THET or KADU or ASAK and , SAKA and CHAKMA

The Kadu, who called themselves “Asak”, are well known among their neighbours  for  their hospitality. No traveler arriving in a village unannounced or  a sick or old person  will lack a roof or a meal. Partly it is the attitude of their Buddhist religion and partly it is the character of the people. The Kadu population in Banmauk Township is estimated  to be at least 30,000 by the local Kadu leaders. There are also Kadu villages in Indau  and Pinlebu Townships and elsewhere, but it is not known how many Kadu live in these  places. The pronounciation of the word “Sak” in Burmese is ‘Thet’. Taylor (1922)  claimed that the Sak inhabited the upper part of the Irrawaddy valley and might have also spread into Manipur and become the ancestors of the Andro and Sengmai tribes.  Luce (1985:36) confirm this claim and says that the Sak languages were “once spread over the whole north of Burma, from Manipur perhaps to northern Yunnan.” Luce  considers the Kadu to be the earliest settlers of the region, saying “ a sure sign of antiquity is when one finds a language, unmistakably fragmented, spoken by minorities in remote places, widely separated from each other by major languages.”  Linguistically,  there is a strong connection between Kadu and the Thet or Sak, who are scattered parts  of Rakhine State and also across the Bangladesh border (Ah Ko Saw 1988:1). They are also sometimes referring to as “Thau Kadu”  (Nu Nu 1991:3). The native speakers of Sak in Bangladesh often refer to themselves as Chak or Chakma,  however, linguistically, the Chak is a distinct group from Chakma (Maggard 2007:1).  The Chak are unmistakably kin of the Kadu. Many Kadu leaders also acknowledge this  fact.( David Sangdong :2012)  

Where the Kadu lives?

Sagaing Division, where this research took place, is the largest division in the country

(See Figure 2). It is home to many Tibeto-Burman (TB) languages such as Bamar, Chin,

Naga, and Kadu. Many Tai/Shan speaking people, particularly Tailiang (Red Shan), are

also found in this state. It is bordered by Arunachal Pradesh of India on the North;

Nagaland and Manipur states of India, and Chin state of Myanmar on the West; Magwe

and Mandalay divisions on the South; Shan state on the East; and Kachin state on the

Northeast. The northern part is mountainous and home to many Naga languages. The

southern part, however, is relatively flat and home to Bamar, Karen, Tai and Mon

speakers. The majority of the population in this division are Bamar speakers.

In the  southwest part, the area adjacent to Chin state, several Chin languages are spoken. The

central part has been home to the Kadu and their related speech varieties for centuries. (David 

Sangdong :2012) 

  Kindly refer full details for Kadu Thet  http://victoria.linguistlist.org/~lapolla/downloads/Sangdong-2012-Grammar_of_Kadu.pdf

The speakers of the Kadu language live in Banmauk, Indau, and Pinlebu, which are  three townships in Katha District, Sagaing Division, Myanmar (see  Figure 3and Figure 4). Among these three, Banmauk has the largest Kadu population and Pinlebu has the smallest Kadu population. See  Figure 3 for a rough hand-drawn map showing the township boundaries. The current Kadu populated area is highlighted in gray. (Sangdong :2012; 10)

Chakmas

It is notionally believed that Chakmas have genealogical link with Arakanese for the reason that those who inhabited in the Chittagong hill tracts are known to be Annakya Chakmas and those who were in Arakan (Myanmar) are called Doingnak (Daing-net) Chakma and Tangchangya Chakma (they moved into Chittagong hill Tracts around 1819 AD). They use Chakma as surname. Arakan was known as Rowyangya and some of them are called Rowyangya Chakma. In 1582 AD Chittagong was annexed to Brittish Company during the reign of Todar Mal (Mughal).  (Talukdar, SP)

                                       Chakma Girls - Happy and Vibrant: Source: Internet)

Now it is time to consider about the the Rowyangya or Rohingya. They are also sharing the same ancestry with Thet,  Kadu or Asak, Sak and , Sakas, But they are not fortune enough to live in their home lands. Why? See the following Rohingya Girl. Does she look happy?  There are  a lot of unanswered questions for these descendants of Sakyavamsa or Thar-kee-win-myo. Why? We would request the reader to explore more and help as any ways you can.