Meitei literature, also known as Manipuri literature, is literature written in the

Meitei language 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 an additional official language in four districts of Assam. It is one of the scheduled ...

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. 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 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, Assam an ...

is a

Brahmic The Brahmic scripts, also known as Indic scripts, are a family of abugida writing systems. They are used throughout South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. They are descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India and are used b ...

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 Bengali script or Bangla alphabet (, romanized: ''Bāṅlā bôrṇômālā'') is the standard writing system used to write the Bengali language, and has historically been used to write Sanskrit within Bengal. An estimated 300 million ...

. The existence of the Meitei script in the 15th-century hinges on the authenticity of an inscription dated to the reign of

Senbi Kiyamba Senbi Kiyamba () (1467–1508) was a Meitei monarch and a ruler of Kangleipak kingdom (Manipur kingdom). He was the son of Medingu Ningthou Khomba and his warrior queen Leima Linthoingambi. Born Thangwai Ningthouba, he succeeded his father ...

. 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.

Ancient Meitei literature

Chada Laihui

The Chada Laihui () is a historical document ( puya), about the genealogy of the Meitei kings from their mothers' sides. It traces the genealogical account of the kings' mothers' lineage. It is a supplementary document to the

Cheitharol Kumbaba ''Cheitharol Kumbaba'' or ''Cheithalon Kumpapa'' (''Ch. K.''), the "Royal Chronicle of Manipur", is a court chronicle of the kings of Manipur, which claims to start from 33 CE and to cover the rule of 76 Kings until 1955. The work of chroniclin ...

, the foremost royal chronicle of

Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba

"Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba" () is a historical document ( puya), which served as the court chronicle of the rulers of the kingdom in

Ancient Moirang Ancient Moirang, also known as Keke Moirang, was an ancient civilization that flourished in the southern plains of the present day Manipur, India. The Keke Kangla served as the capital city of the kingdom since time immemorial. The major body of a ...

. It records the genealogy of the kings of the Moirang dynasty. The chronicle also slightly mentioned about the history of the Zeliangrong people.

Medieval Meitei literature

Modern Meitei literature

Puyas

Puyas are Meitei manuscripts written in

. They encompass a wide variety of topics such as religion, mythology, chronicle, folk medicine of

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as Meetei people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." are a Ti ...

, history etc. Archaic Meitei script which consist of 18 alphabets is derived from Wakoklon Puya Puya manuscripts have been discovered by scholars, beginning in the 1930s. The chronicles of puya state that Hindus arrived from the Indian subcontinent with royal marriages by the 14th century, from what are now modern Assam, Bengal,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, Dravidian kingdoms, and other regions. Another manuscript suggests that Muslims arrived in Manipur in the 17th century, from what is now Bangladesh, during the reign of king

Khagemba King Khagemba (Conqueror of the Chinese; 1597–1654), was a monarch from the Kingdom of Kangleipak. He also introduced a new form of polo and new apparel styles. Under his regime he focused on a new form of Manipur and built many markets ...

. Cheitharol kumbaba and other puya such as Ningthourol Lambuba documents the persistent and devastating Manipur–Burma wars. Lists of Puya * Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Amailon Pukok Puya * Nongsamei Puya * Samsokngamba Puya * Nongsamei Puya * Nongkhai Puya Amailon * Cheitharol Kumbaba

Suppression of Meitei Literature

After the adoption of Hinduism as state religion under Gharib Nawaz () (1717), the Puyas were "burnt completely" at ''Kangla Uttra'' under royal orders, in either 1729 or in 1732. The ''Puya'' manuscripts discovered in the 20th century at best have a tenuous connection with the texts burned under Gharib Nawaz. Like the Hindu and Jain Puranas, the extant ''Puyas'' contain cosmology, genealogies of gods and goddesses, and royal chronicles.

Epics

The '' Numit Kappa'' ("Shooting the Sun") is a mythological text in narrative verse. It was published in English translation by T.C. Hodson (1908). A translation into modern Meitei was published in 1908. ''Ougri'' (also known as ''Leiroi Ngongloi Eshei'') is a poem written in archaic Meitei. The sagas of the seven

epic cycles of incarnations In Meitei mythology and folklore, the epic cycles of incarnations in Moirang (; ) is a cyclic epic of seven incarnations (nine in some versions) of two divine lovers in the kingdom of Moirang in the realm of Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur ...

of the two divine lovers were originated from

Moirang Moirang () is a town in the Indian state of Manipur, best known for the tentatively listed UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Keibul Lamjao Conservation Area (KLCA), covering Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), the world's only floating nation ...

kingdom near the shores of the Loktak lake in Ancient Kangleipak (early

). Among them,

Khamba Thoibi The ancient legend of Khamba and Thoibi () is a classic, as well as one of the epic cycles of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore, that is originated from Ancient Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). It is referr ...

is regarded as the last and the greatest epic.

Chronicles

The ''Ningthourol Shingkak'' is a work written under Gharib Nawaz (), written in the mode of "predictions" made during the rule of

(r. 1597–1652) and thus foretelling the birth and reign of Gharib Nawaz and his religious reforms. The ''

'' or "Royal Chronicle" is a text written down in the early 19th century, under Jai Singh, the

puppet king A puppet ruler is someone who holds a title of political authority, but is loyal to or controlled by outside persons or groups. When a foreign government wields such outside control, the puppet ruler's territory is referred to as a puppet state. ...

installed after the Burmese invasion, purportedly based on an older copy which was no longer available. It contains day-to-day transactions and occurrences the state.

Scriptures

The Meitei scriptures are texts regarding the

Meitei religion 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 ...

(

Sanamahism 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 ...

) as well as

Meitei mythology Meitei mythology (or Manipuri mythology) () is a collection of myths, belonging to the religious and cultural traditions of the Meitei people, the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. It is associated with traditional Meitei religion of Sanam ...

. They are the sacred literature to the followers of the Meitei religion. Some of the puyas are regarded as scriptures, but not all of them.

Literary awards

Sahitya Akademi awards

* Sahitya Akademi Award for Meitei * Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize for Meitei * Yuva Puraskar for Meitei

Patriotic Writers' Forum awards

* Pacha Meetei Literary Award * R Kathing Tangkhul Literary Award * Dr Saroj Nalini Parratt Literary Award

Notes

References

External links

Sahitya Akadmi Award

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manipuri Literature Pages with unreviewed translations Sanamahism Puyas Meitei literature Ancient Indian literature Ancient literature Asian literature Bangladeshi literature Classical literature Culture of Manipur History of literature History of Manipur Indian literature Indian literature by language Literature about race and ethnicity Literature by ethnicity Literature of Indian independence movement Meitei culture Meitei language Religious literature South Asian literature Southeast Asian literature