Ramu Buddhist temples

Ramu’s Buddhist life is still very much alive. Monks in saffron robes walk the lanes in the morning, and the temples fill on full-moon days.

• Probarona Purnima, the full moon that ends the monks’ rainy-season retreat, is Ramu’s biggest celebration: lanterns are released into the sky and decorated boats shaped like ships are floated on the Bakkhali river.
• In April the Rakhine community celebrates Sangrai, their new year water festival.
• Rakhine households are known for handwoven cloth on traditional looms.

Ramu, a short drive from Cox’s Bazar on the road towards Chattogram, has been a centre of Buddhism in this region for centuries. Its Rakhine and Barua Buddhist communities keep a cluster of monasteries (kyang) and pagodas here, some built in the old Burmese style with carved wood, and others holding bronze and stone images of the Buddha.

The best-known sight today is the large reclining Buddha at a monastery on the edge of the town, one of the biggest statues of its kind in the country.

In September 2012, several of Ramu’s temples and many Buddhist homes were attacked and burned in a night of communal violence that shocked the whole country. The temples were rebuilt within about a year, and neighbours of every faith stood with the Buddhist community. Visiting quietly and respectfully is a small way of honouring that.