Daingnet people

Ethnically, they are closely related to the Chakma people of Bangladesh and Northeast India.

Centuries ago the Rakhine kings hired the Daingnets as soldiers and they showed their mastery with shield and sword.

In the spring of 1798, British explorer Francis Buchanan visited Chittagong Hill Tracts, he asked a Chakma man if they were the same as Sak people in Rakhine State.

What the man meant was, the Saks of Rakhine State retained the original Chakma language.

He might have heard about them from the East India Company officials or the Rakhine refugees who were pouring into Cox's Bazar to flee Burma-Rakhine conflict.

According to Burmese historian Gordon Luce, the Saks (i.e. ancestors of the Daingnets) attained higher cultural level than any other minority peoples in Arakan.

They were the smelters of iron, the distillers of spirits, the makers of earthen vessels, manufacturers of salt, builders of boats etc.

[3] The Daingnet people are found in and around Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Paletwa and Mrauk-U.

Many Daingnets also live in the Arakan Yoma mountains, close to the Chin state and Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The Daingnets are culturally similar to the Chakmas and Rakhines in Bangladesh and Northeast India.