Social Science and Human Research Bulletin

This paper examines the relationship between oral traditions, linguistic continuity, and cultural identity among the Chakmas of Assam, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) with a long history of migration and displacement. Drawing upon borderland theory, ethnolinguistics, and oral narrative studies, the study investigates how migration memories, Theravada Buddhist institutions, bilingual practices, and ritual performances contribute to the preservation of collective identity. The research adopts a qualitative ethnographic methodology involving participant observation, semi-structured interviews, oral history collection, and linguistic documentation in Chakma settlements of Hailakandi and Karbi Anglong districts. The paper argues that oral narratives function as alternative archives of historical memory while bilingualism produces adaptive and hybrid forms of belonging rather than simple cultural erosion. Buddhist monasteries, ritual festivals, and oral storytelling continue to sustain intergenerational continuity despite the pressures of modernization, migration, and linguistic assimilation. The study contributes to broader discussions on indigenous resilience, borderland identity, endangered languages, and cultural preservation in Northeast India. It also recommends community-based language documentation, mother-tongue education, and digital archival initiatives for safeguarding indigenous knowledge systems.

Chakma, PVTG, oral traditions, borderland identity, linguistic continuity, Buddhism, Assam, indigenous studies.

1. Ahmed, I., & Chakma, P. (2021). Indigenous displacement, memory, and identity politics in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 6(4), 356–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/2057891120947065
2. Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands/La Frontera: The new mestiza. Aunt Lute Books.
3. Baruah, S. (2005). Durable disorder: Understanding the politics of Northeast India. Oxford University Press.
4. Baruah, S. (2020). Tribal identities and borderland politics in Northeast India. Asian Ethnicity, 21(3), 345–362. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2019.1605942
5. Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.
6. Borah, R. (2022). Language endangerment and indigenous communities in Northeast India. International Journal of Multilingualism, 19(5), 742–758. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2020.1841127
7. Bruner, J. (1991). The narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry, 18(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1086/448619
8. Chakma, D., & Singh, M. (2023). Oral traditions and cultural resilience among displaced indigenous communities of Northeast India. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 58(6), 1184–1201. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096221148763
9. Chakraborty, D. (2022). Oral traditions and indigenous identity in Northeast India. Journal of Tribal Studies, 10(2), 45–62.
10. Datta, B. (2018). Language, migration and identity among the Chakmas of Northeast India. Language in India, 18(6), 112–126.
11. Datta, S. (2021). Migration, memory and border identities in Northeast India. South Asia Research, 41(2), 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280211000345
12. Deori, M. (2024). Indigenous language preservation and digital media practices in Northeast India. Language Documentation & Conservation, 18, 55–78. Language Documentation & Conservation Journal
13. Duranti, A. (1997). Linguistic anthropology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511810190
14. Dutta, P., & Goswami, A. (2022). Buddhism and ethnic identity formation among minority communities in Northeast India. Contemporary South Asia, 30(4), 521–536. https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2022.2034187
15. Finnegan, R. (2012). Oral literature in Africa. Open Book Publishers. https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0025
16. Fishman, J. A. (1991). Reversing language shift: Theoretical and empirical foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853591211
17. Ghosh, S. (2023). Cultural memory and indigenous oral narratives in South Asia. Memory Studies, 16(5), 987–1003. https://doi.org/10.1177/17506980221111234
18. Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834
19. Hobsbawm, E., & Ranger, T. (Eds.). (1983). The invention of tradition. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107295636
20. Hymes, D. (1974). Foundations in sociolinguistics: An ethnographic approach. University of Pennsylvania Press.
21. Kar, B. K. (2009). Identity politics in Northeast India: The case of the Chakmas. Indian Anthropologist, 39(1), 67–82.
22. Kikon, D. (2021). Living with oil and coal: Resource politics and indigenous worlds in Northeast India. Economic and Political Weekly, 56(17), 42–49. Economic and Political Weekly
23. Lama, M. P. (2020). Borderland studies and transnational identities in Eastern South Asia. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 35(4), 567–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2018.1548102
24. Misra, U. (2014). India’s Northeast: Identity movements, state and civil society. Oxford University Press.
25. Nath, R., & Boro, J. (2023). Indigenous festivals and community identity in Northeast India. Asian Ethnicity, 24(2), 231–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2022.2045678
26. Nongbri, T. (2003). Development, ethnicity and gender: Select essays on tribes in India. Rawat Publications.
27. Ricoeur, P. (1984). Time and narrative (Vol. 1). University of Chicago Press.
28. Roy, R. D. (2000). Land rights of the indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
29. Saikia, A. (2022). Ecological memory and indigenous storytelling traditions in Northeast India. Humanities, 11(5), 102. https://doi.org/10.3390/h11050102
30. Schendel, W. van. (2005). The Bengal borderland: Beyond state and nation in South Asia. Anthem Press.
31. Sen, S. (2019). Borderland identities and migration narratives in Northeast India. South Asian Studies, 35(3), 287–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2019.1638762
32. Sharma, H. (2021). Multilingualism and youth identity in India’s border regions. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2021(269), 141–160. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2020-2104
33. Smith, A. D. (1991). National identity. University of Nevada Press.
34. Talukdar, S., & Das, P. (2024). Digital archives and indigenous cultural preservation in Northeast India. Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, 39(1), 188–205. https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqad067
35. Thiong’o, N. wa. (1986). Decolonising the mind: The politics of language in African literature. James Currey.
36. Tripura, B. (2023). Ritual, religion and ethnic continuity among Buddhist tribal communities in Northeast India. Religion Compass, 17(9), e12498. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12498
37. UNESCO. (2003). Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage. UNESCO Publishing. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention
38. United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. (2022). Indigenous peoples and cultural preservation in South Asia. UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
39. Vansina, J. (1985). Oral tradition as history. University of Wisconsin Press.
40. Verghese, B. G. (1996). India’s Northeast resurgent: Ethnicity, insurgency, governance, development. Konark Publishers.
41. Yusuf, A. (2017). Buddhism and cultural identity among the Chakmas of Northeast India. Asian Ethnicity, 18(4), 512–528. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631369.2016.1245134
42. Zaman, M. Q. (2021). Borders, migration and indigenous belonging in South Asia. Modern Asian Studies, 55(6), 1931–1958. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X21000154
43. Zimmermann, K. (2015). Indigenous languages, identity, and cultural survival in South Asia. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2015(233), 89–108. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2014-0037