The River Gypsies of Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a north-eastern Asian country, is a riverine country of an estimated 174 million.

Bangladesh has a gypsy people who have no home on the land, but live and move on the river waters.

Their earning is from catching snakes, performing snake charming, and selling herbal medicines, amulets trinkets, etc. to the people on the land.

The Population of River Gypsies

The population of these river gypsies, also known as the Bede people (বেদে), was reported to be around one million according to a source from 2011.

These river gypsies live on riverbeds in their traditional houseboats and move from place to place in these boats. River gypsies are an ethnic group in Bangladesh.

They have their own lifestyles and culture. Bangladeshi gypsy community mostly live in Porabari, Savar, and Dakatia Rivers in Chandpur Sadar district.

In all, they are found in Porabari, Amorpur and Kanconpur villages at Savar (these three villages jointly called the Bedepalli at Savar), a slum behind the East West University at Rampura, Dakatia in Chandpur Saddar, and at Tarabo in Narayanganj City.

Many Bede are mainly illiterate and poverty-stricken, supporting themselves as snake charmers, traditional medicine practitioners, and by selling medicinal herbs and amulets.

However, over the years the demand for their services have declined and they were forced to diversify their livelihoods by such employment as rickshaw pulling, working in mills and factories, and small entrepreneurial businesses.

Some river gypsies were educated and took different jobs in urban centres. Some researches on this community also highlighted the women’s important role in Bede culture and examined their empowerment.

The findings shed light on the Bede community’s socio-economic challenges, such as limited access to
healthcare and educational opportunities, and underline the need to preserve their cultural heritage, while dealing with issues that affect their way of life and overall well-being.

It has been found that the Bede community, is a comparatively understudied nomadic people in
Bangladesh.

It is found by the researchers that 20-39 ages are maximum, and they are almost 70 percent.

In this age most of them (10%) are related to catching fish. In the age of 35-39, (7%) of respondents are related to selling of bangles and trinkets.

Snake catchers are found (7%) also in the age of 30-34. on the other hand, other respondents are related to snake charming, monkey show, business, and snake-catching professions.

(Reference International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources)

The river gypsies mostly earn their livelihood as snake charmers. Every day the people, mostly women, of their community spread out in different areas of the capital and adjoining villages to earn their livelihood by demonstrating their skills as snake charmers.

A large number of Bedes live on snake-related trading e.g. snake catching and snake selling.

Bedes do not have any kind of formal education and they do not use medical facilities. Most of them speak Bengali.

Most of them are Muslim but also practice Hinduism, Shamanism, and Animism along with Islam.

They are related to other South Asian nomadic groups, such as the Dom and Buno people.

The Bedes won the right to vote only in 2008. Before that, they were unable to vote as they did not have voter identification cards.

Bedes had once been highly regarded in Bangladeshi society, but their status declined as the country has modernised over the past 60 years.

98 percent of Bedes live below the poverty line, 95 percent are illiterate, and children are married at age 11 on average.

The average size of a Bangladeshi household is 4.4 but it is 7.5 for Bedes.

Bedes are caught in a tug-of-war between passion for heritage and abject poverty – to continue or let go their ancestral craftsmanship.

A local non-profit organization, Subarnogram Foundation, has set up a school on a boat. Inside, 15 students recite English rhymes, learn arithmetic and the Bengali language.

(Reference: Aljazeera report)

Also read: Affordable Housing Sector – Bangladesh