56-625: Sanamahi Temple ( Meitei : ꯁꯅꯥꯃꯍꯤ ꯂꯥꯢꯁꯪ ) or Sanamahi Sanglen ( Meitei : ꯁꯅꯥꯃꯍꯤ ꯁꯪꯂꯦꯟ ) is a temple of Lainingthou Sanamahi , the supreme deity of Sanamahism . It is located in the Sanakhwa Yaima Kollup near Kangla Palace in Imphal West district of Manipur , India. It is one of the oldest temples in Asia. However, it is often confused with the Sanamahi Kiyong Temple , situated in
112-624: A Tibeto-Burman ethnic group native to Manipur . They form the largest and dominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India . They speak the Meitei language (officially called Manipuri ), one of the 22 official languages of the Republic of India and the sole official language of Government of Manipur . The Meiteis primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in modern-day Manipur, though
168-732: A "first language" subject at primary level in 24 schools throughout the state. In December 2021, Tripura University proposed to the Indian Ministry of Education and the University Grants Council (UGC) , regarding the introduction of diploma courses in Meitei, along with international languages like Japanese, Korean and Nepali. The exact classification of the Meitei language within Sino-Tibetan remains unclear. It has lexical resemblances to Kuki and Tangkhul . The Meitei language
224-457: A compound from mí 'man' + they 'separate'. This term is used by most Western linguistic scholarship. Meitei scholars use the term Meit(h)ei when writing in English and the term Meitheirón when writing in Meitei. Chelliah (2015: 89) notes that the Meitei spelling has replaced the earlier Meithei spelling. The language (and people) is also referred to by the loconym Manipuri. The term
280-532: A confederacy. In 1100 CE, Loyumba Shinyen ( Old Manipuri : ꯂꯣꯌꯨꯝꯄ ꯁꯤꯟꯌꯦꯟ , romanized: Loyumpa Shinyen ), an ancient Meitei language constitution was written and regulated under the supervision of Meitei King Loiyumba (Loyumba) (1074 CE-1112 CE) in the Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur ). It is a formal proclamation of the proto-constitution which was drafted in 429 CE by Meitei King Naophangba . The idea of its constitutionalism
336-796: A delicacy. The vegetables are either made as stews (Kangsoi) with less oil/no oil used in sauteing, or stir fried directly in oil with various added spices to make an oily spicy side dish (Kanghou). Roasted/Smoked and Sun-dried fish or fried fresh fish is usually added in most of the stews and curry to impart special taste. The vegetables, herbs and fruits consumed in the region are more similar to those in Southeast/East/Central Asian, Siberian, Arctic, Polynesian and Micronesian cuisines such as Myanmar, Thailand, Inuit, etc. E.g. treebean (yongchak), galangal (loklei), culantro (awa phadigom), lime basil (mayangton), fishwort (tokningkhok) and many others, which are not cultivated in northern India. One of
392-508: A household. The Khencho ( ꯈꯦꯟꯆꯣ ), an early Meitei work of poetry was composed by the beginning of the 7th century CE. Although it is obscure and unintelligible to present-day Meiteis, it is still recited as part of the Lai Haraoba festival. One of the best-preserved early Meitei language epigraphic records is a copper plate inscription dating to the reign of King Khongtekcha ( r. c. 763 – 773 CE ). During
448-608: A significant population of Meitei people in Kachin state , Yangon Region , Sagaing Region , Shan state , Ayeyarwady Region , among others. "The beginning of this old Manipuri literature (as in the case of Newari ) may go back to 1500 years, or even 2000 years, from now." The earliest sections of the Cheitharol Kumbaba , a Meitei chronicle, record the gradual spread of Meiteis across Kangleipak ( Meitei for ' Manipur ') and their assimilation of other clans into
504-535: A sizeable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam , Tripura , Nagaland , Meghalaya , and Mizoram . There is also a notable presence of Meitei people in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh . The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53% of Manipur's population. The Meitei are known by a number of endonyms , Meitei , Meetei , Meithei ( Meitei ), and as well as by numerous exonyms , such as Meckley , Manipuri , Cassay-Shan , and Kathe ( Burmese ). The term Manipuri
560-556: A third of them residing in Mandalay . Current estimates are approximately 25,000. Meiteis have resettled throughout the country, including in villages near Myitkyina to the north, Homalin , Kalewa , Pyay , in the center of the country, and Yangon to the south. They continue to practice Hinduism in Myanmar. As a result of wars between the Meitei kingdom and the Konbaung dynasty between
616-412: Is a tonal language . There is a controversy over whether there are two or three tones. Meitei distinguishes the following phonemes : Consonants Vowels Note: the central vowel /ɐ/ is transcribed as <ə> in recent linguistic work on Meitei. However, phonetically it is never [ə], but more usually [ɐ]. It is assimilated to a following approximant: /ɐw/ = [ow], /ɐj/ = [ej]. A velar deletion
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#1733316725367672-508: Is a 3rd-century narrative work describing the establishment of a colony in Kangleipak by a group of immigrants led by Poireiton , the younger brother of the god of the underworld. The Yumbanlol , a copper plate manuscript was composed in the 6th century or 7th century CE for the royal family of Kangleipak. It is a rare work of dharmashastra , covering sexuality, the relationships between husbands and wives, and instructions on how to run
728-449: Is currently located in the 1st Manipur Rifles Ground at Imphal West district of Manipur . Meitei language Meitei ( / ˈ m eɪ t eɪ / ; ꯃꯩꯇꯩꯂꯣꯟ , Eastern Nagari script : মৈতৈলোন্ , [mejtejlon] ( IPA ) , romanized: meiteilon ) also known as Manipuri ( ꯃꯅꯤꯄꯨꯔꯤ , Eastern Nagari script : মণিপুরী , [mɐnipuɾi] ( IPA ) ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of northeast India . It
784-546: Is derived from the name of the state of Manipur . Manipuri is the official name of the language for the Indian government and is used by government institutions and non-Meitei authors. The term Manipuri is also used to refer to the different languages of Manipur and to the people. Additionally, Manipuri, being a loconym, can refer to anything pertaining to the Manipur state. Speakers of Meitei language are known as "Kathe" by
840-614: Is noted to occur on the suffix -lək when following a syllable ending with a /k/ phoneme. Meitei has a dissimilatory process similar to Grassmann's law found in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit , though occurring on the second aspirate. Here, an aspirated consonant is deaspirated if preceded by an aspirated consonant (including /h/, /s/ ) in the previous syllable. The deaspirated consonants are then voiced between sonorants. /tʰin-/ pierce + Meitei community The Meitei people , also known as Meetei , Manipuri people , are
896-731: Is one of the languages with legal status in India , and was included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 1992. There are many Meitei language movements , including classical language movement (predominantly in Manipur), associate official language movement (in Assam ), linguistic purism movement (predominantly in Manipur ), etc. Historically and then after a long gap, presently, Meitei
952-585: Is regarded as the national epic of the Manipuris . It is an epic poem based on the ancient romantic adventure tale of Khamba and Thoibi . It is the best known magnum opus of Hijam Anganghal Singh . It is often considered to be the greatest of all the Meitei epic poems. At 39,000 verses , it is the longest Indian epic just after the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Some of the significant intricate designs of
1008-510: 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 constitutionally scheduled official languages of the Indian Republic . Meitei is the most widely-spoken Tibeto-Burman language of India and the third most widely spoken language of northeast India after Assamese and Bengali . There are 1.76 million Meitei native speakers in India according to
1064-784: Is the official language of the Government of Manipur as well as its lingua franca . There are nearly 170,000 Meitei-speakers in Assam, mainly in the Barak Valley , where it is the third most commonly-used language after Bengali and Hindi. Manipuri is also spoken by about 9500 people in Nagaland, in communities such as Dimapur , Kohima , Peren and Phek . Meitei is a second language for various Naga and Kuki-Chin ethnic groups. There are around 15,000 Meitei speakers in Bangladesh mainly are in
1120-404: Is widely used, but problematic because of its ambiguous scope: next to being a synonym for Meitei / Meetei , it can also refer in a wider sense to the native ethnic groups in the hills of Manipur. The Indian state of Manipur has the largest Meitei population among all its geographical distribution. Meitei people are the third largest ethnic group, after Bengalis and Hindi speaking people, in
1176-543: The Umang Lai ( Meitei for 'Sylvan deities') and Lam Lai ( Meitei for 'Tutelary deities'). The Manipuri classical dance , also referred to as the Manipuri Raas Leela ( Meitei : Jagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi ), is a jagoi and is one of the major Indian classical dance forms, originating from the historical Manipur Kingdom . The first Manipuri-language film , Matamgi Manipur ,
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#17333167253671232-470: The Barak Valley region of Assam state of India. The population of Meiteis are found in four districts of Sylhet Division in Bangladesh, namely Sylhet District (thirteen villages), Moulvibazar District (twenty-eight villages), Sunamganj District (three villages) and Habiganj District (four villages). In early times, there were Meitei population in Dhaka , Mymensingh and Comilla also. Myanmar has
1288-653: The Burmese people , "Moglie" or "Mekhlee" by the people of Cachar , Assam ( Dimasas and Assamese ) and "Cassay" by the Shan people and the other peoples living in the east of the Ningthee River (or Khyendwen River). "Ponna" is the Burmese term used to refer to the Meiteis living inside Burma . The Meitei language exhibits a degree of regional variation; however, in recent years
1344-503: The Ethnologue , the alternative names of Meitei language are Kathe, Kathi, Manipuri, Meetei, Meeteilon, Meiteilon, Meiteiron, Meithe, Meithei, Menipuri, Mitei, Mithe, Ponna . The name Meitei or its alternate spelling Meithei is preferred by many native speakers of Meitei over Manipuri. The term is derived from the Meitei word for the language Meitheirón ( Meithei + -lon 'language', pronounced /mə́i.təi.lón/ ). Meithei may be
1400-650: The Golden Montgolfiere at the Festival des 3 Continents , Nantes in 1982, bringing fame and honour of the Indian cinema at the international platform. Ishanou ( Meitei for ' The Chosen One ') (1990) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival , and again after a gap of 33 years, it was recognised as a "World Classic" by the 2023 Cannes Film Festival . Notably, it
1456-526: The Manipuri Sahitya Parishad (Manipuri Language Council). It also invested ₹ 6 crore (equivalent to ₹ 7.1 crore or US$ 850,000 in 2023) in the creation of a corpus for the development of the Meitei language. The Department of Manipuri of Assam University offers education up to the Ph.D. level in Meitei language. Since 1998, the Government of Tripura has offered Meitei language as
1512-466: The Manipuri Sahitya Parishad and the All Manipur Students' Union demanded that Meitei be made an official language for more than 40 years, until Meitei was finally added to the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 1992. Meitei became an associate official language of Assam in 2024, following several years of effort by the Meitei associate official language movement to protect
1568-481: The Marjing Polo Statue , Kangla Sha sculptures, Statue of Meidingu Nara Singh . The Lai Haraoba ( Meitei for 'Merrymaking festival of the gods') is a traditional Meitei ritualistic theatrical festival, consisting of different dances, musical performances and carnivals in the temples and the streets. It's dedicated to the worship of the ancient Meitei gods and goddesses , who are categorised as
1624-723: The Moirangs , the Angoms , the Luwangs , the Chengleis ( Sarang-Leishangthems ), and the Khaba-Nganbas . Each had their respective distinct dialects and were politically independent from one another. Later, all of them fell under the dominion of the Ningthouja dynasty , changing their status of being independent "ethnicities" into those of "clans" of the collective Meitei community . The Ningthouja dialect
1680-464: The 17th and 18th centuries, many Meiteis were resettled in the Burmese kingdom. Some Meitei settlements in modern-day Myanmar originate from the 1758–1759 war, and from the Burmese occupation of Manipur from 1819 to 1826. Alaungpaya , during the former campaign, resettled Meiteis in Sagaing and Amarapura . The Meitei people's horsemanship skills were employed in the Burmese royal army, where they formed
1736-429: The 2011 census , 1.52 million of whom are found in the state of Manipur , where they represent the majority of its population. There are smaller communities in neighbouring Indian states, such as Assam (168,000), Tripura (24,000), Nagaland (9,500), and elsewhere in the country (37,500). The language is also spoken by smaller groups in neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh . Meitei and Gujarati jointly hold
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1792-549: The Kamarupan group—a geographic rather than a genetic grouping. However, some still consider Meitei to be a member of the Kuki-Chin-Naga branch . The Meitei language has existed for at least 2000 years. According to linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterjee , the ancient Meitei literature dates back to 1500 to 2000 years before present . The earliest known Meitei language compositions is the ritual song Ougri ( ꯑꯧꯒ꯭ꯔꯤ ), which
1848-498: The broadening of communication, as well as intermarriage, has caused the dialectal differences to become relatively insignificant. The only exceptions to this occurrence are the speech differences of the dialects found in Tripura, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The exact number of dialects of Meitei is unknown. The three main dialects of Meitei are: Meitei proper, Loi and Pangal. Differences between these dialects are primarily characterised by
1904-582: The districts of Sylhet , Moulvibazar , Sunamganj and Habiganj in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. In the past, there was a Meitei speaking population in Dhaka , Mymensingh and Comilla also. Manipuri is used as a second language by the Bishnupriya Manipuri people . Myanmar has a significant Meitei speaking population in the states of Kachin and Shan and the regions of Yangon , Sagaing , and Ayeyarwady , among others. According to
1960-692: The educational institutions in Manipur. It is one of the 40 instructional languages offered by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), controlled and managed by the Ministry of Education . Meitei is taught as a subject up to the post-graduate level in Indian universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University , Delhi University , Gauhati University , and the University of North Bengal . Indira Gandhi National Open University teaches Meitei to undergraduates. Meitei language instruction has been offered in
2016-575: The elite Cassay cavalry (ကသည်းမြင်းတပ်) and artillery regiments (ကသည်းအမြောက်တပ်) which were employed during the Burmese–Siamese wars . The Burmese court also retained a retinue of Manipuri Brahmins called Bamons, also called Kathe Ponna (ကသည်းပုဏ္ဏား) to advise and conduct court rituals. The Meitei people speak the Meitei language (also known as the Manipuri language), a Tibeto-Burman language. Meitei
2072-518: The extensions of new sounds and tonal shifts. Meitei proper is considered to be the standard variety —and is viewed as more dynamic than the other two dialects. The brief table below compares some words in these three dialects: Devi (2002) compares the Imphal , Andro , Koutruk, and Kakching dialects of Meitei. Meitei is the sole official language of the Government of Manipur , and has been an official language of India since 1992. Meitei language
2128-486: The hilltop of the Nongmaiching Hill of Imphal East district of Manipur . It is one of the largest Kanglei temples in the state. It was reconstructed during the reign of king Kulachandra Singh of Manipur (princely state) in 1891 AD. It is one of the oldest temples in Asia. It is built in a Gothic style for the roof. In its southern side, there is a flying advance. The structure is raised in an octagonal base. It
2184-407: The identity, history, culture and tradition of Manipuris in Assam. The Meitei language is one of the 13 official languages of the India used to administer police, armed services, and civil service recruitment exams. The Press Information Bureau of the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting publishes in 14 languages, including Meitei. Meitei is a language of instruction in all in
2240-466: The lower primary schools of Assam since 1956. The Board of Secondary Education, Assam offers secondary education in Manipuri. The Assam Higher Secondary Education Council of Assam offers both Meitei-language schooling and instruction in Meitei as a second language. Since 2020, the Assam Government has made an annual grant of ₹ 5 lakh (equivalent to ₹ 5.9 lakh or US$ 7,100 in 2023) to
2296-448: The most important ingredients in Meitei cooking is Ngari (fermented fish). Roasted ngari is used in the singju (a kind of salad), morok metpa (chilli chutney), eromba (boiled and mashed veggies with chillies). A variety of fermented bamboo shoots (soibum) as well as fresh bamboo shoots (Ushoi/Shoidon), and fermented soya beans (hawaijaar) also form an important part of Meitei cuisines. All meals are served with some fresh aromatic herbs on
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2352-514: The only non-vegetarian elements used and a significant number of meiteis follow it where meat is cooked and eaten outside the house if consumed. Rice is the main carbohydrate source in a Meitei dish; typically, it is served with vegetables, fish, freshwater snails, crabs, oyesters, eels etc. Among the most famous species of fishes Manipuri Sareng ( Wallago attu ) or commonly known as Helicopter catfish, Hilsa ( ilish Tenualosa ilisha), freshwater snails ( pila (gastropod) ) and edible oysters are considered
2408-458: The same time period, Akoijam Tombi composed the Panthoibi Khonggul ( ꯄꯥꯟꯊꯣꯏꯄꯤ ꯈꯣꯡꯀꯨꯜ ), an account of the romantic adventures of the deified Meitei princess Panthoibi . In 1100 CE, a written constitution, ( Meitei : ꯂꯣꯏꯌꯨꯝꯄ ꯁꯤꯜꯌꯦꯜ , romanized: Loyumba Shinyen ), was finalised by King Loiyumba ( r. c. 1074 – 1112 CE ) of Kangleipak . It
2464-587: The same time, the Hinduised King Pamheiba ordered that the Meitei script be replaced by the Bengali-Assamese script . In 1725 CE, Pamheiba wrote Parikshit , possibly the first piece of Meitei-language Hindu literature , based on the story of the eponymous king Parikshit of the Mahabharata . The majority of Meitei speakers, about 1.5 million live in the Indian state of Manupur. Meitei
2520-669: The side. A typical every day Meitei meal will have rice, vegetable or fish curry, a piquant side dish (either morok metpa or eromba accompanied with herbs), a champhut (a steamed/boiled vegetable with little sugar, e.g., carrot, pumpkin or cucumber slices or steamed/boiled mustard green stems, etc. without sugar), and a Kanghou. Meat cuisines are also popular amongst the Meiteis and some of the common meat curries are yen thongba (chicken curry) and nganu thongba (duck cury) and depending on regions, oak thongba (pork curry) and shan thongba (beef curry). The Meitei are mainly agriculturists in which rice
2576-417: The south-west corners of their homes. The Meitei people follow a traditional calendar called Maliyafam Palcha Kumsing , which has 12 months and a 7-day week. Rice, vegetables and fish are staple food of the Meiteis, although meat is also consumed; but in traditional meitei dishes meat is never used in non-vegetarian dishes. In traditional and cultural gatherings fish, snails, oysters, crabs, eels etc. are
2632-452: The third place among the fastest growing languages of India , following Hindi and Kashmiri . Meitei is not endangered : its status has been assessed as safe by Ethnologue (where it is assigned to EGIDS level 2 "provincial language"). However, it is considered vulnerable by UNESCO. The Manipuri language is associated with the Ningthouja dynasty ( Mangangs ), the Khuman dynasty ,
2688-458: The traditional Meitei architecture and sculptures are seen in various buildings and institutions, especially the temples of traditional Meitei religion : Hiyangthang Lairembi Temple , Pakhangba Temple, Kangla , Sanamahi Kiyong Temple , Thangjing Temple, Moirang , among many. Others include the Ima Keithel , Kangla Sanathong . include Some of the worthy to mention finely crafted sculptures are
2744-420: Was a codification of the proto-constitution drafted by King Naophangba in 429 CE. Before 1675 CE, the Meitei language experienced no significant influence from any other languages. Beginning in the late 17th century, Hindu influence on Meitei culture increased, and the Meitei language experienced some influences from other languages, on its phonology , morphology (linguistics) , syntax and semantics . At
2800-524: Was functional until it was substituted by the Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 . Myanmar is home to a sizeable community of Meiteis, who are called Kathe in Burmese. Unlike other Hindu communities in Myanmar, the Meitei resemble other Burmese ethnic groups in terms of physical appearance, which has accelerated their assimilation and integration into Burmese society. In the early 1950s, Burmese Meiteis numbered approximately 40,000, with
2856-953: Was predominant, and received heavy influences from the speech forms of the other groups. Meitei is one of the advanced literary languages recognised by Sahitya Akademi , India's National Academy of Letters. Meitei belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages. During the 19th and 20th centuries, different linguists tried to assign Meitei to various sub-groups. Early classifier George Abraham Grierson (1903–1924) put it in Kuki-Chin , Vegelin and Voegelin (1965) in Kuki-Chin-Naga, and Benedict (1972) in Kuki-Naga. Robbins Burling has suggested that Meitei belongs to none those groups. Current academic consensus agrees with James Matisoff in placing Manipuri in its own subdivision of
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#17333167253672912-469: Was released on 9 April 1972. Paokhum Ama (1983) is the first full-length colour feature film (according to the Academy's definition of a feature film) of Manipur and was directed by Aribam Syam Sharma . Lammei (2002) is the first Manipuri Video film to have a commercial screening at a theatre. Imagi Ningthem ( Meitei for ' My Son, My Precious ') (1981) is the only Indian film that gets
2968-459: Was the court language of the historic Manipur Kingdom , and before it merged into the Indian Republic. The Sahitya Akademi , India's National Academy of Letters, recognised Meitei as one of the major advanced Indian literary languages in 1972, long before it became an official language in 1992. In 1950, the Government of India did not include Meitei in its list of 14 official languages. A language movement , spearheaded by organisations including
3024-421: Was the only film selected from India for the event in that year. According to the 2011 census, 83.38% of Meiteis practice Hinduism , around 16% of Meiteis follow the traditional Sanamahi religion, about 8% follow Islam and are known as Meitei Pangals , and about 1.06% are Christians. Meiteis follow both Hinduism as well as Sanamahi religious traditions and rituals. For example, they worship Sanamahi in
3080-523: Was used in religious and coronation ceremonies of Kangleipak . It may have existed before the Common Era . Numit Kappa ( Meitei : ꯅꯨꯃꯤꯠ ꯀꯥꯞꯄ , transl: The Shooting of the Sun), a religious epic that tells the tale of how the night was divided from the day, was also composed in the first century. Poireiton Khunthok ( Meitei : ꯄꯣꯢꯔꯩꯇꯣꯟ ꯈꯨꯟꯊꯣꯛ , transl: The Immigration of Poireiton)
3136-608: Was written in the indigenous Meitei mayek script. The script was replaced by an alphabet based on the Bengali script in the early 18th century. The Meitei Mayek script has seen a revival in recent decades, and is now seen in street signs, schools, newspapers, and legislative proceeding records. Among the heritage of diverse literary works in Meitei literature, the Khamba Thoibi Sheireng , ( Meitei : ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯏꯕꯤ ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡ , lit. ' poem on Khamba Thoibi ' ) ),
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