My Father's Banana Education

 My Father's Banana Education

                             

                                                                                           By Thwee Sa Ching Marma

During my schooling life, it was the most boring period in my life. I always cut school and joined with my cowboy friends. It seemed to me that they were having a great time. They did all kinds of adventurous things. Sometimes I complained to my parents why they could not buy a cow so that I could look after it. One of the best things I liked to do was cooking in the forest. It was so exciting! One will not believe it! Nowadays, still I love cooking!

Education is everywhere beyond age, place and gender.

My parents often punished me because I cut the school. One of the teachers in my school was very close friend of my father. This teacher always complained to my father about me. That’s why I got more punishments. Not only that I wasted a lot of exercise books, making winds-trucks was my favorite pastime. So, I wasted them a lot in doing that with my friends.
My father often scolded me and even he did not give any exercise books when asked. He often told me his story about how he struggled during his schooling life. He never got any chances to complete schooling . He studied only up to grade five. His parents did not allow him to continue. At that time exercise books hardly found. The exercise books they used were ‘banana leaves’. The wooden- ashes were their pens to write. If their teachers gave them exercises in the class, they had to run to the banana garden.

This is how my father was educated. He can still read and write. He always writes me letters. But his hand-writing is not distinct. I have to re-read several times to recognize the letter. This story reminds me always. I am very proud of my father to be born as his son. 

Black Magic: The Silent Weapon of Marma

Black Magic: The Silent Weapon of Marma

This is not only believed and practiced in Marma society, it is also practiced by almost all indigenous groups of Chittagong or elsewhere. Marmas apart being Buddhists, they also believe in animism, shamanism and Mantra. Mantra is a kind of sacred words passed from generation to generation which effect can be bad or good depends on the type of Mantra.  So here i will talk about the bad type of Mantra or black magic which can kill another person just mere reciting of Mantra spell and doing other rituals. This is the silent weapon of murdering another person and is quietly used than any other weapons.

The main reasons behind murdering of another fellow being silently are competition, jealousy, revenge, and hatred.  In the competitive society some people don’t want to see  success of another person and build jealousy towards those successful people. They don't have  the virtue of cultivating joy in other's progress.  Sadly, some think revenge is the only way of defeat and win but they win neither.  

These are some of psychological causes and environmental conditions that cause the use of black magic to kill another person.To do all these process of assassinating, first the person has to go Mantra- man (bhwodoo) and he/she has to tell all the details; to whom he/she wants to execute and how. It seems as part of rituals, some physical parts of the opponent is necessary like hair, cloth, etc and the given written spell has to be buried somewhere in front, back or corner of the house of the opponent secretly. 

After the ritual process, the result is death of the adversary may be within one week or even earlier. The death of the person can bring through biological assignation or mental deform. In the procedure of biological assignation, a piece of pork, hen, knife or whatever can be put or dig (mhro) in the stomach of the person and that cause the person to death. And in the course of psychological deform, the person will act as mad person or more than mad which can lead to self-suicide. 

However the effect can be happened or not, depend on the qualities of  the opponent. It seems sometimes it does not work to virtuous persons; one who follows five precepts of Buddhism or person with protective charm; a tattoo on the body with protective Mantra and restriction of eating certain meat.

This is one of the serious issues that young Marma generation addresses it often. In the eyes of young generation, it is the cause of decline of the society and schism of unity. How many people will die in the course of destructive jealousy, revenge and black magic? How many days will it take to resistance? 

Figure 4: Mudita or sympathetic joy is the greatest conqueror over jealousy not black magic