{{Short description|Dragon boat sport in Bangladesh}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox sport | name = Nouka Baich | image = File:Rowing on Canal.jpg | alt = | imagesize = | caption = | union = | nickname = Nowka Bais | first = | firstlabel = | region = Bangladesh | registered = | clubs = | contact = | team = | mgender = | type = Outdoor, aquatic | equipment = Boat, paddle | venue = Body of water | glossary = | olympic = | world = | paralympic = | obsolete = | IWGA = }} '''Nouka Baich''' ({{langx|bn|নৌকা বাইচ}}, lit. ''Boat Race'', also spelt ''Nowka Bais'') is a traditional dragon boat-style paddling sport of Bangladesh. The ''Bangladesh Rowing Federation'', established in 1974, is the authority of all rowing activities in Bangladesh and has organised over 40 National Rowing Championships. The races are held during the wet and autumn seasons of the Bengali calendar which corresponds from June to October in the Gregorian calendar. The "Nowka Bais" which takes place annually in Birmingham is a cultural event in the West Midlands, United Kingdom attracting not only the Bangladeshi diaspora but a variety of cultures.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/news-and-insights/news/2019/st-joseph-makes-a-splash|title=St Joseph makes a splash at the 2019 Nowka Bais|website=Berkeley Group}}</ref> It is also the largest kind of boat race in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/free-festival-street-food-dragon-14826783|publisher=Birmingham Mail|last=Bentley|first=David|date=29 July 2018|title=Free festival with street food and dragon boat racing returns to Birmingham}}</ref>
==Common elements== [[File:Boat Racing.JPG|thumb|right|A Nouka Baich being performed near a rural village in Madhumati River.]] Boats used for Nouka Baich are long with each team can consist from 7 to up to 100 members known as ''majhi''s. Boats with motor engines are not allowed.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.dhakacourier.com.bd/?p=8024|title=Nouka Baich: Heritage of Bangladesh|magazine=Dhaka Courier|date=21 September 2012|access-date=22 October 2014}}</ref> Boats are usually named with attractive and boastful names displaying quality and speed. During inter-riverine competitions, teams are named after their respective 'home rivers'. It is also a social event,<ref name=zahid/> and it is common for the competitors to sing Sari gan folk songs as they compete during the race.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sari Gan |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sari_Gan |website=Banglapedia}}</ref> A popular song is ''Ronger Nao Ronger Boitha, Ronge Ronge Bao (Cheerfully tune the colourful oars of the colourful boat)''.<ref name=folk>{{cite Banglapedia|author=Ahmed, Wakil|article=Folk Literature}}</ref>
==History== thumb|right|A large Nouka Baich competition taking place with over hundreds of participants. With riverine Bangladesh's geography being dominated by the world's largest delta, the country has over 230 rivers in its terrain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bwdb.gov.bd/|script-title=bn:বাংলাদেশ পানি উন্নয়ন বোর্ড|website=Bangladesh Water Development Board|access-date=13 April 2019}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=September 2021}} The rivers have played an important role in the livelihoods of the native Bengali people.
Common in rural areas, Nouka Baich is a very old tradition of the folk Bengali culture going back centuries.<ref name=zahid>{{cite book |last=Islam |first=Zahidul |year=2015 |orig-year=First published 2009 |title=Strengthening State-led Rural Justice in Bangladesh: Views from the Bottom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nwYCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |edition=Second |publisher=CCB Foundation |page=57 |isbn=978-984-91284-1-0 |quote=Bangladesh rural social and cultural life is adorned by a number of ... seasonal event like ''nouka baich''. [Footnote:] Boat race, a centuries old festival of riverine Bangladesh, usually arrange in the rivers when the rivers are full in rainy season or after flood}}</ref> Its popularity in urban areas increased in the 18th century. The various Nawab families throughout Mughal Bengal were also known for organising races and the use of Sari gan started to become more popular.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia|author=S M Mahfuzur Rahman|article=Boat Race}}</ref>
Nouka Baich was also common during the British rule in the Sylhet region after the rainy season when much of the land goes under water. The long canoes were referred to as ''khel naos'' (meaning playing boats) and the use of cymbals to accompany the singing was common.<ref name=allen>{{cite book|title=Assam District Gazetteers|volume=2|year=1905|location=Calcutta|chapter=3. The People: Amusements|author=B C Allen|page=111|publisher=Government of Assam}}</ref>
==Boat variation== [[File:Boat Race in Kaliganga River.png|thumb|right|Nouka Baich taking place in Kaliganga River, South Bengal.]] Different types of boats may be used in different parts of Bangladesh. Straight-back narrow timber boats known as ''kosha''s are used in Mymensingh, Pabna and Dhaka. The latter also uses ''goyna'' boats in its races. The use of ''sarangi'' boats is a tradition of Sylhet, Comilla and Brahmanbaria. Racing with Sampans is common in Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Feni and Noakhali.<ref name=bpedia/>
==Outside Bangladesh== [[File:Burmese regatta.JPG|thumb|right|A traditional Burmese regatta]] The Rakhine Buddhists of Myanmar and some parts of Bangladesh also have a similar tradition called Pailong Poye.
In 2007, the British Bangladeshi community in Oxford initiated the first 'Nowka Bais' event in the United Kingdom as part of Oxfordshire County's 1000th birthday by getting two 40 ft canoes made in Sylhet, Bangladesh and bringing them to England.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Nadia Ali: Nowka Bais 2017|medium=Radio broadcast|publisher=BBC Asian Network}}</ref> Nowka Bais in England has now become an annual cultural event attracting thousands such as the likes of the High Commissioner of Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/1356046.all-buoyed-up-for-water-aid/|website=OxfordMail|date=26 Apr 2007|title=All buoyed up for water aid}}</ref>
In 2012, the event was dedicated to the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Queen Elizabeth II issued a statement on the event and expressed her interest about the Bengali tradition to the founder of Nowka Bais UK and Oxford Bangladeshi Boat Club, Azizur Rahman.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/heritage/2017/07/25/bangladeshi-boat-race-uk|publisher=Dhaka Tribune|title=Bangladeshi boat race takes the UK by storm|author=Morshed Akhter Badol|date=25 July 2017}}</ref>
In 2015, the event founder selected Birmingham to be its host city, which hosts a larger Bangladeshi diaspora population than Oxford.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nowkabais.co.uk/about-us/|website=Nowka Bais UK|title=Nowka Bais - Traditional Bangladeshi Boat Racing}}</ref> It has also become a mela (festival) with performances, stall and funfair rides.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rya.org.uk/newsevents/news/pages/midland-sc-pushing-out-the-dragon-boat-.aspx|title=Midland SC Pushing Out The Dragon Boat For Nowka Bais|website=Royal Yachting Association|date=9 July 2015}}</ref> In 2018, ''The Nowka Bais'' short film documentary was released based on the events in Birmingham.
==See also== * Dragon boat * War canoe * Waka (canoe) * Swan boat (racing) * Chundan vallam * Lutka
==References== {{reflist}} {{Canoeing and kayaking}}
Category:Water sports in Bangladesh Category:Canoes Category:Traditional sports of Bangladesh Category:Boat races in the United Kingdom Category:Canoe racing Category:Summer in Bangladesh