ISLAM, Dr M Zulfiquar Ali (University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh)

							ISLAM, Dr M Zulfiquar Ali (University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh)
Diverse Rites of Passage of the Terrace Ethnic Communities:
A Study of Barind Tract in Northwestern Bangladesh


The paper discusses the diverse rites of passage that two terrace ethnic
communities observe in their everyday lives from birth to death. The paper
targets their life stages, from conception, birth, and childhood to elder status
and death, through their adolescence and adulthood. It also endeavors to
point toward the changes in their life cycle from the mundane to miraculous
events occurring in the interplay of their biological development and cultural
rites. The paper, primarily based on data gathered through observation, focus
group discussions, oral histories, and case studies, elucidates the cultural
diversities between the rites of passage of two ethnic communities in close
proximity and identical geographic environment. Finally, the paper adopts
cultural advocacy in making suggestions for ethnic cohesion in adapting to the
changes occurring in their subsistence that affect their rites of passage.