Marjing () is the God of horses, polo, hockey, sports and war in

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 ...

, the indigenous religion 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 Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

. The guardianship of the north eastern direction is alluded to Marjing and the other directions to Koupalu (north west),

Thangching 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 ...

(south west) and

Wangpulen Wangpulen is the god of water, rain, flood, disease and sickness in Meitei mythology and Sanamahism. He is the ruler of the underwater world. He is the Lord of the rivers. The guardianship of the south eastern direction is alluded to Wangbren a ...

(south east). According to the legend, he invented the game of

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

( Sagol Kangjei) and introduced it as the national game. He and his divine creature, Samadon Ayangba, reside in the top of the Heingang Ching (Marjing hills).

Origin

According to the Leithak Leikharol PuYa, God Marjing (mentioned as ''"Maraching"'') originated from the

intestine The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. T ...

s of Atiya Sidaba. He was created to control Samadon Ayangba, the divine horse (). The horse was created from the foot of Ashiba (Sanamahi).

Description

God Marjing is one of the five gods who enter into the human body and position themselves as one of the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

s. Marjing dwells in the

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

of human body. The God is also associated with Sagol Kangjei (

Polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

), the main sports of the

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 ...

. Parratt says ''"His main importance in Meitei mythology is that he is credited with the invention of polo, the national game."''

Mythology

Sagol Kangjei () is originally the game of gods. There are 7 players on each side. They used ''Kangdrum'' (a ball made from bamboo root). This is what the human beings imitate from them. The first divine polo match was played during the festival of

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba (, ), also known as Umang Lai Haraoba, is a classical,———— ritualistic, theatrical dance and music festival, annually celebrated by the Meitei people, to please the Umang Lai deities of the traditional Meitei religion (San ...

Worship

During the

festival, 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 ...

(priestess) performs a ritual in the form of a mime. She holds a mallet in her hand and enacts the game of polo. Every year, in the top of the Heingang Hills, devotees offer polostick (, ) and bamboo-root-ball () to God Marjing. This is done even when any animal in one's house become sick. In 1618 AD, 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 ...

, a public worship took place at his abode and also at every watery place on the river side.

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

s, cocks,

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...

pigeon Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

s and other creatures were offered to God Marjing. This was recorded in 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 ...

References

Animal gods Arts gods Earth gods Guardians of the directions (Meitei) Kings in Meitei mythology Mountain gods Nature gods Pastoral gods Peace gods Sports gods Time and fate gods War gods {{Sanamahism-stub