The culture of Meitei civilization evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Ancient Kangleipak, continuing most notably into Medieval Kangleipak, while influencing the neighboring states and kingdoms, till present times.

Armenian stamp illustrating Manipuri classical dance, the "national dance" of India,[lower-alpha 1] the highest spiritual expression of the worship of Hindu deity Krishna,[4] as well as an intangible cultural heritage of Meitei civilization[5]
The crest of Indian missile destroyer, INS Imphal, illustrating the Kangla Sanathong (Meitei for 'Kangla Golden Gate') and the Kanglasha dragon lion, two of the most remarkable cultural heritages of the Meitei civilization

Animals and birds

Arts

Architecture

The architecture of the Inner Entrance Gate, along with the statues of a pair of Kanglashas, the dragon lions, inside the Kangla, the old metropolis of Ancient Kangleipak

The architectural works of the Meitei ethnicity is best known through its Meitei temples as well as ancient buildings including palaces, court halls, offices, entrance gates and so on.

Notable structures

Cinema

Martial arts

Music and dances

“Dance and music play a vital role in the life span of Manipuri people. The most flourishing branch of Manipuri culture is dance. The Manipuri synonym of dance is jagoi and in this dance, body movements create either circle or ellipse. Rasa dance is the finest product of Manipuri culture. Maharaj Bhagyachandra innovated it and it was first performed in Manipur in 1779 in the fullmoon of Kartik.”

Sculptures

Theatre

Notable productions

Notable personalities

Clothing

Constitutionalism

Cuisine

Education

Hills and mountains

Meitei people

Language

Observances

Linguistic movements

Literature

Meitei literature dates back right from the 15th century BC, during the era of Tangcha Lee La Pakhangpa (Tangja Leela Pakhangba) (1445 BC-1405 BC) in Ancient Manipur. The Puya (Meitei texts) account for most of the accounts for the literary works till Medieval Manipur.[7]

Some of the most prominent Puyas, written in Meitei language (Manipuri language),[8] are given below in alphabetical order:

Mythology and folklore

Literary awards

Philosophy

Plants

Public holidays and festivals

Important days fall in different times of a year according to Meitei calendar. Some are as follows in alphabetical order:

Religion

The Iputhou Pakhangba Laishang, an ancient temple, inside the Kangla.

Sanamahism, the Meitei religion, has thousands of Meitei deities.The List of figures in Meitei mythology accounts for the characters in Meitei mythology, the receptacle of the Meitei religion.

Lai Haraoba

The "Lai Haraoba" festival is an ancient ritualistic music and dance festival, often performed in order to please the Umang Lais and the Lam Lais, whose pantheons are found scattered in the plains of Manipur still today.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Jagoi, originally spelled as Chatkoi, is the traditional form of dancing, performed by the devotees to please the deities. Here is a list of the "Chatkoi"s ("Jagoi"s) :

C

K

L

M

P

T

Death ceremony

The Meitei people perform four types of death ceremony since time immemorial. These are:

  1. Air ceremony (Disposal to the space)
  2. Earth ceremony (Burial)
  3. Fire ceremony (Burning)
  4. Water ceremony (Disposal to the water bodies)

Relationship with nature

In Meitei mythology and Meitei folklore of Manipur, deforestation is mentioned as one of the reasons to make mother nature (most probably goddess Leimarel Sidabi) weep and mourn for the death of her precious children. In an ancient Meitei language narrative poem named the "Hijan Hirao" (Old Manipuri: "Hichan Hilao"), it is mentioned that King Hongnem Luwang Ningthou Punsiba of Luwang dynasty once ordered his men for the cutting down of woods in the forest for crafting out a beautiful royal Hiyang Hiren. His servants spotted on a gigantic tree growing on the slope of a mountain and by the side of a river. They performed traditional customary rites and rituals before chopping off the woods on the next day. In the middle of the night, Mother nature started weeping in the fear of losing her child, the tree.[15][16][17] Her agony is described as follows:

At dead of night

The mother who begot the tree
And the mother of all giant trees,
The queen of the hill-range
And the mistress of the gorges
Took the tall and graceful tree
To her bosom and wailed:
"O my son, tall and big,
While yet an infant, a sapling
Didn't I tell you
To be an ordinary tree?

The king's men have found you out
And bought your life with gold and silver.
* * At daybreak, hacked at the trunk
You will be found lying prostrate.
No longer will you respond To your mother's call
Nor a likeness of you
Shall be found, when I survey
The whole hillside.

Who shall now relieve my grief?"

Hijan Hirao[18][19][20]

Sports

Women

Writing systems

See also

Notes

  1. Manipuri dance form, along with the Armenian Hov Arek, are referred to as the "National Dances" (of India and Armenia respectively) during the Armenia-India joint issue of postage stamps.[1][2][3]

References

  1. "Two new postage stamps celebrate Armenian, Indian national dances". panarmenian.net.
  2. "Two new postage stamps dedicated to "Armenia-India joint issue. National dances" theme | Lragir".
  3. "Two new postage stamps celebrate Armenian, Indian national dances". www.newsinfo.am.
  4. Sarwal, Amit (2022-05-15). The Celestial Dancers: Manipuri Dance on Australian Stage. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-000-62550-9.
  5. "Dance | Ministry of Culture, Government of India". www.indiaculture.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  6. "Manipuri, The - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Bangladesh: Banglapedia. Retrieved 2023-12-10. ... Dance and music play a vital role in the life span of Manipuri people. The most flourishing branch of Manipuri culture is dance. The Manipuri synonym of dance is jagoi and in this dance, body movements create either circle or ellipse. Rasa dance is the finest product of Manipuri culture. Maharaj Bhagyachandra innovated it and it was first performed in Manipur in 1779 in the fullmoon of Kartik. ...
  7. Kriti Rakshana: A Bi-monthly Publication of the National Mission for Manuscripts. National Mission for Manuscripts. 2006. Archived from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "D'source Umanglai - Sacred grove of Manipur | Sacred Groves | D'Source Digital Online Learning Environment for Design: Courses, Resources, Case Studies, Galleries, V..." 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  10. "Sacred groves Manipur need urgent attention". Archived from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  11. "Sacred Groves in Manipur". Archived from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  12. Banerji, Projesh (1956). Dance of India. Kitabistan. Archived from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  13. Playne, Somerset (1917). Bengal and Assam, Behar and Orissa: Their History, People, Commerce, and Industrial Resources. Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Company. Archived from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  14. Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur (1981). Man in India. A.K. Bose. Archived from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  15. Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). A History of Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). Sahitya Akademi. pp. 16, 17. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9.
  16. Datta, Bīrendranātha; Śarmā, Nabīnacandra (1994). A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India. India: Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture, Assam. p. 356.
  17. Barua, Lalit Kumar (1999). Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India. India: Spectrum Publications. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-87502-02-9.
  18. Singh, Ch Manihar (1996). A History of Manipuri Literature (in English and Manipuri). Sahitya Akademi. pp. 16, 17. ISBN 978-81-260-0086-9.
  19. Datta, Bīrendranātha; Śarmā, Nabīnacandra (1994). A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India. India: Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture, Assam. p. 356.
  20. Barua, Lalit Kumar (1999). Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India. India: Spectrum Publications. p. 71. ISBN 978-81-87502-02-9.
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