Meitei Hindus or Manipuri Hindus are adherents of Hinduism and are native to Manipur kingdom and the South East Asian regions. Meitei Hindus speak Meitei language (Manipuri language), which belongs to the Sino-Tibetan language family and adhere to the Vaishnava section of their religion, Hinduism.
Though there were earlier Brahmin settlements in Medieval Manipur, the entire Meitei ethnicity remains to be ethno-religious to Sanamahism until the great historical event of the Puya Mei Thaba took place during the reign of Pamheiba, the then Emperor of Manipur Kingdom, after which the entire kingdom was declared Hindu . [1] [2] [3] [4]
In the past few decades, Meitei Hindu population is declining as the population of people following and practising the indigenous Meitei paganism (Sanamahism) is growing every year, which is inversely proportional to the Hindu population inside the Meitei ethnicity. In 2021, Hindus account for 41% and the Sanamahists account for 8% out of the total population of Manipur according to 2011 census report. Sanamahists have approximately 2,40,000 officially registered followers. [5] [6]
Meitei, also known as Manipuri, is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India. It is the official language and the lingua franca of Manipur and one of the official languages India. Meitei is the most widely-spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and third the most used language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali. There are 1.76 million Meitei native speakers in India according to the 2011 census. Most of these, or 1.52 million, are found in the state of Manipur, where they represent majority of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500). The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Meitei people, Meetei people, or Manipuri people is an ethnic group native to Manipur. They form the largest and dominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They speak the Meitei language, one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic and the sole official language of Government of Manipur. The Meiteis primarily settled in the valley areas in modern-day Manipur, though a sizeable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. There is also a notable presence of Meitei people in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53% of Manipur's population.
The Meitei script, also known as the Kanglei script or the Kok Sam Lai script, after its first three letters is an abugida in the Brahmic scripts family used to write the Meitei language, the official language of Manipur and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is first known from engravings on 6th century AD coins. as verified by the various publications of the National Sahitya Akademi. It was used until the 18th century, when it was replaced by the Bengali alphabet. A few manuscripts survive. In the 20th century, the script was revived and is again being used. Beginning in 2021, the Government of Manipur began to use the Meitei alongside the Bengali-Assamese script, per the Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021.
Sanamahism, also known as Meiteism, or Lainingthouism is an ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, in Northeast India. It is a polytheistic religion and is named after Lainingthou Sanamahi, one of the most important deities of the Meitei faith. Sanamahi is the eldest son of the supreme god Sidaba Mapu and the supreme goddess Leimarel Sidabi. Traditionally every Meitei household, irrespective of the religion, worships Sanamahi and Leimarel Sidabi. Sanamahism does not have a religious head but has a body, the Maru Loishang, that oversees the main religious activities and governs all affairs of the religion, including the conduct of priest and priestess. The Maru Loishang also acts a court for religious disputes. There are three main departments under the Manu Loishang, namely, the Amaiba Loishang, the Pena Asheiba Loishang, and the Amaibi Loishang. These departments have existed since the reign of King Meidingu Hongnemyoi Khunjao Naothingkhong of Manipur in 662 AD. Sanamahi is the eldest son of the supreme god Sidaba Mapu and the supreme goddess Leimarel Sidabi.
Huiyen Lallong is a traditional Meitei martial art form. It is one of the Indian martial arts, originating from Manipur. In the Meitei language, Huiyen means war while Lallong or Lanlong can mean net, knowledge or art. Huiyen Langlon consists of two main subforms: Thang-Ta and Sarit Sarak. The primary weapons of Huiyen Lallong are the Thang (sword) and Ta (spear). The spear can be used in its non-missile form while up close, or thrown from afar. Other weapons include the shield and the axe. Unarmed combat incorporates hand strikes, kicks, and grappling (Mukna). Because of Manipur's cultural similarity and geographical proximity with Myanmar, huyen langlon is closely related to Burmese bando and banshay.
The history of Manipur is reflected by archaeological research, mythology and written history. Historically, Manipur was an independent sovereign kingdom ruled by Meitei dynasty but at different point of time it was invaded and rule over by other state and authority. The Kangleipak State developed under King Loiyumba with its first written constitution in the early 12th century. Manipur under the 18th-century king Pamheiba saw the legendary burning of sacred scripture.
Meitei literature, also known as Manipuri literature, is literature written in the Meitei language of Manipur. An ancient institution of learning, the Luwang Nonghumsang, later known as the Pandit Loishang, collected sources of indigenous Meitei knowledge and philosophy until the 18th century. Writing by Meiteis is assumed to go back to the Kingdom of Kangleipak in the early 12th century. The Meitei script is a Brahmic abugida. It is known only from the Puya manuscripts discovered in the first half of the 20th century. Manuscripts of the 18th and 19th centuries were written using the Bengali alphabet. The existence of the Meitei script in the 15th-century hinges on the authenticity of an inscription dated to the reign of Senbi Kiyamba. The first printed Manipuri book, Manipurer Itihas, appeared in 1890 from the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta. Though the kings of Manipur had established contact with the British from the middle of the eighteenth century onward the real impact of the contact came much later. Johnstone Middle English School, based on the western system of education, was started in 1885 at Imphal, and in 1891 Manipur lost its independence to the British. British domination facilitated the introduction of new systems in the civil, political and educational spheres, which hastened the process of modernization in Manipur, exposed as it was to new ideas and influences.
Matamgi Manipur is a 1972 Indian Meitei language film and the first full-length cinema of Manipur. The movie is directed by Debkumar Bose and produced by Karam Monomohan, under the banner of K.T. Films Private Limited. The black and white film features Gurumayum Ravindra Sharma and Yengkhom Roma in the lead roles. Arambam Samarendra wrote the story and screenplay by Debkumar Bose. The film won the President's Medal at the 20th National Film Awards. It is an adaptation of Arambam Samarendra's theatrical play Tīrtha Yātrā.
Hinduism is one of the major religions practiced in the state of Manipur, India. Hinduism is concentrated in the Imphal Valley and other plain districts of Manipur located in the regions neighbouring Assam state. Hinduism is practiced mostly among the Meitei people, who are the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. Whilst the proportion of Manipur's population that practices Hinduism is roughly 41%, in the Manipur valley region Hindus constitute as much as 67-74% of the population. Between the 1961 and 2011 censuses of India, the share of Hindus in the state declined from 62% to 41%, while the share of Christians rose from 19% to 41%.
Puya Meithaba, or Lairik Meithaba, refers to the annual commemoration of a legendary 18th-century scripture burning in post-colonial Manipur by a neo-convert Vaishnavite King, or to the original libricide of Puyas itself. There is no historical evidence that the libricide happened. Nonetheless, the commemoration, organised by the Meitei National Front and others since 1979, has been a critical tool in the spread of Meitei nationalism and has mainstreamed a particular reconstruction of premodern Manipur, which has come to be uncritically reproduced even in academic publications.
Ancient Kangleipak was an ancient, lesser known civilisation, consisting the modern day Kangleipak (Manipur), India, and other neighbouring regions. The Kangla served as the foremost capital city of this realm from the 15th century BCE, up to the medieval times.
Mongba Hanba is a forest god in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. He is mainly worshipped in the sacred forest Mongba Hanba Umang on the banks of the Imphal River.
Manipuri Language Day, is an annual celebration of the Manipuri (Meitei) language in India and Bangladesh 20 August. It is a of the day on which Manipuri was added to the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, making it one of the official languages of India on 20 August 1992.
The social movement of Meitei language to attain linguistic purism is advocated by literary, political, social associations and organisations as well as notable individual personalities of Bangladesh, Myanmar and Northeast India.
The Mahabharata is one of the epics of Sanskrit literature that is translated as well as literarily adapted into Meitei language, thereby creating a space for Hindu literature within the granary of Meitei literature.
The Lainingthou Sanamahi Kiyong, officially known as the Laiyingthou Sanamahi Kiyong, is a temple of God Lainingthou Sanamahi of Meitei religion (Sanamahism), built on the Nongmaiching mountain in the Imphal East district of Kangleipak. It is a center of the Sanamahism followers in Manipur. It is the central body of the "Sanamahi Lainingkol" at Chingoi Maru Langmaiching (Nongmaiching).
The International Sanamahism Students' Association (ISSA) (Meitei: Malem Sanamahi Laining Maheiroi Lup), also called the International Sanamahism Students' Association, Kangleipak (Meitei: Malem Sanamahi Laining Maheiroi Lup, Kangleipak), is an international non-governmental organization of students of Sanamahism (traditional Meitei religion). It gives its services to the conservation and the upraising of the practices of Sanamahism in the society. It also draws the attention to the government of Manipur state to take up essential steps to protect Sanamahism from getting extinct.
The South East Asia Cultural Organisation (SEACO) is an international cultural organization that works for the development of the Meitei culture of Kangleipak (Meitei for 'Manipur'). It aims to preserve the unique history, culture, identity, and religion of Manipur. It also advocates to take "extra caution about the issue of preservation of the cultural identity of the Indigenous people in the wake of the present globalization".
Meitei festivals are an integral part of the cultural heritage of the Meitei people, an ethnic group native to the Indian state of Manipur. The festivals often celebrate events from Ancient Manipur and often coinciding with seasonal changes. These festivals reflect the unique customs and traditions of the Meitei community, and are celebrated with great enthusiasm and zeal. There are various festivals celebrated throughout the year, each with its own significance and rituals.
Manipuri poetry day, also known as Meitei Poetry Day, is an annual literary event organised to promote Meitei language (Manipuri) poetry. It takes place Manipur as well as in other Meitei-speaking areas, and aims to promote Manipuri literature to the world. It honours the contributions of the Meitei poets as well as the diverse and distinctive literary traditions of Manipur.