) , deity_of = Goddess of water and aquatic life , member_of = Lairembis , image = IRAI LEIMA.jpg , alt = , caption = The name "Irai Leima", written in Meitei Mayek abugida , other_names = * Ireima ( omp, Ileima) * Ereima ( omp, Eleima) * Erai Leima ( omp, Elai Leima) * Hiyangthang Lairembi ( omp, Hiyangthang Lailempi) , hiro = , Old_Norse = , script_name = , script = , affiliation =

Meitei mythology Meitei mythology or Manipuri mythology ( mni, Meitei Mi Lai Tingi Wari) 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 tradit ...

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Manipuri mythology Meitei mythology or Manipuri mythology ( mni, Meitei Mi Lai Tingi Wari) 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 tradit ...

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Meitei religion () , native_name_lang = mni , image = The Symbol of Sanamahi.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = The Symbol of Sanamahism (Source: Wakoklon Heelel Thilen Salai Amailon Pukok Puya) , ...

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Sanamahism () , native_name_lang = mni , image = The Symbol of Sanamahi.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = The Symbol of Sanamahism (Source: Wakoklon Heelel Thilen Salai Amailon Pukok Puya) , ...

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Phouoibi Phouoibi (Fouoibi) or Phouoipi (Fouoipi) or Phouleima (Fouleima) or Phoureima (Foureima) is the goddess and the female personification of the agriculture, crops, fertility, grains, harvest, paddy, rice and wealth in Meitei mythology and religi ...

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Phouleima Phouoibi (Fouoibi) or Phouoipi (Fouoipi) or Phouleima (Fouleima) or Phoureima (Foureima) is the goddess and the female personification of the agriculture, crops, fertility, grains, harvest, paddy, rice and wealth in Meitei mythology and religi ...

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Ngaleima Lemlei Ngaleima ( omp, ꯂꯦꯝꯂꯩ ꯉꯥꯂꯩꯃ, lem-lei ngaa-lei-ma, fish goddess) or Ngareima ( mni, ꯉꯥꯔꯩꯃ, ngaa-rei-ma) is the goddess and the divine female personification of the fishes and the aquatic life in Meitei myth ...

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Thumleima Noinu Thumleima ( Meitei pronunciation: ''nói.nu tʰum.lə́i.mə'') or Thumkhong Lairembi ( omp, Thumkhong Lailempi) is the goddess of salt and salt wells in Meitei mythology and religion of ancient Manipur (Antique Kangleipak). She is a si ...

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PuYa Puya may refer to: * ''Puya'' (plant), in the family Bromeliaceae * Puya (river), in Russia * Puya, a variety of Guajillo chili * ''Puya'' (Meitei texts), traditional or mythological texts of the Meetei people * ''Culoepuya The ''culo'e puya'' dr ...

s , gender = Female , Greek_equivalent =

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Rom ...

, Roman_equivalent = Salacia , Etruscan_equivalent = , Christian_equivalent = , Slavic_equivalent = , Canaanite_equivalent = , equivalent1_type = , equivalent1 = , equivalent2_type = , equivalent2 = , region =

Ancient Kangleipak The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and Britis ...

( Antique Manipur) , ethnic_group =

Meitei ethnicity The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri 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." is ...

, festivals =

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba is a festival associated with the Meitei people celebrated to please the Umang Lai, the traditional deities of Sanamahism. Translated, Lai Haraoba means ''merry making of the Gods'' in Meiteilon. In this festival, the people worshi ...

Irai Leima ( omp, Ilai Leima) or Ireima ( omp, Ileima) is a goddess in

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural ...

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Sanamahism () , native_name_lang = mni , image = The Symbol of Sanamahi.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = The Symbol of Sanamahism (Source: Wakoklon Heelel Thilen Salai Amailon Pukok Puya) , ...

) of

( Antique Manipur). 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. She is the consort of Irai Ningthou (literally, ''king of water''). Both are regarded as the divine spirits of water bodies.

Mythology

Irai Leima is the daughter of King Heibok Ningthou and the princess of Heibok Ching. Her father was an expert in witchcraft and black magic. Irai Leima is known for her exceptional beauty. One day, she was fishing in the Liwa river. King Kwakpa (Kokpa) of Khuman dynasty saw her and fell in love with her. He proposed her. She replied that her parents' wish will be her wish. So, King Kwakpa consulted his subjects. They presented Heibok Ningthou with many presents. King Kwakpa planned to marry Irai Leima if her father agreed or to bring her by force if her father rejected. Seeing the arrogance of Kwakpa, Heibok Ningthou turned all the gifts into stone. At this, followers of Kwakpa fled the place. Kwakpa returned home disappointed. One day, King Kwakpa got intoxicated after drinking a juice of the roots of Tera plant ('' Bombax malabaricum''). He wanted to meet Irai Leima. So, he went to her place riding on a Hiyang boat. Seeing his approach, she fled to Pakhra Ching mountain. Kwakpa chased her. Seeing all these, Heibok Ningthou turned the Hiyang boat into stone and the oar into a tree. Getting angry, Kwakpa ran towards Heibok Ningthou to kill him. Then, Heibok Ningthou turned Khuman Kwakpa into a stone. Irai Leima saw all this and was afraid of her father. She left her father and ran away. She passed the Pakhra Ching, crossed the Liwa river and entered the house of Sarangthem Luwangba. She hid herself inside the granary of the house. When Sarangthem Luwangba and his good lady Thoidingjam Chanu Amurei left the house for field, Irai Leima came out from her hiding place. In the meantime, she completed all the household chores. When the couple returned home, she hid herself again. The couple got surprised at this but it happened everyday. So, one day, the man returned home earlier than usual. He found out the truth. But when he came near Irai Leima, she had disappeared below the granary. He looked under the granary but he saw nothing. He was amazed at this. So, he discussed the issue with all his clan members. They searched everywhere but didn't find her anymore. Irai Leima appeared in the dream of Sarangthem Luwangba and told him that she was merged into his clan and became his daughter. The matter was reported to King Senbi Kiyaamba of

Ningthouja dynasty The Ningthouja dynasty, also known as Mangang 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 ...

. The king sent maibas and maibis to examine the case. The examiners said that the mysterious lady was a goddess and she should be worshipped. King Kiyaamba also told Luwangba to do so. From that year onwards, Irai Leima was worshipped as a goddess. The day on which Luwangba first saw Irai Leima was the first Monday of the Meitei lunar month of ''Lamta (Lamda)''. And the day on which the maibas and maibis came was the first Tuesday of ''Lamta (Lamda)''. Still today, from the time of King Senbi Kiyaamba (1467-1508 AD), the Sarangthem family members annually hold a grand feast (''Chaklen Katpa'') in honor of the goddess. Later, Irai Leima came to be known as Hiyangthang Lairembi.

Worship

When a person gets ill after bathing in a spring, pool, stream, people believed that the water spirits (Irai Leima and Irai Ningthou) had caught the person. To get well again, people worship the two deities. For this, the maibas perform the rites and rituals. The offerings include 2 eggs and 7 bamboo vessels filled up with rice paste. The

Thadou people Thadou people are an indigenous ethnic group of Chin-Kuki inhabiting North-east India. Thadou is a dialect of the Tibeto-Burman family. They are the second largest in terms of population in Manipur, next to Meetei according to Manipur census 2011. ...

also highly respect the deities. They offer many wild sacrifices. The sacrifices maybe a white

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl ( Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; togethe ...

, a pig, a dog or a he-

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of ...

Identification with other deities

Irai Leima (''Ireima'') is considered as one of the divine manifestations of Leimarel (Leimaren), the supreme mother earth goddess. She is also described as a form of goddess

Imoinu Imoinu or Emoinu ( mni, ꯏꯃꯣꯏꯅꯨ) is a goddess associated with household, hearth, family, fireplace, kitchen, wealth, peace and prosperity in Meitei mythology and religion of Ancient Kangleipak ( Antique Manipur). She is frequentl ...

. Irai Leima is also known as Hiyangthang Lairembi. During the reign of King Garib Niwaj (alias ''Pamheiba''), goddess Hiyangthang Lairembi was converted to Hindu goddess Kamakhya (a form of

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around comb ...

). The 3rd day of

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrat ...

is observed as the "Bor Numit" (literally, Boon Day).

In popular culture

* Phou-oibi, the rice goddess is a 2009 ballad opera performed by the Laihui Ensemble. It is based on the story of the goddess and her sister

. *

Phouoibi Shayon Phouoibi Shayon ('), also simply known as Phouoibi, is a 2017 Indian Meitei language mythological film, about goddess Phouoibi and other celestial fairies who came down to earth to prosper the human civilization. The film is directed by O. Sam ...

is a 2017 Manipuri mythology movie based on the story of the goddess and her sister

References

External links

Hiyangthang_Lairembi_archive.org

Irai_Leima_archive.org

Ereima_e-pao.net

Hiyangthang_Lairembi_e-pao.net
{{Sanamahi1 Abundance deities Abundance goddesses Asian deities Asian goddesses Beauty deities Beauty goddesses Fertility deities Fertility goddesses Fortune deities Fortune goddesses Health deities Health goddesses Leima Love and lust deities Love and lust goddesses Maintenance deities Maintenance goddesses Meitei gods and goddesses Mountain deities Mountain goddesses Names of God in Sanamahism Nature deities Nature goddesses Peace deities Peace goddesses Sea and river deities Sea and river goddesses Virgin deities Virgin goddesses Water deities Water goddesses