বাঙালী মূলত কোনো একটিমাত্র জাতি নয় । সে জাতি চারটি জাতির মিশ্রণে গঠিত । "Bengal originality did not form one country and... one nation...the four tribes, Pundra,, Vanga, Radha, and Sumha, were the important ones, who gave their names to the various tracts they inhabited." (Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee : The origin and Development of the Bengali Language/p67)