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.
Dogs are mentioned as friends or companions of human beings, in many ancient Meitei tales and texts. In many cases, when dogs died, they were given respect by performing elaborate death ceremonies, equal to that of human beings.[6]
Being wise is appreciated in Meitei sociaty, but cunning is treated with suspicion. If a person is very cunning, they may be pejoratively be called foxy.[7] Foxes appear in a number of Meitei folktales, including The Clever Fox (ꯂꯝꯍꯨꯢ ꯂꯧꯁꯤꯡ, Lamhui Loushing),[8]The Fox and the Jackal (ꯂꯝꯍꯨꯢ ꯑꯃꯁꯨꯡ ꯀꯩꯁꯥꯜ, Lamhui amashung Keishal),[9] and The Fox's Trick (ꯂꯝꯍꯨꯢ ꯒꯤ ꯇꯥꯠ, Lamhui gi Tat).[10]
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.
“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.”
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.[14][15][16][17][18][19]
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) :
The Meitei people perform four types of death ceremony since time immemorial. These are:
Air ceremony (Disposal to the space)
Earth ceremony (Burial)
Fire ceremony (Burning)
Water ceremony (Disposal to the water bodies)
Relationship with natureedit
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.[20][21][22] 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.
^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]
Referencesedit
^"Two new postage stamps celebrate Armenian, Indian national dances". panarmenian.net.
^"Two new postage stamps dedicated to "Armenia-India joint issue. National dances" theme | Lragir".
^"Two new postage stamps celebrate Armenian, Indian national dances". www.newsinfo.am.
^Sarwal, Amit (2022-05-15). The Celestial Dancers: Manipuri Dance on Australian Stage. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN978-1-000-62550-9.
^"Dance | Ministry of Culture, Government of India". www.indiaculture.gov.in. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
^"Lumhui Lousing The Clever Fox". EP. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
^"The Fox Wit Lamhui Lousing". Retrieved 2023-03-01.
^"Lamhui amashung Keishal The Fox and the Jackal Folktale". Retrieved 2023-03-01.
^"The Fox Trick Lamhui gi tat". Retrieved 2023-03-01.
^"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. ...
^Kriti Rakshana: A Bi-monthly Publication of the National Mission for Manuscripts. National Mission for Manuscripts. 2006. from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
^"Archived copy". from the original on 2021-05-13. Retrieved 2021-04-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"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. from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
^"Sacred groves Manipur need urgent attention". from the original on 2019-08-10. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
^"Sacred Groves in Manipur". from the original on 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
^Banerji, Projesh (1956). Dance of India. Kitabistan. from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
^Playne, Somerset (1917). Bengal and Assam, Behar and Orissa: Their History, People, Commerce, and Industrial Resources. Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Company. from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
^Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur (1981). Man in India. A.K. Bose. from the original on 2022-05-08. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
^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.
^Barua, Lalit Kumar (1999). Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India. India: Spectrum Publications. p. 71. ISBN978-81-87502-02-9.
^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.
^Barua, Lalit Kumar (1999). Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India. India: Spectrum Publications. p. 71. ISBN978-81-87502-02-9.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meitei culture and Classical Meitei culture.
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meitei, culture, manipuri, civilization, redirects, here, overall, cultural, heritage, manipur, culture, manipur, this, article, contains, meitei, alphabet, without, proper, rendering, support, errors, display, culture, meitei, civilization, evolved, over, tho. Manipuri civilization redirects here For the overall cultural heritage of Manipur see Culture of Manipur This article contains the Meitei alphabet Without proper rendering support you may see errors in display 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 Pakhangba Temple Kangla in the classical Meitei architecture affiliated to the traditional Meitei religion Sanamahism Armenian stamp illustrating Manipuri classical dance the national dance of India a 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 civilizationContents 1 Animals and birds 2 Arts 2 1 Architecture 2 1 1 Notable structures 2 2 Cinema 2 3 Martial arts 2 4 Music and dances 2 5 Sculptures 2 6 Theatre 2 6 1 Notable productions 2 6 2 Notable personalities 3 Clothing 4 Constitutionalism 5 Cuisine 6 Education 7 Hills and mountains 8 Meitei people 9 Language 9 1 Language related events 9 1 1 Observances 9 1 2 Linguistic movements 10 Literature 10 1 Mythology and folklore 10 2 Literary awards 11 Philosophy 12 Plants 13 Public holidays and festivals 14 Religion 14 1 Lai Haraoba 14 2 Death ceremony 14 3 Relationship with nature 15 Sports 16 Women 17 Writing systems 18 See also 19 Notes 20 References 21 External linksAnimals and birds editMain articles Animals in Meitei civilization and Birds in Meitei civilization Further information Meitei horse Dogs are mentioned as friends or companions of human beings in many ancient Meitei tales and texts In many cases when dogs died they were given respect by performing elaborate death ceremonies equal to that of human beings 6 Being wise is appreciated in Meitei sociaty but cunning is treated with suspicion If a person is very cunning they may be pejoratively be called foxy 7 Foxes appear in a number of Meitei folktales including The Clever Fox ꯂꯝꯍ ꯢ ꯂ ꯁ ꯡ Lamhui Loushing 8 The Fox and the Jackal ꯂꯝꯍ ꯢ ꯑꯃꯁ ꯡ ꯀ ꯁ ꯜ Lamhui amashung Keishal 9 and The Fox s Trick ꯂꯝꯍ ꯢ ꯒ ꯇ ꯠ Lamhui gi Tat 10 Arts editArchitecture edit Main article Meitei architecture nbsp 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 KangleipakThe 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 edit Further information Hiyangthang Lairembi Temple Ima Market Kangla fort Kangla Nongpok Thong Kangla Sanathong Kanglasha Lainingthou Sanamahi Kiyong Mount Manipur Memorial Pakhangba Temple Kangla Sanggai Yumpham and Thangjing Temple Moirang Cinema edit Main article Meitei cinema Further information List of Meitei language films and Cinema of Manipur Martial arts edit Further information Huiyen Lallong See also Arambai Music and dances edit Further information Manipuri classical dance Jagoi Music of Manipur Pena musical instrument Moirang Sai and Festival of Moirang Shai 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 Banglapedia 11 Sculptures edit Further information Kanglasha Marjing Polo Statue and Statue of Meidingu Nara Singh Theatre edit Further information Shumang Kumhei Notable productions edit Further information Bacchae Thiyam play Hojang Taret Lairembigee Eshei and Yamata Amasung Keibu Keioiba Notable personalities edit See also Ratan Thiyam Heisnam Kanhailal and Sabitri HeisnamClothing editFurther information Kajenglei Kokyet Moirang Phee Phanek Shaphee Lanphee and Wangkhei PheeConstitutionalism editMain article Constitutionalism in Meitei civilization Further information LoiyumbaCuisine editFurther information Meitei cuisine Singju and Emoinu Fish FestEducation editFurther information Manipur University of CultureHills and mountains editMain article Hills and mountains in Meitei civilizationMeitei people editMain article Meitei people Further information Yek Salai Yumnak Sagei Mangang Luwang Khuman Salai Angom Kha Nganpa Moilang and Salai Leishangthem See also List of Meitei people and List of Meitei kingsLanguage editMain article Meitei language Further information Meitei language in Bangladesh and Meitei language in India Language related events edit Observances edit Further information Meitei language day Meitei poetry day and Meitei language festival Linguistic movements edit Main article Meitei language movement Further information Meitei scheduled language movement Meitei classical language movement Meitei associate official language movement and Meitei linguistic purism movementLiterature editFurther information Ancient Meitei literature and Meitei 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 12 Some of the most prominent Puyas written in Meitei language Manipuri language 13 are given below in alphabetical order Chada Laihui Chainarol Chothe Thangwai Pakhangba Hijan Hirao Hichan Hilao Khongjomnubi Nongarol Khuman Kangleirol Khumanlon Konthoujam Nongarol Leishemlon Leithak Leikharol Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba Ningthourol Lambuba Nongban Pombi Luwaoba Numit Kappa Panthoibi Khongul Phouoibi Waron Poireiton Khunthok Sakok Lamlen Sanamahi Laihui Tharon Thalon Toreirol Lambuba Tutenglon Wakoklon Heelel Thilen Salai Amailon Pukok PuyaMythology and folklore edit Main articles Meitei mythology and Meitei folklore Further information Meitei folktales See also Khamba and Thoibi and Khamba Thoibi Sheireng Literary awards edit Further information List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Meitei List of Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize winners for Meitei List of Bal Sahitya Puraskar winners for Meitei List of Yuva Puraskar winners for Meitei and Meitei language day awardsPhilosophy editMain article Meitei philosophy Further information Eyes in Meitei culturePlants editMain article Plants in Meitei civilizationPublic holidays and festivals editFurther information Meitei festivals Important days fall in different times of a year according to Meitei calendar Some are as follows in alphabetical order Cheiraoba ꯆ ꯔ ꯎꯕ 1st of Sajibu month Emoinu Eratpa ꯏꯃ ꯢꯅ ꯏꯔ ꯠꯄ 12th of Wakching month Heikru Hidongba ꯍ ꯀ ꯔ ꯍ ꯗ ꯡꯕ 11th of Langban month Kwaak Taanba ꯀ ꯋ ꯛ ꯇ ꯟꯕ 10th of Mera month Mera Chaorel Houba ꯃ ꯔ ꯆ ꯎꯔ ꯜ ꯍ ꯕ 1st of Mera month Mera Hou Chongba ꯃ ꯔ ꯍ ꯆ ꯡꯕ 15th of Mera month Ningol Chakouba ꯅ ꯉ ꯜ ꯆ ꯛꯀ ꯕ 2nd of Hiyangei month Panthoibi Iratpa ꯄ ꯟꯊ ꯢꯕ ꯏꯔ ꯠꯄ Sanamahi Ahong Khong Chingba ꯁꯅ ꯃꯍ ꯑꯍ ꯡ ꯈ ꯡ ꯆ ꯡꯕ Yaoshang ꯌ ꯎꯁ 15th of Lamtaa month Full moonReligion editMain article Meitei religion Further information Meitei deities and List of deities in Sanamahism nbsp 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 edit Further information 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 14 15 16 17 18 19 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 Chukpharon JagoiK Khamba Thoibi JagoiL Laiching Jagoi Laihou Jagoi Leima Jagoi Leisem JagoiM Maibi JagoiP Panthoibi JagoiT Thougal JagoiDeath ceremony edit Further information Meitei death ceremony The Meitei people perform four types of death ceremony since time immemorial These are Air ceremony Disposal to the space Earth ceremony Burial Fire ceremony Burning Water ceremony Disposal to the water bodies Relationship with nature edit 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 20 21 22 Her agony is described as follows At dead of nightThe 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 23 24 25 Sports editFurther information Hiyang Tannaba Khong Kangjei Mukna Sagol Kangjei and Yubi Lakpi See also Marjing Polo Statue Marjing Polo Complex Imphal Polo Ground Manung Kangjeibung and Hapta KangjeibungWomen editMain article Women in Meitei civilization Further information Ima Keithel Nupi Laan and Meira Paibi See also Meitei goddessesWriting systems editMain article Meitei script Further information Naoriya Phulo script Bengali script and Bengali Assamese script See also Meitei inscriptions Meitei keyboard Meetei Mayek Unicode block Meetei Mayek Extensions Unicode block Wikipedia Meitei script display help List of Meitei language newspapers and The Living God Medicine and The Ancient Meetei CivilizationSee also editJapanese Meitei cultural relations Meitei intangible cultural heritageNotes edit 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 edit Two new postage stamps celebrate Armenian Indian national dances panarmenian net Two new postage stamps dedicated to Armenia India joint issue National dances theme Lragir Two new postage stamps celebrate Armenian Indian national dances www newsinfo am Sarwal Amit 2022 05 15 The Celestial Dancers Manipuri Dance on Australian Stage Routledge p 25 ISBN 978 1 000 62550 9 Dance Ministry of Culture Government of India www indiaculture gov in Retrieved 2023 12 06 Singh Ch Manihar 1996 A History of Manipuri Literature in English and Manipuri Sahitya Akademi p 201 ISBN 978 81 260 0086 9 Lumhui Lousing The Clever Fox EP Retrieved 2024 02 08 The Fox Wit Lamhui Lousing Retrieved 2023 03 01 Lamhui amashung Keishal The Fox and the Jackal Folktale Retrieved 2023 03 01 The Fox Trick Lamhui gi tat Retrieved 2023 03 01 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 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 Archived copy Archived from the original on 2021 05 13 Retrieved 2021 04 03 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link 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 Sacred groves Manipur need urgent attention Archived from the original on 2019 08 10 Retrieved 2021 04 03 Sacred Groves in Manipur Archived from the original on 2020 01 25 Retrieved 2021 04 03 Banerji Projesh 1956 Dance of India Kitabistan Archived from the original on 2022 05 08 Retrieved 2022 04 22 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 Sarat Chandra Roy Rai Bahadur 1981 Man in India A K Bose Archived from the original on 2022 05 08 Retrieved 2022 04 22 Singh Ch Manihar 1996 A History of Manipuri Literature in English and Manipuri Sahitya Akademi pp 16 17 ISBN 978 81 260 0086 9 Datta Birendranatha Sarma Nabinacandra 1994 A Handbook of Folklore Material of North East India India Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language Art amp Culture Assam p 356 Barua Lalit Kumar 1999 Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India India Spectrum Publications p 71 ISBN 978 81 87502 02 9 Singh Ch Manihar 1996 A History of Manipuri Literature in English and Manipuri Sahitya Akademi pp 16 17 ISBN 978 81 260 0086 9 Datta Birendranatha Sarma Nabinacandra 1994 A Handbook of Folklore Material of North East India India Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language Art amp Culture Assam p 356 Barua Lalit Kumar 1999 Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India India Spectrum Publications p 71 ISBN 978 81 87502 02 9 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to wbr Meitei culture and wbr Classical Meitei culture nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Meitei civilization Portals nbsp Asia nbsp Bangladesh nbsp Books nbsp Civilization nbsp Feminism nbsp India nbsp Language nbsp Linguistics nbsp Literature nbsp Myanmar nbsp Mythology nbsp Poetry nbsp Politics nbsp Religion nbsp Society nbsp Writing Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Meitei culture amp oldid 1212056706, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
