Ningthouja dynasty | |
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Country | Manipur |
Founded | 33 |
Founder | Nongdā Lāiren Pākhangba |
Current head | Leishemba Sanajaoba |
Final ruler | Bodhchandra Singh |
Titles | King of Manipur |
Deposition | 1949 (Merged into the Union of India) |
Kingdom of Manipur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Part of History of Manipur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kings of Manipur | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Manipur monarchy data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Ningthouja dynasty, also known as Mangang [1] dynasty, comprises the descendants of the kings of Manipur. Ningthouja literally means progeny of King (Ningthou means king and cha or macha means progeny in which ja is a corrupted word of cha). It has 125 extended families. It was apparently founded by King Nongdā Lāiren Pākhangba in 33 CE. [2]
By the beginning of the 1st millennium CE, the Ningthouja Dynasty began to emerge in Imphal River valley, overrunning the territory of the Khaba clan. They established Kangla as their seat of power. [3] From Kangla they absorbed the surrounding clan principalities of Luwang, Moirang, Khaba-Nganba, Angom, Sarang-Leishangthem and Khuman.
Since 33 CE till the rule of the last King Bodhchandra, Manipur was ruled by seventy-four kings, of whom the hallowed reign of Pakhangba, Naothingkhong, Loiyumba, Kiyamba, Khagemba, Charairongba, Pamheiba, Maharaja Jai Singh, Maharaja Gambhir Singh, Maharaja Nara Singh, Chandrakirti and Churchand are outstanding. [4]
Since 19th century the ruling family was divided into several royal houses. [5] They are:
The members of the Royal Family of Manipur since 1709 CE include: [6]
The royal titles [8] of Meitei princes are:
The royal titles for Meitei princesses are:
Since the adoption of Hinduism in the 18th century the royal family of Manipur styled Hindu titles: [9]
During the reigns of Maharaja Churchand Singh (1891–1941) and Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh (1941–1955) their sons and daughters were given the high-sounding titles such as Maharaj Kumar and Maharaj Kumari. On the inherent title and privilege of the princes Major Maxwell, the then British Political Agent in Manipur and the regent of the young Raja Churchand Singh writes:"Rajkumars, or as they are called in Manipur Ninthou Machas, a Rajas, are very numerous; if, for instance, a Raja had eight sons and these sons were equally well blessed with male issue, the whole 64 grandsons would be Ningthou Machas, and their sons again, and so on." Rajkumars were a troublesome people, Major Maxwell observed and he gave them little encouragement. [10]
(dated 1944, 7 min, 35 mm) [11]
(dated 1945) [12]
(dated 1941)
(Imphal: Manipur sahitya Parisad)
(London, 2005). [13]
(Imphal: W. Ananda Meetei, 2010) [14]
(Imphal, 2005) [15]
(New Delhi: Akansha Publishing).
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.
Gharib Nawaz was a Meitei ruler of Manipur Kingdom, ruling from c. 1709 until his death. He introduced Hinduism as the state religion of his kingdom (1717) and changed the name of the kingdom to the Sanskrit Manipur (1724). He changed his royal name from his birth name Pamheipa to the Persianate Gharib Nawaz.
Charairongba also known as "Eningthou Ningthem Charairongba" was the Meitei king and the ruler of Kangleipak from 1697 to 1709.
Ningthou Ching-Thang Khomba (1748–1799) was a Meitei monarch of the 18th century CE. The inventor of the Manipuri Raas Leela dance, with his daughter Shija Lailoibi playing as Radha at the first performance, he is a popular figure in Manipur, and much of his actions as King had been mythologized. He is also credited with spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur State after his grandfather Pamheiba made Hinduism the official religion and for creating a unified Manipur.
Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba (1788–1834), also known as Raja Gambhir Singh, was a ruler of the Manipur Kingdom.
Maharaja Surachandra Singh was a Meitei King and a Maharaja of Kangleipak, who ruled between 1886 and 1890. He became the Raja of Manipur in May, 1886 after his father Raja Chandrakirti Singh died.
Cheitharol Kumbaba, also spelled Cheithalon Kumpapa, is the court chronicle of the kings of Manipur. The oldest extant version was copied in the early 19th century, under Jai Singh, the puppet king installed after the Burmese invasion, as "the former copy was no more available". It is the main source for the list of pre-modern kings of Manipur, tracing the genealogy of the ruling Ningthouja dynasty back to a ruler named Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, said to have ruled for more than a century, from 33–154 CE. It is to the Meiteis what the Buranji is to the Assamese and the Yazawin to the Burmese.
Nara Singh also known as Chingthanglen Pamheiba and Meetingu Lairen Nonglen Sendreng Manik Khomba, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Manipur. He ruled first as regent from 1834 to 1844 and then as king for a period of six years from 1844 to 1850. His subjects called him ‘Eningthou Nungsiba’ or ‘our beloved king’.
The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with East India Company from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and British Burma in the east, and in the 20th century covered an area of 22,327 square kilometres and contained 467 villages. The capital of the state was Imphal.
Moirangthem Kirti Singh is an Indian writer, scholar and educationist from Manipur. Born on 1 February 1943 at Kongba Uchekon near Imphal to M. Borajao Singh, Singh completed his education from Johnstone Higher Secondary School, Imphal and D. M. College, which were under Guwahati University during those days, securing a BA (Honours) and MA in philosophy. Later, he obtained a bachelor's degree in Law (LLB) from LMS Law College, Imphal in 1965, followed by a doctoral degree (PhD) in 1972, making him the first Meitei to be awarded a PhD. He is also the first Meitei to receive a DLitt. He served various colleges in Manipur as a member of faculty and has also been involved in social activism.
The Sacred Jackfruit Tree is a historical site in the Indian state of Manipur where a jackfruit tree growing on the small hill of Kaina was used to carve images of Hindu god Krishna. Rajarshi Bhagya Chandra, earlier known as Shree Jai Singh Maharaja, the King of Manipur in the 18th century, had a dream in which he received instructions from Krishna to carve His images from this tree. Accordingly, seven images of Krishna were carved from the jackfruit tree and installed in various temples in Manipur and in the neighboring state of Assam. One such temple is the Shree Govindajee Temple at Imphal.
Nongshaba, also spelled as Nongsaba, is a Lion God in Meitei religion (Sanamahism) and mythology. He is also regarded as a king of the gods. He is credited with producing light in the primordial universe and is regarded as the maker of the sun. He is worshipped by the people of both the Ningthouja clans as well as the Moirang clans. God Nongshaba was worshipped by the people of Moirang clan as a lineage deity and regarded as the father of God Thangching (Thangjing). He is the greatest of the Umang Lais in Ancient Kangleipak but he made his only son Thangching (Thangjing) the chief deity of Moirang.
The Hiyangthang Lairembi Temple is an ancient temple of Goddess Hiyangthang Lairembi of Meitei religion (Sanamahism). The sacred building is situated on the hilltop of Heibok Ching in the Hiyangthang, Manipur. Thousands of devotees thronged at the holy site during the festival time of Lai Haraoba of Sanamahism as well as Durga Puja of Hinduism.
Meitei inscriptions are Meitei language inscriptions cut into stone slabs. They are a major source of information about the ancient history of the Meitei people and the kingdom of Kangleipak. They are mainly found in the hills as well as the plains of present-day Manipur. They were written using either the Meitei script or the Bengali script.
Irai Leima or Ireima is a goddess in Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Ancient Kangleipak. She is the goddess and the divine female personification of water and aquatic life. She is also considered to be the incharge of the diseases.
The Statue of Meidingu Nara Singh, also known as the Statue of Maharaja Narasingh, is a bronze sculpture located at the Kangla Sanathong, the western entrance gate to the Kangla Fort in Imphal. Meidingu Nara Singh was a Meitei monarch and the sovereign of Kangleipak.
Luwang Ningthou Punshiba, shortly known as Luwang Punshiba, is a king of the Luwang dynasty of Ancient Manipur civilization. He is best known for his long life and outstanding wisdom in Manipuri folklore and history of Manipur.
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.
Chakpa Makhao Ngambi was the Burmese queen of Toungoo dynasty of Kingdom of Ava and the Meitei princess of Ningthouja dynasty of Kangleipak. She was the Queen consort of King Taninganway of Myanmar, until her abdication after having a son. By birth, she was a first-degree relative of King Charairongba of Manipur Kingdom and a second-degree relative of King Pamheiba Garib Niwaj, Charairongba's successor. Her abdication from the Burmese throne caused a long time international conflict between the Meiteis and the Bamars.