Phouoibi or Phouleima is the goddess and the female personification of the agriculture, crops, fertility, grains, harvest, paddy, rice and wealth in Meitei mythology and religion of Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur).[4][5][6][7] She is the lover of Akongjamba, a hero in ancient legends.[8] But fate does not permit the lovers to unite. So, Phouoibi and Akongjamba reincarnated in the legends.[5][7] She was sent by Thangching to Moirang) kingdom to make the human world prosperous.[9] The legends of her love with Akongjamba were believed to be enacted by Thangching as a part of the Moirang Saiyon legends.[10]
Phouoibi is a spirit of the rice. So, she is not a member of the Umang Lais.[11]
The characters of Phouoibi and other goddesses, including Panthoibi and Emoinu, depict, as well as influence, the boldness, courage, independence, righteousness and social honour of Meitei women.[12] The Meitei people believe that the gleaming black stone is a personification of the goddess, which if kept inside the earthenware pot of the granary, will bring good luck and prosperity, as long as it shines.[13][14]
Etymology
Phouoibi or Phouleima literally means Lady of the Paddy in Meitei (Manipuri).[15]Phou (Fou) means "unhusked rice", paddy. "Oibi" is derived from the verb "oiba" (meaning "to become") with the feminine suffix "i".[11][16]
Description
Phouoibi is a goddess who is very fickle in love. She fell in love with many mortals. However, she does not live permanently with anyone of them. She went to many places and made love with many mortals only to discard them later. She lived with her favorite lover for some time and later left him. Her nature symbolizes that wealth does not last long. There were frequent wars and natural calamities in ancient times. So, the goddess of paddy is described as very inconstant in favouring to the mankind.[4][7]
According to Meitei culture, the anger of Phouoibi was provoked with the neglect of paddy or rice. The rites and rituals dedicated to the goddess were regularly performed. By doing this, possible misfortunes were warded off that could have came to the peasants.[17][18]
Mythology
Once Phouoibi (Fouoibi) set out for a journey along with her sisters (friends in another version), Ngaleima and Thumleima. In Moirang, when the goddess was about to cross a river, Akongjamba came to the spot for hunting. Akongjamba and Phouoibi fell in love at first sight.[5]
After some time passed, Phouoibi visited the house of Akongjamba. She disguised herself as a tribal woman (haonupi or haonubi). Akongjamba was not there but Akongjamba's mother did not give her good hospitality. Akongjamba's mother was about to hit Phouoibi (disguised as a tribal woman) with a swiping broom. If the broom touched the goddess, all her magical powers will get lost. So, Phouoibi fled to a coop (henhouse). She transfigured herself as a chicken. Akongjamba's mother followed her and counted the number of chicken.[19] She found the number of chicken exactly as it was, neither more nor less. So, she went back to her home. Phouoibi spent the night inside the filthy and smelly henhouse. On the next day, she once again took her original form of a beautiful maiden in a glowing dress. She called Akongjamba's mother to come out. She told her that she wanted to give her the payment for spending a night at hers. She shook an enormous heap of golden grain off her body in the middle of the front yard of the house. Then, Phouoibi left the place travelling towards south east. Akongjamba's mother remained surprised.[20]
In another version of the story, Phouoibi stayed a night at the yenakha (left or right side of the house). The place where the goddess stayed came to be known as Phayeng (fai or phai means to stay).[5]
Later, Akongjamba returned home and found the pile of golden grain as high as a hill in front of the courtyard. When asked, his mother told him all the story. He realised that the lady was Phouoibi. He immediately aftered her. On the way, he found her. He pleaded her to return home and live together. But she refused his proposal. She told him that they are not destined to be together to accomplish their work at that birth. Saying this, she left him sorrowfully.[21]
As Phouoibi travelled towards southeast, she reached a riverbank. She did not know how deep the river was. At that moment, a deer appeared on the other side of the river. She asked the deer if the river was shallow or not. The deer lied telling her that the river was not deep. Phouoibi went down the river. She could not swim and got drowned.[22]
A small ngamhai fish was also swimming there. It helped the drowning goddess to reach the shore of the next riverbank. She thanked the little creature and granted it a boon that it will shine like a mirror in the gleaming water. She wished that the ballad singers will always praise the fish for its silvery beauty whenever they retold her story.[23]
Then, she glared at the deer. She cursed the deer and all its species that if they tried to eat her creation, paddy, then all their teeth will be fallen. So, still today, deer never eat paddy because of the fear that their teeth will fall out.[24]
Worship
Poinu (November-December interface month) is the Meitei lunar month of harvesting and the granary must not be disturbed. Its subsequent month Wakching (December-January interface month) is the time during which Goddess Phouoibi is worshipped.[25][26]
Plan of the ceremony dedicated to goddess Phauwoibi, sketch drawn by Col. John Shakespear in 1913
A mat with the offerings of fruits and vegetables at the four corners.
Poles supporting a white canopy.
Vegetables and a Sareng fish offered to the goddess.
Goddess Phouoibi is offered fruits and vegetables in the four corners of a specially prepared place. The place is divided into three sections. At each division, seeds are sown.[11] The goddess is invoked by the maibas with the sacrifice of black hen and the offering of rice beer.[27]
If the previous year's crop harvest was good, the maiba prayed to the goddess to give them good crops that year too. And if the previous year's crop harvest was not satisfactory, the maiba prayed to the goddess to give them satisfactory crops with no insects that year.[27]
Rice and flowers on the banana leaves are thrown up on the harvest field by the farmers.[27]
After threshing, Phou Kouba (calling the paddy/rice) ceremony is performed.[28]Phoukourol (Phoukouron or Phougourol or Phougouron) is a hymn for summoning the spirit of the paddy.
Phoukou (Phougou) song is sung like this:
"He Lairemma Phouoibi! Toi Toi Toi Thangee Phoubi Peibiro! Toi Toi Toi Chaku Lankubiro! Toi Toi Toi Thangeena Chingdum Sabiro! Toi Toi Toi Ho Lairemma Phouoibi! Toi Toi Toi"
To have abundant crop harvest, the Meitei people sing Phougou Eshei.[29]
It is generally sung during harvest.[30][31] It is done before the crop is stored in the granary.[28] Goddess Phouoibi is worshipped with Phou Ningthou, the god of rice. Farmers prayed to the two deities for a doubling of the previous year's yield, after the harvest.[18]
The Phou Kouba (calling the paddy/rice) ceremony is more frequently performed in case of mis-happenings to the farmers. Mis-happenings may be theft or burning of the paddy/rice, an animal like cow trespasses the threshing ground, etc. People believe that these are all because of the absence of the goddess. So, they perform the rites and rituals to induce the goddess to stay at their places.[28]
Phouoibi is often identified as a manifestation of Goddess Panthoibi. Many legends say that Panthoibi became Phouoibi after a metamorphosis.[32] She is also regarded as the incarnation of Leimarel Sidabi, the supreme mother earth goddess.[16][33]
Iconography
Goddess Phouleima often appears in ancient potteries. She is personified in a round black stone sitting in a pot. It is placed upon the bed of rice grains inside the granary. It is never kept directly on the ground. As long as the goddess is respected, the granary has no lack of grains.[14][34]
Texts
The Phouoibi Waron is a 13–14th century Meitei literary work that calls Phouoibi a fickle lady. According to the text, the goddess has love affairs with multiple partners and she always leaves them.[4][7][35][36]
The Ningthourol Lambuba relates that Phouoibi and her six friends went to a place called Karan Lambuba. They measured all their walking sticks to see whose was the longest. Phouoibi was found to be the longest of all, by one knot. So, one knot was cut off. The place where the stick was cut off was named Kakmayai (kak means to cut in Manipuri).[37]
The Loyumba Shinyen mentions that people of a family named Sharotkhaibam used to invoke the goddess of paddies in ancient times.[6]
In 1979, two new rice high-yield varieties, Phouoibi (KD6-2-1) and Punshi (KD6-18-7), were developed by the Manipur State Rice Research Center, Wangbal. After these rice varieties became available, they were planted in 75 percent of high-yield rice growing areas. Phouoibi matures in 135 days.[43][44] These rice varieties are more likely to be affected by insects than local varieties like Phourel and Moirang Phou.[45]
Ima Keithel (English: Mothers' Market), the world's only women-run market, has three major building complexes.[46][47][48] Phouoibi Ima Keithel is the Complex Number 3, preceded by Leimarel Sidabi Ima Keithel (Complex Number 1) and Imoinu Ima Keithel (Complex Number 2).[49] This 500 years old market is in the center of Imphal, the metropolis of Manipur.[48]
Related Research Articles
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.
Imoinu or Emoinu is a goddess associated with household, hearth, family, fireplace, kitchen, wealth, peace and prosperity in Meitei mythology and religion of Ancient Kangleipak. She is frequently associated with Leimarel Sidabi. She is regarded as one of the incarnations or representations of goddess Leimarel Sidabi.
Leimarel Sidabi or Leimalel Sitapi is a goddess in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. She is the highest female divinity in the Meitei pantheon. She is the goddess of earth, of nature and the household. She is revered as the mother of every living being in the universe.
Irai Leima is a goddess in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. She is the goddess and the divine female personification of water and aquatic life. She is the consort of Irai Ningthou. Both are regarded as the divine spirits of water bodies. She is also considered to be in charge of diseases.
In Meitei mythology and religion, Nongthang Leima is the goddess of seduction, thunder, and lightning. She was created by Atingkok to attract Haraba (Pakhangba). She mastered thunder and lightning in the chaos in the early world. She predicted the first rain. She limits the chaos and helps creation.
Phou-oibi, the Rice Goddess is a 2013 Meitei language ballad opera, based on the story of goddess Phouoibi, adapted from Meitei mythology and folklore, performed by the Laihui Ensemble from Manipur, India, as a part of the "Tapestry of Sacred Music 2013" programme, held at the Esplanade in Singapore.
Khoriphaba is a God in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. He is the son of Sky God Salailen and the Goddess Konthoujam Tampha Lairembi. He came down from heaven to earth to search for his mother and then for a bride. He is best known for wrestling with Loyalakpa in the Lai Haraoba festival. He is also a Sagol Kangjei(polo)-playing God.
Ngareima is the goddess of fish and aquatic life in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. She is a sister of the goddesses, Phouoibi, Thumleima and Ereima.
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Akongjamba was a nobleman in Ancient Moirang in Meitei mythology. He was a lover of the harvest Goddess Phouoibi. According to mythology, fate did not permit the lovers to unite, so they reincarnated. The lives of the two legendary lovers were believed to be enacted by Thangjing as a part of the epic cycles of incarnations.
Thangching or Thangjing is a primordial deity in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur. He is the ruling deity of the Moirang dynasty. He rules supreme on the banks of the landlocked sea, Loktak lake. He is one of the four cardinal Umang Lais. The guardianship of the south western direction is alluded to Thangjing and the other directions to Koubru, Marjing and Wangbren.
Phou Ningthou is a deity in Sanamahism, the indigenous religion of Manipur). He is the God and the divine male personification of the agriculture, crops, fertility, grains, harvesting, rice paddies, rice and wealth. He is the consort of Phouoibi (Phouleima), the goddess of crops and agricultural fertility.
Shapi Leima or Sapi Leima is the goddess of rodents in Meitei mythology and religion. She is a sister of goddesses Khunu Leima and Nganu Leima. Legend says that all three sisters married the same mortal man.
And That Is Why... Manipuri Myths Retold is a children's book based on 12 stories from the Meitei mythology of Manipur, written by L. Somi Roy and published by Penguin Random House India. It was launched by Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha and titular King of Manipur Leishemba Sanajaoba at the palace compound, Imphal on 21 June 2021. The stories are adaptations of tales found in the puyas.
In Meitei mythology and folklore, the epic cycles of incarnations in Moirang is a cyclic epic of seven incarnations of two divine lovers in the kingdom of Moirang in the realm of Ancient Kangleipak.
The ancient legend of Kadeng Thangjahanba and Tonu Laijinglembi is an epic cycle of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore from Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak. It concerns the fateful love of Kadeng Thangjahanba, a skilled blacksmith, for the beautiful Tonu Laijinglembi.
The ancient legend of Ura Naha Khongjomba and Pidonnu is an epic cycle of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore from the Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak. It concerns the love and adventures of the forgotten prince Ura Naha Khongjomba for the beautiful woman Pidonnu.
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References
↑ Rao, Nitya; Rürup, Luise (1997). A Just Right: Women's Ownership of Natural Resources and Livelihood Security. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. p. 175. ISBN 978-81-7440-044-4.
↑ Rao, Nitya; Rürup, Luise (1997). A Just Right: Women's Ownership of Natural Resources and Livelihood Security. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. p. 175. ISBN 978-81-7440-044-4.
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