Total population | |
---|---|
170,800 (2011 Census)[ citation needed ][ verification needed ] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Northeast India | |
Languages | |
Rongmei language | |
Religion | |
Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak,Christianity, Poupei Chapriak.[ page needed ][ citation needed ][ verification needed ] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Zeme, Liangmai |
The Rongmeis (also known as Kabui) are one of the Naga ethnic communities of North-East India. They are recognised as a scheduled tribe (STs) in the Constitution of India. [1]
They share similarity with their kindred tribes of Zeme, Liangmai and Inpui, which together are known as Zeliangrong. Some historians and anthropologists have earlier recorded them as Kabui along with Inpui people.[ citation needed ]
The Gaan-Ngai festival (post-harvest festival) is celebrated annually between December and January. It follows the lunar calendar and is celebrated on the 13th day of the Wakching or Gaan Ngai buh. It is celebrated to worship the Supreme God Haipou Tingkao Ragwang. [2]
During the Colonial period, under the leadership of Haipou Jadonang [3] and his successor Rani Gaidinliu, [4] the Rongmeis along with other Zeliangrong tribes rebelled against British rule in the 1930s.
Keikhu is a village, itself consisting of two twin villages, in the Imphal East district of Manipur, India. The village in the south, known as Keikhu Kabui, is inhabited by the Kabui tribes, the early settlers of the place. The one in the north, known as Keikhu Muslim, belongs to a mixed tribe who identifies themselves as Pangal, a collective term used for Manipuri-Muslims.
Gaidinliu Pamei popularly known as Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and freedom fighter, political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India. At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang. The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur. Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu. Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937, and promised to pursue her release. Nehru gave her the title of "Rani" ("Queen"), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.
The Zemeic, Zeme, Zeliangrong or Western Naga are a languages branch of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken mostly in Indian state of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur in northeast India. It may have close relationship with other Naga languages pending further research. The corresponding ethnic group is the Zeliangrong people. There were 63,529 Zeliang-speaking people in India in 2011.
Naga nationalism is an ideology that supports the self-determination of the Naga people in India and Myanmar, and the furtherance of Naga culture.
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.
Zeliangrong people are one of the major indigenous Naga communities living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in India. They are the descendants of Nguiba. The term "Zeliangrong" refers to the Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei Naga tribes combined. Earlier, the term also covered the Inpui tribe. The descendants of Hoi of Makuilongdi (Makhel) were divided and were made peripheral appendages to three political entities - Manipur, Naga Hills (Nagaland) and the Dima Hasao of Assam. The Zeliangrong may be classified as an ethno-cultural entity. The Zeliangrong belong to the larger Southern Mongoloid population and their language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages.
The Naga Hills District was a former district of the Assam province of British India. Located in the Naga Hills, it was mainly inhabited by the Naga ethnic groups. The area is now part of the state of Nagaland.
The Khiamniungans are a Naga ethnic group, with approximately 35% of the population inhabiting in Noklak District in the Northeast Indian state of Nagaland and the rest in the Naga Self-Administered Zone and Hkamti District of Myanmar. They were also called Kalyo-Kengnyu during the British Raj.
The largest religion in Nagaland is Christianity. The state's population is 1,978,502, as of 2011, out of which 87.93% are Christians. The 2011 census recorded the state's Christian population at 1,745,181, making it, with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram as the four Christian-majority states in India. The state has a very high church attendance rate in both urban and rural areas. The majority of churches are found in Kohima, Chümoukedima, Dimapur and Mokokchung.
Jadonang Malangmei (1905–1931), popularly known as Haipou Jadonang, was a Naga spiritual leader and political activist from Manipur, British India. He established the Heraka religious movement, which was based on the ancestral Naga religion, and declared himself to be the "messiah king" of the Nagas. His movement was widespread in the Zeliangrong territory before the conversion to Christianity. He also espoused the cause of an independent Naga kingdom, which brought him in conflict with the colonial British rulers of India. He was hanged by the British in 1931, and succeeded by his cousin Rani Gaidinliu.
Lui Ngai Ni is the seed-sowing festival celebrated by the Naga tribes of Manipur India. The festival heralds the season of seed sowing and marks the start of the year for the Nagas and the festival was declared a state holiday since 1988.
Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak (TRC) is one of the two traditional religions followed by the Zeliangrong people of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland states in North Eastern India. It is a polytheistic religion based on the fundamental belief of Tingkao Ragwang, the supreme god or almighty and other smaller brotherly gods.
Gaan-Ngai is a festival of the Zeliangrong people of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland states in North Eastern India. Gaan-Ngai is a festival of light, celebrating the victory of light over evil and the commemoration of the coming of light or fire. It is a post harvest festival celebrated to thank the God Tingkao Ragwang for a good harvest season and heralds the beginning of a new year. The festival is celebrated for five days with various rituals, prayers and festivities such as music, dance and feast accompanying the same.
Youth dormitories are a traditional institution among several tribal societies of the world including the various tribes of India, the tribes of South-East Asia, and the native Americans.
The Inpui people, also known as the Inpui Naga, are a Tibeto-Burmese indigenous ethnic group of Northeast India.
The Ougri Hangen or the Ougri Hangken is a Meitei cultural ritual song with various appellations of the sun and the mythology of creation. It is often sung in the conclusion of the Lai Haraoba festival. Its theme is closely associated with the creation myth of the earth itself. It is also regarded as the song of thanksgiving to the Almighty God. It is always sung in the chorus formed by the male singers with the maiba as the precentor and is strongly enjoined that the chains of the singers forming a circle should never be snapped. It is also known for its incantatory power, for with the alteration of a few lines, it is believed to have been able to cause either prosperity or destruction of the kingdom and the people.
A Maiba or an Amaiba (literally, "priest") is a male religious leader authorised to perform the sacred rites and rituals of Sanamahism (Meitei religion), especially as a mediatory agent between human beings and one or more deities. They have the authority or power to administer religious rites as well as sacrifices to gods. Their office or institution is called Maiba Loishang (Maiba Loisang), later renamed as Pandit Loisang, during Aryanisation of Meitei culture. They also served as healers, doctors, magicians, medicine men, physicians and shamans. They play important roles in the ancestor worship (apokpa khurumjaba) ceremony. Chief priest or chief among the maibas is called Maichou, a term formed with the amalgamation of two words ("maiba"- priest, "achouba"- big, chief, great). Since their position is not hereditary, they acquire their positions through talent and skills. The female counterpart of a Maiba is a Maibi.
Meidingu Hongnemyoi Khunjao Naothingkhong was a Meetei ruler of Ningthouja dynasty of Ancient Manipur. He was the successor of Ura Konthouba and the predecessor of Khongtekcha. He ran away from the Kangla at the age of about 10 or 12 years and went to live along the Shelloi Langmais in the Nongmaiching Hill in the eastern Manipur. He was mad in love with Pitang-nga, a Langmai girl and married her. They lived in her parents' house. This is the first reference to the matrilocal residence in the history of Manipuri ethnicity. According to ancient sources, he has six wives from different clan principalities of Ancient Manipur. In fact, he has nine total wives, out of which three are childless. So, in general cases, it is regarded as he has six wives. He married Princess Ewanglon Namun Chaobee after engagement. Luwang Ningthou Punshiba of Luwang dynasty gave training of state craft and the art of governance to Naothingkhong when he was a prince. Besides, the great-grandson of Luwang Ningthou Punshiba married Naothingkhong's daughter.
Tingkao Ragwang or Tingwang is a god of the Zeliangrong people of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland states in North Eastern India. He is considered as the almighty god who created the universe including the sun, moon and the earth, after which life began. Heraka and Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak are the two traditional religions based on the fundamental belief of Tingkao Ragwang, followed by the Zeliangrong people. The annual Gaan-Ngai festival is dedicated to Tingwang.