Daingnet people

Daingnet

ဒိုင်းနက်
Total population
80,000 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar (Rakhine State)
Languages
Chakma · Burmese
Religion
Theravada Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Chakmas, Burmans, Rakhines, Tibetans

The Daingnet people (Burmese: ဒိုင်းနက်လူမျိုး), also known as the Thetkama people (Burmese: သက္ကမ)^[1] are an ethnic group indigenous to northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. According to their own internal census in 1995 they numbered about 60,000. In 2011, the number is estimated to be around 80,000. From appearance they are indistinguishable from the Rakhine people; however, the Daingnet people have a distinct language and culture. Ethnically, they are closely related to the Chakma people of Bangladesh and Northeast India. The languages of the Daingnet and Chakma people are mutually intelligible. Daingnet people are one of 135 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Myanmar government as indigenous to Myanmar. Daingnets are one of the Tibeto-Burman tribes. Genetically they are closely related to the Tibetans, Burmans and Rakhines.