Old Manipuri: Manung Kangcheipung | |
Inner Pologround | |
Address | Kangla Fort, Imphal West district, Manipur Imphal * Manipur Kingdom (historical)
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Location | Kangla Fort, Imphal West district, Manipur |
Coordinates | 24°48′22″N93°56′34″E / 24.8061°N 93.9427°E |
Owner |
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Operator | Kangla Fort Board |
Type | polo field, helipad |
Field shape | Quadrilateral |
Construction | |
Built | During the times of King Ningthou Kangba [1] [2] |
Renovated | During the reign of King Marjit Singh [3] [4] |
The Manung Kangjeibung [lower-alpha 1] (Old Manipuri : Manung Kangcheipung) (Manung Kangjeibung ( Meitei for 'Inner Pologround')) is an old polo field located to the south west of the citadel inside the Kangla Fort in Imphal West district of Manipur. In ancient times, only royalties and nobilities were allowed to play the game of polo (Meitei : Sagol Kangjei ) in this royal playground. [5] It is one of the two most ancient pologrounds in the world, the other one being the Mapal Kangjeibung (Imphal Polo Ground). [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
In Meitei language (officially called Manipuri language), "manung" (Meitei : ꯃꯅꯨꯡ) means "inside" or "inner side". [11]
The Meitei term "kāngjeibung" (Meitei : ꯀꯥꯡꯖꯩꯕꯨꯡ) means pologround (polo field). Morphologically, the word "kāng‑jei‑bung" can be divided into three roots, "kāng", "jei" and "bung", meaning "a round/spherical object", "stick" and "mound" respectively. [12] The Meitei term for stick is originally "cei" (Meitei : ꯆꯩ). [13]
In accordance to the ancient manuscripts known as the PuYas, the "Manung Kangjeibung" is one of the oldest pologrounds. It is said that King Ningthou Kangba used to play the game of polo (Meitei : Sagol Kangjei ) in the Manung Kangjeibung. [14] [15] [16] Later, the polo field was developed during the reign of King Marjit Singh (1813-1819). [17] [18]
On 9 May 2018, Nongthombam Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, as a chairperson in the 27th meeting of the Kangla Fort Board, had a discussion regarding the shifting of the helipad service from the "Manung Kangjeibung" pologround of the Kangla Fort complex. The discussion meeting was participated by Th. Satyabrata Singh, MLA, J. Suresh Babu, Chief Secretary, L.M. Khaute, DHP, M. Lakshmikumar, Commissioner (Art and Culture), Ng. Uttam, Director (Art and Culture), Superintendent of Archaeology Department and many others. [19] [20] [21]
According to the "All Manipur Polo Association (AMPA)", the Chief Minister's upcoming Sagol Kangjei Championship 2022 is going to be organized at the Manung Kangjeibung inside the Kangla. It is to be a part of the annual Sangai festival events. [22] [23]
The Kangla, officially known as the Kangla Fort, is an old fortified palace at Imphal in the Manipur state of India. It was formerly situated on both sides of the bank of the Imphal River, now remaining only on the western side in ruined conditions. Kangla means "the prominent part of the dry land" in old Meetei. It was the traditional seat of the past Meetei rulers of Manipur.
The Manipuri Pony is a traditional Indian breed of small horse or pony from Assam and Manipur in north-eastern India. It appears both in the history and the mythology of Manipur, and was used for warfare and polo. It is believed to have been the polo pony in use in Assam in the mid-nineteenth century when British tea planters first saw polo being played, and the height limits set for polo ponies were based on ponies of this breed. It was very numerous in the early twentieth century, but numbers have since fallen. A breed society was established in 1977, and a breed standard was drawn up by the Indigenous Horse Society of India in 2009.
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Daughters of the Polo God is a 2018 Indian Meitei-English bilingual documentary film directed by Roopa Baruah and edited by Hemanti Sarkar. It is based on the story of girls and horses empowering each other. It is about saving the endangered Meitei horse and empowering women in the sport of polo simultaneously.
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The Kangla Nongpok Torban is a recreation area, riverfront in the eastern bank of the Imphal River in Imphal, Kangleipak, India. It was developed under the aegis of the "Imphal Smart City Limited" along the bank of the Imphal River. With the length of approximately 700 metres (2,300 ft), it covers its area from the "Sanjenthong Bridge" in the South to the Nongpok Thong of Kangla Fort in the North.
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The Marjing Polo Statue is a colossal classical equestrian statue of a player of Sagol Kangjei, riding a Meitei horse, constructed at the Marjing Polo Complex, the sacred sports site dedicated to God Marjing, the ancient Meitei deity of polo and horses, in Heingang, Imphal East District, Kangleipak . It is the world's tallest statue of a polo player. It is built to commemorate the game of "modern polo" being originated from Kangleipak.
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The Marjing Polo Complex is a sports complex dedicated to ancient Meitei deity Marjing, Sagol Kangjei and Meitei horse, built in the hilltop of the Heingang Ching, the sacred abode of God Marjing, located in Heingang, Imphal East district, Kangleipak . It houses Marjing Polo Statue, the world's tallest equestrian statue of a polo player.
The Heingang Ching ), also known as the Meitei: Marjing Hill, is a hill in Heingang, Imphal East district of Kangleipak. In Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism), Heingang Ching is a sacred mountain and the home of God Marjing, the ancient Meitei deity of Sagol Kangjei, Khong Kangjei, and Meitei horse.
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These consist of the Manung Kangjeibung (inner polo ground), within the ramparts of the Kangla Fort, where only royalty and noblemen were allowed to play. This may be the world's oldest polo ground.
In the two large polo grounds, one inside and the other outside the fort (Manung Kangjeibung and Mapan Kangjeibung the most ancient polo sites of the world) ...
Kangla perhaps houses the oldest polo ground in the world known as 'Manung Kangjeibung' which has a helipad of its own. This polo ground was for the elites.
To the south west of the Citadel was the Kangjeibung or pologround, known as the Manung Kangjeibung or the inner polo ground. Polo's origin can be traced back from the time of King Kangba. Ancient literary sources mention Sagol Kangei or Pana Kangjei as the "Game of the Gods". Today Polo is the national sport of Manipur.