Meitei literature · Lablypedia

In a nutshell

Meitei literature, also known as Manipuri literature, is literature written in the Meitei language of Manipur. 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 is a Brahmic 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 existence of the Meitei script in the 15th-century hinges on the authenticity of an inscription dated to the reign of Senbi Kiyamba. 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 modernisation in Manipur, exposed as it was to new ideas and influences.

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Through Manipur and Dravidian peoples

Ancient Meitei literature

Chada Laihui

The Chada Laihui (Meitei: ꯆꯥꯗꯥ ꯂꯥꯢꯍꯨꯢ) is a historical document (puya), about the genealogy of the Meitei kings from their mothers' sides.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, the foremost royal chronicle of Manipur.

Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba

"Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba" (Meitei: ꯃꯣꯢꯔꯥꯡ ꯅꯤꯡꯊꯧꯔꯣꯜ ꯂꯝꯕꯨꯕ) is a historical document (puya), which served as the court chronicle of the rulers of the kingdom in Ancient Moirang. It records the genealogy of the kings of the Moirang dynasty.

The chronicle also slightly mentioned about the history of the Zeliangrong people.

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Medieval Meitei literature

Modern Meitei literature

Puyas

Puyas are Meitei manuscripts written in Meitei script. They encompass a wide variety of topics such as religion, mythology, chronicle, folk medicine of Meitei people, 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, 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. 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 (Meitei: Pamheiba) (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 of the two divine lovers were originated from Moirang kingdom near the shores of the Loktak lake in Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). Among them, Khamba Thoibi is regarded as the last and the greatest epic.

Chronicles

The Ningthourol Shingkak is a work written under Gharib Nawaz (Meitei: Pamheiba), written in the mode of "predictions" made during the rule of Khagemba (r. 1597–1652) and thus foretelling the birth and reign of Gharib Nawaz and his religious reforms. The Cheitharol Kumbaba or "Royal Chronicle" is a text written down in the early 19th century, under Jai Singh, the puppet king 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) as well as Meitei mythology. 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

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