the timeline of their migration from Tibet to Bangladesh we can easily relate them with their main lifestyle. Table 1: Timeline of Tipra tribes’ migration from Tibet to Bangladesh. Timeline 5000 B.C 4000 B.C Before 65 A.D 65 A.D Sui Dynasty (589–618 CE) 580 A.D 590 A.D 7th century 1513 A.D 1581 A.D 1658 A.D 1660 A.D 1900 A.D After 19th century-recent History The Mongolians came the eastern part of India crossing the Tibet and Siberiya. Tibetu Barman a part of Mongolians had a part called Boro or Bodo, who are known as Tipra or Tripura [8]. A part of Boro made permanent settlement on the bank of Ganga, Shitolikkha and Bramhaputra. They are later known as Tripura. They are Indo Mongoloyed [8] They are migrated before that time because at first they were animist. Buddhism was introduced to China. Some left China and came to live in Assam valley via Tibet-Yunan province tract and finally reach Tripura [13]. Maharaj BIR CHANDRA came to the power of Tripura. Attacked Bangladesh and takeover on some parts of it They were able to expand their influences in Chittagong, Cumilla, Noakhali and Sylhet. Ruled from Kailashahar in North Tripura. The Tripuri people used "Fa" as their title, "pha" in Kokborok means "Father". [8] They concur Chittagong and take over Cox’s Bazar and Ramu. Mughal Pathan came to bangle and tries to take over on the whole bangle. Udaymanikkyo Renamed the Tripura part of Rangamati. He named it Udaypur after his name and establishes the capital there. The boundary was from the western part to Barma, north- Asham’s Kamrup to southBarma border [8]. They got only the Parbotto – Tripura after the fight with the Mughals, Arakans and Portugese and some groups splits in Sylhet region. They are living in different parts of Bangladesh as well as our survey village of Moulovibazar, Sylhet. Recent Activities Living pattern Tipra people used to live in a small village near the river of the valley. They make their built forms in slope of the hill with group of 5-50 family. Houses are 5'-6' elevated from the ground to protect them from wild animals and use the space as storage. In present most of them live in flat land they use normal plinth. Occupation Most of the Tripura are farmers. Slash and burn 24 agriculture (especially Jhum) is the main source of their income [8]. They use to plant different crops on one site, for this firstly they cut down that portion of forest than burn the residues. Plow cultivation in the lowland areas are also popular. They also have some domestic animals like pig, sheep, goat, water buffaloes and other cattle. Beside this women made Handicraft. Nowadays they involve in different occupation. Mainly males are the earning member of the family and women made handicraft to make contribution into the family. Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com Figure 2: Living Pattern of Tipra People in Bangladesh. Figure 3: Handicraft and Jhum culture of Tipra people. leaves home while the father is still alive. Eventually the right of inheritance goes to the oldest son who is still living in the home. But other sons or daughters receive nothing from this. Other sons or daughters provision of inheritance is only effective when that family does not have any sons or the eldest son is not in that state to receive it [7]. Socio Economic Condition Most of the Tipra family are joint family. Family inheritances of Tipra ethnic group are from Father sided. All the property of his father is automatically inherited by the oldest son of the family. He forfeits all his inheritance rights if he Table 2: Yearly income chart (physical survey). Income per Year 50000 - 100000 100000 - 150000 150000 - Above Total Socio Cultural Condition Dress pattern Traditionally, a Tipra man wares only a turban (khaban) and a loincloth or dhuti (a narrow piece of cloth clad round the waist and between the legs with a fringed end hanging down from the rear). They wear a ruggedly sewn jacket in winter days [7]. Traditional dress for women is risa (a piece of cloth made by lion loom) and rignai. Married woman ware a skirt. Unmarried girls distinguish themselves by wearing colorful clothes. Men and women wear crescent shaped silver earrings. Women also put on some additional jewelry on their hair, neck, wrists, ankles and noses. Person 18 12 10 40 Percentage 45% 30% 25% 100% Marriage Ritual The custom of arrange marriage is followed though the marriage is usually arranged by the parents. At the time of marriage the groom don’t have to pay the “Bride Price” but he have to live in bride’s home for at least two years and work there for her family. Until he is able to build a house for his family, he can sell some of the crops from there. Within or outside of their tribe they are allowed to marry. In their culture divorce in not an illegal affair, though they can mutually consent divorce but in that case, when either party wants the separation without reasonable reason than he/she must pay the amends [7]. Figure 4: Dress and Marriage Ritual of Tipra Tribe. Religion Mainly Tipra people follow Vashnava Hinduism. They have a strong belief in the unseen 25 Gods and Demons. It is said that before the accession of Tri-lochen, they worshiped no idols but objects of nature such as trees, stone, and animals [7]. Also they worship other elements of Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com nature as gods like fire, forest and water. They are highly influenced with the natural spirits and also have believed in Ojhas (shamans: priests in their dialect). Small numbers of them are Christian and Muslim. Hinduism has influenced deeply the ethnic society. Their festivals are mainly base on their worship of Gods like the Gariya puja, hungrai, Lakshmi puja, Narayan puja. Language Tripuris belong to the Bodo group of Indo- Mongoloid origin and their mother tongue belongs to the Kok-borok linguistic group which has its origin in the Assam branch of the Tibeto-Burma language under the Sino-Tibetan family [8, 12]. Kok-borok is Tipras native language where the “Kok” stands for language and “borok” for man. It denotes that Kokborok is “the language of the Borok People” or simply “the language of man” [10]. Dialects of Kok-Borok can be found in written format of Bengali script hence there is no own script of their own. For reading and writing nowadays they use the Bengali. Figure 5: Kokobarak Alphabets. Table 3: Educational facility of Tipra Tribe in Sreemangal, source: Physical Survey. Educational Standard Illiterate Primary Secondary Higher Secondary Graduation Total Person 15 10 6 5 4 40 Percentage 37.5% 25% 15% 12.5% 10% 100% Table 4: Population of Tipra Tribe in Bangladesh [2], source: Census of India and Bangladesh. Year 1981 1990 1995 2000 2009 2019 Education and Population Educational facility is very poor among the Tipra ethnic group. We can find educational attainment is higher for males than for female. Though 38% of its overall population is illiterate but nowadays new generations of them are attending schools. From the census of 1881 we can find the major portion of Tripura people are living in the Chittagong Hilly Tracks (15,054) and the lowest in Dhaka (4). In Cumilla the number of Tipra are 1895 where in Faridpur it is 101 and in Barisal, Noakhali, Sylhet it is gradually 45, 16, and 268. The population of Tipra in Chittagong Hilly Tracks accounts for 6.6% of the overall ethnic groups there. 26 Population 40,000 64,700 72,100 80,500 1,17,300 7,55,000 ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES OF TIPRA SETTLEMENT Settlement Pattern At the early age Tipras generally build their built forms at the top of the hilly tracks or the near to the water source. That’s why they come with the linear settlement pattern. The built forms of their settlements are too close to one another and highly dense to protect themselves from adversaries. The growths of built forms are road sided and peripheral. Built Form Pattern Name of their house pattern is NOK. They built Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com houses in hilly areas using bamboo, wood, rope, thatch. The built forms are 5-6 feet elevated from the ground and a ladder is added with the NOK. Mud and bamboo are the primary materials for constructing a house in flat land Roof materials are mainly corrugated sheet or thatch. A few of them who are wealthier enough can afford the houses with roof tile. Internal rooms are directly connected. They use bamboo strip as blinds. Small cattle house attached with the main built forms. It’s made by bamboo and 3'/4' height from ground. A small space (like verandah) added in front of the house. Most of the time it is used for waste loom. Figure 6: Settlement pattern and different types of built forms of Dolubari Tipra Village. Architectural characteristic of built forms Form: The forms are rectilinear in shape and also rectangular in elevation. They follow a linear circulation where one by one room is linearly connected with it. They usually have a rectangular inner court or connective pathways. Plan: Built forms has elevated plinth or raised platform. Sometimes they use square Figure 7: Different types of plan of built forms. 27 shape or octagonal shape free column used to hold the roof of veranda. An attached cattle shed can be found with the main built form. The plinth & walls are made of mud and the height of the plinth is about 1’-6”. The width of the wall is 20” & 15” thick. The sizes of the window opening of the forms are about 30”x24”. They use 12” bamboo blinds on the top portion of the wall. Timbers made beams are used between two load bearing walls. Figure 8: Form shape and Plan of a built form. Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com Figure 9: Built forms in different orientations. Figure 10: Sections of the built forms. Figure 11: Different types of built form and their Roofing style. Table 5: Name and use of the spaces of the built forms. Name of space Khatal Khatal Nagrai Ni Mai Mu Shangnai Nokshar Chokrang Nugui Use of space For Husband & Wife For Children For Guest For Cooking Drawing Room Wash Room Open Space Spaces: As the built form is called NOK, like that different spaces are called in different names. Table 4 shows the name of different spaces of Tipra tribes built forms. In every built form the spaces are arranged sequentially. Materials: Tipras used to build their roofs with Thatch and Corrugated sheets. As thatch is very much available within their surroundings they prefer to use that. But thinking about durability nowadays we can see that a lot of them are using corrugated sheets. Enclosures or walls are made of Bamboo, Mud and Wood. Sometimes they made the frame of the built forms with bamboo or wood and use a layer of mud over it. Lighting and Ventilation System Doors and Windows are the main source of light and ventilation. They also use bamboo blinds for lighting and ventilation system over the clearstory level. Windows are made of bamboo and have enough space to pass the light and wind. Light and wind which are coming from different levels of the surface helps the form to breathe adequate. Figure 12: Lighting and ventilation system of the built forms. 28 Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com after that comes the entrance of the built form. They have a sense of inner and outer courtyard space. Each of the courtyards arranged with a cluster. Service functions are arranged at the corner of the courtyard. Spatial Quality and Sequences Each of the built forms is accessed from the linear directions. They are arranged around a courtyard. Main entrance is lead to the courtyard Figure 13: Space sequence of the settlement. Figure 14: Spatial quality of the settlement. AN IDENTICAL ARCHETYPE After analyzing all the findings, now we may try to find the archetype of Tipra housing.  For a single family a single built form.  Each and every built form is liner in their pattern.  Within a single built form all the functions like the living, sleeping or prayer space with the granary and indoor kitchen are arranged.  Entrance starts form the linear direction; it can be a verandah like space or covered workspace. 29     There are small windows for light and ventilation. The clearstory with perforated mat-like partition also helps in cross ventilation. Comfortable temperature is ensured by the thick mud-wall. The kitchen is at the rear position of the built form. It also can be accessed from the back of the form. The entry of all dwellings from a common court yard. All families use the courtyard for common function as well as private function. That’s why their community interaction is very high. Page 22-30 © MAT Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Journal of Recent Activities in Architectural Sciences e-ISSN: 2581-9046 Volume-5, Issue-1 (January-June, 2020) https://doi.org/10.46610/JoRAAS.2020.v05i01.003 www.matjournals.com CONCLUSION Tipra people have a unique settlement pattern, archetype and a successful community interactive dwelling space. The outcome of this research also shows that Tipra house form has become an identical feature for the community and that should be preserved. Lack of education keeps them apart from the current world. They are in highly cultural and socio-economic treat at present situation. Community living and social security need to be ensured by taking proper steps form the government and more research work can help in this regard. Some NGOs (Like IDEA) have took some awareness aiming to ensure safe water, improve sanitation, increase practice of hygiene behavior and educational programs for children but not sufficient. It is expected at the end that this study will inspire future researchers, conservators, and architect to work for the survival of Tipra community and their settlement. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Primary data and photographs used in this study are collected from several field surveys from 2013-2019. Photographs from secondary sources are also used. We would like to thank all of the people who helped make this investigation possible, all of the teachers of Dept. of Architecture, SUST for their continuous guidance, valuable suggestions and valuable acumen to make the study possible. A Special thanks to Sabrina Amin Chowdhury, Hamidul Fahad and Dipa Saha who helped the authors to collect and analyze the data and findings from primary source. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. REFERENCES 1. 2. 3. 4. Banglapedia (2020), “National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh”, Tripuris http://en.bangl apedia.org/index.php?title=Tripuris,_The,_2 _January_2020,_Last_modified_on_6_Janua ry_2015. 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