Mezban – a traditional feast in Chittagong

Mezban, locally known as Mejjan, is the famous and traditional social festival of the Chattogram region in Bangladesh. The word “Mezban” in Persian means host, and “Mezbani” means hosting refers to arranging a feast for the guests. The meaning of the word Mezban or Mejjan has changed over the centuries. It probably started in Bangladesh during the Shah dynasty of Iran. However, it is more likely to circulate from the 1600s to the 1800s. The words ‘mejwani‘ (host) and ‘mejman‘ (felicitation) are found in ancient manuscripts of the 1500s and 1600s.

Mezban is commonly called Mejjan in the Chittagonian language. In the neighbouring Noakhali region of Chattogram, Mezbani is popular and widely known as Zeafat.

Historically, it’s a traditional regional feast where people are invited to enjoy a meal with white rice and beef. Other dishes, such as mung bean curry and fried liver, are also served. Varying from event to event was held on occasions such as death anniversary, birth anniversary, own successes, launching of a new business, entry into a new house, the birth of a sought-after child in a family, marriage, aqiqah, circumcision, ear piercing of girls and naming of the newborn. The invitation to the Mezban ceremony generally remains open for all, and various people to different places and neighbourhoods convey the invitation for the feast. The invitation cards are printed and distributed among the guests only in urban areas. Usually, food consumption at Mezbani takes place from morning to afternoon.

In the middle of the 18th century, Shamsher Gazi, who was a governor in the northern region of Chittagong (past Islamabad) in Feni district and Zamindar of Tripura, Chakla-Roshnabad dug a large pond after the name of his mother Koyara Begum and arranged a feast by bringing much fish from the neighbouring ponds as well as those in Nizampur area of Chittagong. Fishes are served instead of beef while cooking Mezban in Hindu tradition.

Chittagong regional song lyricist composer Syed Mohiuddin has written a song titled “Mejjan Diye”. The song has gotten another acclaim with the voice of regional music legend Shyam Sundar Vaishnav. It gained widespread popularity in the early eighties. However, in this song, there is an allegation of breaking the tradition of maintaining the host’s hospitality between the rich and the poor. Various poets and litterateurs from the Chittagong region have composed numerous rhymes, poems, stories, and essays on the theme of Mezban, such as:

Kalamanya Dhalamanya
Aner Ada Jira Dhanya
Ar No Lagey Ilish-Ghanya
Goru Khashi Bootor Dailor
Bosta Deha Jar..”

Kalamanya Dhalamanya
Brought Ginger Cumin Coriander
No more need Hilsa-ghainya
Cow-Mutton and sack of Chickpea are seen

Mezban is a beef-dominated meal. It has a prominent cooking style, and proper Mezban meat demands a particular skill.

• Spicy beef cooked with a lot of red chillies
• Less hot but sour and spicy broth made from the tubular bone of a cow, which is known as Nawla kanji
• A kind of pulse which is cooked after peeling the skin of beans and then crushing them; it is called Bhuna dal
• Food of slightly pungent taste made from chickpeas pulse, bone, fat, and meat.