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.Naorem Sanajaoba, Manipur Treaties and Documents-Vol I,1993, New Delhi. Book I: "Twelfth Century Meetei Constitution To Pemberton Report". 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.According to K.B. Singh, The Meiteis of Manipur (1989 ), p. 157, an archaic form of the script had developed by the 11th century, and it was in use until the early 18th century, when it was replaced by the Bengali script. By contrast, O.Tomba, The Need to rewrite Manipuri History, Imphal, 1993, claims that the script is a development of c. 1930, with all supposedly older documents being deliberate forgeries (Frans Welman, Out of Isolation – Exploring a Forgotten World (2011), 468f.) 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.
Ancient Meitei literature Chada Laihui The Chada Laihui () is a historical document (puya), about the genealogy of the Meitei kings from their mothers' sides.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Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba "Moirang Ningthourol Lambuba" () is a historical document (puya), which served as the court chronicle of the rulers of the kingdom in Ancient Moirang.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.
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 Puyapp-222-223 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 () (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).T.C. Hodson, The Meitheis, 1908, London. Appendix II, page 180. A translation into modern Meitei was published in 1908.Chanam Hemchandra, Numit Kappa, translated and rendered into modern Meeteilon, 2008, Imphal, Manipur.
Ougri (also known as Leiroi Ngongloi Eshei) is a poem written in archaic Meitei.Ningthoujongjam Khelchandra, History of Ancient Manipuri Literature, Pub-Manipuri Sahitya Parishad, 1969.
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 (), 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."The manuscripts collected by W. Yumjao Singh consist of literary, historical, astronomical, astrological and miscellaneous other works of which mention may be made of Cheitharon Kumbaba, the Ningthourol Shingkak, the Poireiton Khunthokpa, Dharani Samhita, Srimat Bhagabat. The Cheitharol Kumbaba or the royal chronicle has been the most valuable for historical investigations, as it professes to record all the important daily transactions and occurrences of the State.... By orders of Jai Singh this book was rewritten as the former copy was no more available then". "The Nigthourol Shingkak is a work written in the way of prediction. It professes to predict all important events that would happen from the time of Khagemba downward. It, therefore, professes to be a work of the early 17th century. It is an anonymous work, and in this book, we see for the first time Gharib Niwaz's having had some Naga connection in his childhood." Jyotirmoy Roy, History of Manipur, 1958, p. 8.
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 Pacha Meetei Literary Award R Kathing Tangkhul Literary Award Dr Saroj Nalini Parratt Literary Award
See also Aribam Syam Sharma Heisnam Kanhailal History of Manipur Meitei mythology Khwairakpam Chaoba M. K. Binodini Devi Meitei inscriptions Rajkumar Singhajit Singh Ratan Thiyam List of Sahitya Akademi Award winners for Meitei
Notes
References
External links
Sahitya Akadmi Award Manipuri Literature Books Reviews