A Helloi or Heloi is a female nature spirit in

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 ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. Hellois are often depicted in the forms of beautiful young women. They are often associated with

seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

of men. They are the most powerful among the female spirits. They can cause diseases. The hellois are often known for their charming beauty, ecological balance and

of males. Hellois are sometimes seen as evil spirits in the forms of beautiful maidens. are the seven sisters. They stay in the thick bushes or dark and dense forests. They also live in other places of wilderness like rivers and meadows.

In Meitei mythology

Hellois are one of the most common female spirits believed in

and

. According to the , hellois are the most powerful female spirits. They could spread diseases, especially

sexually transmitted infections A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...

. Hellois attack men and cause disorder of mind. From men, women may get sick in their sexual organs. According to belief, the highest rate of such attacks occurs in March and April. It is the time of celebrating Yaoshang, a spring festival. At the same time, Thabal Chongba occasions are performed by both men and women.

In Meitei religion

is one of the most common events of meeting with supernatural beings in

Meitei folklore Meitei folklore is the folklore and mythology of the Meitei people of 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 Nagal ...

. Challenges to or conflicts with the hellois often make one's life unhappy. In such cases, one may get sick, mental imbalance and temporary madness. If such people are not properly treated by a

maiba A Maiba or an Amaiba (literally, "priest") is a male religious leader authorised to perform the sacred rites and rituals of Sanamahism (Sanamahism, Meitei religion), especially as a mediatory agent between human beings and one or more deities. T ...

or a

maibi Maibi are the priestesses of Manipur Kingdom commonly known for performing religious rites. They are considered as shamans as well as midwives. They possess various skills of religious activities and ancient medicinal knowledge. The male counter ...

, the symptoms may continue long. It may lead to permanent

madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

(

mental impairment Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability (in the United Kingdom), and formerly mental retardation (in the United States), Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010).Archive is a generalized neurodevelopmental d ...

). One who meets a helloi often acts in abnormal and mentally challenged ways. For example, the victims may not be able to recognize his family members and friends. However, the victims could still communicate with the very helloi. The spirit may not easily leave the victim. She will demand something in return to leave the victim. Thus, Hellois seek their needs by bewitching people. The

s perform rites and rituals to prevent attraction and attacks on men by the hellois. They feed the spirits with animal

faeces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

and some specially prepared ritual foods.

Hellois and Hingchabis

Hellois and Hingchabis are the two most popular forms of female spirits in

and

. But these two mythical beings are not almost all similar. Hellois are

wandering spirits Hungry ghost is a term in Buddhism and Chinese traditional religion, representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. The term zh, c= 餓鬼, p=èguǐ, l=hungry ghost is the Chinese translation of the Sansk ...

. On the other hand, Hingchabis live inside some women. They exposed their supernatural powers into the bodies of the victims. They cause illness, mental sufferings, bad luck, and sometimes even death to the victims.

In popular culture

* Lairembigee Eshei (

Song of the Nymphs Lairembigee Eshei (, lit. Song of the Goddess), also known as Song of the Nymphs, is a Meitei language play, written and directed by Ratan Thiyam, performed by the "Chorus Repertoire Theatre" of Imphal. It was shown as a closing play at the 21st ...

) - a

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 ...

play directed by

Ratan Thiyam Ratan Thiyam (born 20 January 1948) is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, one of leading figures of the "''theatre of roots''" movement in Indian theatre, which started in the 197 ...

* ''HELLOY - Between conscious and sub-consciousness'' - a

film directed by G. Narayan Sharma * Dr. Hemogi Helloi (Dr. Hemogee Heloi) - a 2013

film, directed by

Homen D' Wai Homen D' Wai (''full name:'' Homendro Waikhom, 1970 – 10 July 2021) was an Indian film director, scriptwriter and lyricist from Imphal, Manipur. ''Dr. Yaima'', '' Mittrang Keithel'', '' Yaiskulgee Pakhang Angaoba'', '' Dr. Hemogee Heloi'' and ...

, featuring a helloi (heloi) having a love affair with a human man named "Dr. Hemo"

References

Bibliography

Heloi Heloi Mi Heloi by Pramodini, Khaidem
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External links