Muralipara is one of the areas most vulnerable to landslides in Rangamati. The village is predominantly inhabited by members of the Marma and Tonchongya communities. When I arrived there on a pleasant afternoon, the surroundings appeared calm and serene. Yet beneath that tranquillity lay a persistent fear: the fear that the hills overlooking the village could give way at any time.

It was a winter morning when I visited the home of Chingchoyai Marma, a mother of four. She lives in a modest yet beautiful house built from bamboo, wood, and tin. As an outsider to the community, I relied on the assistance of Suronjon Marma, a community member fluent in Bengali, who served as my translator throughout the interview.

I asked Suronjon Marma to speak with Chingchoyai Marma about landslides. Their conversation unfolded in the Marma language, which I could not understand. Yet even without understanding the words, I could see the fear and anxiety reflected on Chingchoyai Marma’s face. As they spoke at length, Suronjon Marma translated their conversation for me.

Chingchoyai Marma with her children Photos: Sifatul Islam

“In the last monsoon season, my husband, my children, and I did not dare to stay in this house,” Chingchoyai Marma said. “The rain was so intense that I constantly feared the mountain above us might collapse and bury us at any moment. We moved to my in-laws’ house and stayed there for two weeks. We returned only after the rain had stopped. Even now, whenever it rains, we become frightened.”

With each passing rainy season, the fear returns. For the indigenous communities of Muralipara, landslides are not occasional disasters but a persistent threat woven into everyday life. Limited land availability and financial hardship prevent most families from relocating permanently. Instead, they remain tied to the hills and seek ways to make their surroundings liveable through ritual practices and cultural traditions.

During our conversation, Chingchoyai Marma described one such ritual that, according to local belief, helps protect families from landslides. She led us to the hilltop beside her house, where she pointed to a small bamboo structure and explained its significance.

The ritual begins with a young bamboo stalk. At the first knot, four strips are cut and separated. Two additional bamboo strips are then inserted between them to form a cross-shaped structure, within which a coin is placed. Once completed, the structure is installed on the hillside.

“When was this bamboo structure placed here?” I asked.

“Last year, after the monsoon,” she replied. “I noticed a crack on the hill above my house. After seeing it, we made this bamboo structure. While placing it, we recited: ‘Dahe Tang Pora.’ The phrase means, ‘Mountain, please do not collapse.’ It is our plea to the mountain not to fall.”

The ritual is performed in the presence of all family members, and Chingchoyai Marma herself places the structure on the hillside.

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The choice of bamboo is significant. Bamboo is deeply embedded in the everyday lives of indigenous communities, serving both practical and symbolic purposes. In this context, it becomes a medium through which people communicate with and seek protection from the mountain itself.

Chingchoyai Marma further explained that on the first day of Ashar, families place a new bamboo structure on the hill and perform the Chumlang Puja, an annual household ritual intended to protect the family from landslides. According to her, the eldest member of the village presides over the ceremony.

Together, the placement of the bamboo structure and the performance of the Chumlang Puja reveal how local communities respond to environmental uncertainty. These rituals represent efforts to make a hazardous landscape liveable and meaningful. In the absence of complete protection from the state or modern infrastructure, indigenous communities have developed their own cultural practices for coping with risk.

Living under the constant threat of landslides, they continue to perform these rituals with faith and conviction, believing that as long as the traditions are maintained, the mountain will not harm them.

Sifatul Islam is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Sustainable Development at Premier University, Chittagong. He completed his MA and M.Phil. from South Asian University, New Delhi, India. He can be reached at [email protected].