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This article is an extract from <br/>

'''THE MEITHEIS'''<br/>

T. C. HODSON <br/>

Late Assistant Political Agent In Manipur <br/>

And Superintendent Of The State <br/>

Fellow Of The Royal Anthropological Institute <br/>

With An Introduction <br/>

By SIR CHARLES J. LYALL <br/>

K.C.S.I., C.I.E., LL.D., M.A. <br/>

Published under the orders of the Government of Gastern Bengal and Assam<br/>

Illustrated <br/>

LONDON <br/>

David Nutt <br/>

57, 59, Long Acre <br/>

1908 <br/>

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=The Meiteis Habitat, Appearance=
The Native State of Manipur lies between Latitude 23° 50' 
and 25° 30' North and Longitude 93° 10' and 94° 30’ East, and 
consists of about 7000 square miles of hill territory, and of 
1000 square miles of level country forming the broad valley, 
to which the Manipuris have given the name Meithei Leipak, 
or the broad land of the Meitheis. On the west its frontiers 
march with those of the British District of Cachar up to a 
point in the hills near which is the Naga village Maolong, 
from which the boundary line follows the river Barak and then 
traverses the hills to Mao, where a natural frontier line begins 
again. There is a small piece undemarcated at the corner on 
which is situated the village of Jessami. The frontier touches 
Upper Burma and passes along the western edge of the Kubo 
Valley, for so long the subject of contention between Manipur 
and Burma. 

On the south the confines of the State touch the 
Chin Hills on the east and the Lushai Hills on the west. The 
Burmese call it Kathe, the Assamese Mekle, while, according to 
Colonel McCulloch, the Bengali name for the State is Moglai.* 

Within the area of the State there is an immense variety of 
climate and scenery, which is only equalled by the variety of 
the types of mankind whose habits form the subject of these 
monographs. Tea is indigenous in the hills, and before unwise 
greed ruined it, the trade in tea seed was profitable alike to the 
State and to the traders. Eubber, too, grows in natural pro- 
fusion in the hills. The teak timber in the State represents a 

♦Cf, Pemberton, Report on Eastern Frontier, pp. 19, 20 ; McCulloch, 
Account of Munnipore.

natural wealth whose limitations are as yet unascertained. I 
the Natch Ghar are beams of teak of enormous length and girt 
from trees in the forests of the State. For the lover of spor
the valley is a veritable Paradise. In the cold weather the 
numerous lakes and jheels are covered with wild duck, tell 
geese, snipe, and in the hills woodcock and rare pheasants i 
to be found. The eastern edges of the Logtak lake afford 
home to the brow-antlered deer, while the fastnesses and thick 
of the lofty mountain peaks shelter the timid serao. Of might 
game there is the tiger, a rare visitor to the byres of the plain
men ; now and then a leopard ravages the cattle, and up to the 
British occupation elephants were caught in the valley. Man 
are the tales that are told of the strange deaths of unhappy 
persons who have seen a lairel or python, while in the swamp 
of the Logtak is found the King cobra Ophiophagus oelaps of 
tanglei in the vernacular). The Russell's viper is found in 
valley, but deadly though it is, the villagers often fear it but 
little, and I have seen a man break one in two with a dexterous| 
twist. 

The census returns of 1901 show a population of 284,465 in
the State, of whom 180,960 are inhabitants of the valley and 
103,505 hill tribesmen. It is impossible to make any deductions 
as to the increase or decrease of the population, for there are 
grounds for holding that the census of 1881 did not cover the 
same area, and was not conducted on the same careful lines as 
that of 1901. The census papers of 1891 were destroyed in the 
emeute of that year. 

==Appearance==

Dr. Brown says that, " Although the general facial character 
istics of the Munniporie are of the Mongolian type, there is a 
great diversity of feature among them, some of them showing 
a regularity approaching the Aryan type. Among both men 
and women the stature is very various, differing about as mud 
as is found among Europeans. Some of them are very good 
looking and fair. It is not uncommon to meet with girls with 
brownish-black hair, brown eyes, fair complexions, straight 
noses, and rosy cheeks. The Munnipories are decidedly 
muscular race, some of the men particularly so; they are 
generally spare in habit of body, and fat people are rare. They 
have good chests and well-formed limbs. 

The men wear their 
hair, which is coarse and black, long, and combed back from the 
forehead, which is occasionally shaved ; the hair is gathered into 
a coil behind. Moustaches are uncommon, so much so that a man 
with a moustache invariably is nicknamed khoi-haoba, although 
a man with a thick straight moustache will be seen. They have 
no beards, or very rudimentary ones. Boys' heads are generally 
shaved, leaving only a straggling quantity of hair at the back. 
The hair of the females is worn in three different ways, according 
to age. When quite young, up to the age of about ten, the 
front part of the head is shaved, the back part, from about the 
level of the ears round the head, being allowed to grow loose 
behind. 

The next fashion is that for unmarried girls, and is 
very peculiar : the hair behind, from about the middle of each 
ear round, is allowed to grow long, is combed back and tied 
in a knot or left loose. In front of this the hair is combed 
forwards, and cut equally so as to reach over the forehead an 
inch or so above the eyebrow. In front of and over each ear is 
a lock of hair about two inches broad, and reaching down to 
the angle of the jaw. In married women the hair is allowed to 
grow long, and is combed back from the forehead, Bengallee 
fashion, and tied in a knot behind, leaving a few inches 
dependent from the knot. All who can afford the luxury wear 
a chignon, which, as with the Bengallees, is incorporated with 
the knot of back hair." * The men are not heavy, though 
averaging about five feet seven. The women are four inches 
shorter than the men. Colonel L. A. Waddell, LL.D., C.B., 
C.I.E., has kindly permitted the publication of the anthropo- 
metrical data in the accompanying table. 

The Lois very closely resemble the Meitheis, and are to all 
intents and purposes indistinguishable from their over-lords. 
Indeed, it is remarkable to observe how much the individuality 
of such people as the Meitheis,' the Lois, the hill people, and 
even the Gurkhas, depends on differences of clothing and 
coiffure. In the case of the Lois, who are either earlier settlers 
or the direct descendants of Meitheis banished to Loi villages 
as a punishment, this phenomenon is intelligible, for the infusion 
of true Meithei blood into Loi families by mixed marriages is 
undeniable. 

The Panggan or Muhammedan settlers are distinct from the 
Meithei, as is reasonable to expect, although it has been noted 
that many of the Muhammedan inhabitants of Sylhet and 
Cachar resemble the hill type.* The Panggans are believed 
to have originated from Cachar as prisoners of war taken by 
Meitheis. 

==Geographical Distribution==
Historical circumstances account for the rather wide geo- 
graphical distribution of the Meitheis. There are colonies in 
Burma which owe their origin to the disastrous raids which, 
made by way of reprisal for the invasions of Burma by the 
forces of Manipur in the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
culminated in the great depopulation of the country in 1819, 
when the Burmese soldiery took with them into captivity 
enormous numbers of Manipuris of all ages and of both sexes. 
Political events have conduced to the growth of settlements of 
Manipuris in Cachar, Sylhet and Dacca, while in Bengal and in 
the United Provinces there are small colonies of Manipuris who 
have left their country for their country's good. 

These settlements, whether at Nadia, where the sentiment of religious 
attachment to the Guru of the Royal Family binds them 
together, or in Cachar where they originally settled to form a 
bulwark against the forays of Kukis, keep aloof from the people 
around them, whom they regard, sometimes without injustice, 
as their inferiors in culture and civilization. 

==Origin==

The Chronicles of the State of Manipur open with an 
"authoritative" account of the origin of the Royal Family 
to which interest of an uncommon kind attaches because 
these documents are now for the first time available for the 
student. 

" By the end of the Dapar Jug and beginning of the Kali 
Jug (year 3435), Enoog Howba Chonoo, the wife of Babroo- 
bahan gave birth to a son called Pakhangba. He used to 
assume the form of Gods by the day, and by the night he used 
to be a man." 

Around the personage of Pakhangba legends have grown 
up which declare him to have had the power of changing 
his shape into that of a snake, and his death, which alone 
proved his humanity, was due to the accidental infliction of a 
wound by his son, who saw his father in the house at night and 
killed him all unwittingly with a spear. To this accidental 
parricide the Manipuris attribute the frequency of parricide 
at the early part of the eighteenth century. But there are 
current other versions of the origin of the Ningthaja or Royal 
clan, and from one of these I take the following genealogy. 

"The Brahma dev (The creating God of the Universe) had 
sprung out from the Navel lotus of Narayan (the Protecting 
God of the Universe), Marichi Muni (a Hindu sage) was born 
from the limbs of Brahmadev. Marichi's son, Kosshop Muni 
(a Hindu Saint) ; Kosshop Muni's son, Surja (Sun) ; Surja's 
son, Shaborna Muni; Shaborna's son, Indoo Muni; Indoo 
Muni's son, Chitra Ketoo; Chitra Ketoo's son, Chitradhaja; 
Chitradhaja's son, Chitrabija; Chitrabija's son, Chitra Sarba; 
Chitra Sarba's son, Chitra Eat ; Chitra Eat's son, Chitra Vanoo. 
Chitra Vanoo had no son, only a daughter named Chitranggada ; 
Chitranggada's son, Babrubahan; Babrubahan's son, Sooprabahoo; 
Sooprabahoo's son, Pakhangba (Jobista). The Jobista or 
Pakhangba was the first ruling King of Manipur." 

Such tales are obviously tainted by the influence of Hinduism, 
and the appearance of non-Hindu names seems to mark the 
beginning of native legend. Among the Manipuris, at the time 
when Colonel McCulloch wrote his remarkable account of the 
valley, there were extant legends which induced him to believe 
that "From the most credible traditions, the valley appears 
originally to have been occupied by several tribes, the principal 
of which were named Koomul, Looang, Moirang, and Meithei, 
all of whom came from different directions. For a time the 
Koomul appears to have been the most powerful, and after its 
declension, the Moirang tribe. But by degrees the Meithei 
subdued the whole, and the name Meithei has become applicable 
to all. Since their conversion to Hindooism, the Meitheis have 
claimed for themselves a Hindoo descent. This claim, in his 
report of the Eastern Frontier, Captain Pemberton rejects, and 
says, ' we may safely conclude them to be descendants from a 
Tartar Colony from China.' For this conclusion I can see no 
reason, and think there is far more ground to conclude them to 
be descendants of the surrounding hill tribes. 

The languages 
spoken by these tribes are in their pristine state : I conceive 
then, that in their spoken language, an indication of the descent 
of the Munniporees might be found. Tradition brings the 
Moirang tribe from the South, the direction of the Kookies, the 
Koomul from the East, the direction of the Murrings, and 
the Meithei and Looang from the North-west, the direction of 
the Koupooees. 

The languages of the Murrings, Kookies, and 
Koupooees, are all very similar, and as the Koomul, etc., the 
offshoots of these tribes were, as before said, at different periods 
the dominant tribes in the valley, it might be expected that the 
present language of the people, united under the name of 
Meithei, would have a very apparent likeness to these languages, 
and such is the case. AH these tribes have also traditions 
amongst themselves that the Munniporees are offshoots from 
them. These traditions then, and the composite nature of the 
language, appear to me to afford more reason for supposing the 
Munniporees to be descended from the surrounding hill tribes 
than from a Tartar Colony from China. Besides the stories of 
their ancestors, which at times the Munniporees relate amongst 
themselves, show, that up to a very recent period, they retained 
all the customs of hill people of the present day. 

Their super- 
stition, too, has preserved relics, which alone would have led to 
the suspicion of an originally close connection between them and 
Nagas. The ceremony denominated Phumbankaba, or * ascend- 
ing the throne,' is performed in Naga dress, both by the Rajah 
and Ranee, and the Yim Chau, or * great house,' the original 
residence of the Meithei Chief, is, though he does not now reside 
in it, still kept up, and is made in the Naga fashion." * 

This careful opinion drew the consent of Dr. Brown, who 
adorned it with some interesting speculations. " Should it be a 
correct view that the valley of Munnipore was at no very distant 
period almost covered entirely by water, the origin of the Munni- 
pories from the surrounding hill tribes is the proper and only 
conclusion to be arrived at. 

I think it probable that when 
only a small part of the valley skirting the hills was capable 
of cultivation, the hillmen bordering it used to descend and 
cultivate the little land there then was, returning to their 
homes in the hills after reaping their harvests : as, however, 
land increased, some few of them settled permanently in the 
plain, gradually increasing in numbers. The various tribes thus 
settling in different parts of the valley would in time come into 
contact, and after a struggle for supremacy, amalgamate. That 
this is what actually did take place is borne out by the traditions 
of Munnipore. The above account is by no means accepted as 
correct by the upper classes of Munnipories, who deny their 
origin from the hill tribes surrounding the valley, although, 
when asked to account for themselves otherwise, they have no 
plausible story to offer. 

They can merely say that they always 
belonged to the valley and have always been a separate race. 
The theory that the valley was once covered with water, although 
supported by their own traditions, they utterly ignore. A small 
section of them, however, go a step further than this, and, as 
alluded to by McCulloch, actually claim for themselves a 
Western and Hindoo descent. This idea is quite untenable, and 
rests upon a very slender foundation, or rather on none whatever. 
The name ' Munnipore ' is thus accounted for by the Munni- 
pories, who quote the Mahabarat in confirmation of its accuracy. 
They say the name is from Muni, a jewel ; this jewel was formerly 
in the possession of the Rajas of the country ages ago. 

The country was at one time named Mahindrapore, but on a Raja, by 
name Bubra Baha, coming into possession of the jewel (which 
formerly belonged to a Nag Eaja or Serpent King) and the 
guddee, he changed the name to Munnipore. According to the 
Mahabarat, however, the name Munnipore was in existence 
before the birth of Bubra Baha, and Mahindrapore or Mahindra- 
pahar, was the name of a high hill,* situated but a short 

Vernacular: Nongmai-Ching (iiong = sun or day ; mat = (?) facing ; 
distance to the east of the capital. With regard to the Naga 
dress, said in the foregoing quotation from McCulloch to be 
worn by the Baja on ascending the throne, it is stoutly denied, 
by a section, at least, of the Munnipories, that it has anything to 
do with the Nagas, but is an ancient Munniporie costume. 
Besides being worn as above by the Eaja on ascending the 
throne, during the various games hereafter to be described, as 
the boat races, this dress is worn by the chief competitors as 
well as by the Raja, who attends the races, steering his own boat 
in this dress. If really originally a Naga costume, it has little 
or no aflBnity now with what is worn by them." * 

Major-General Sir James Johnstone, K.C.S.I., lends the 
weight of his long and interesting experience in Manipur to 
the belief that " There can be little doubt that some time or 
other the Naga tribes to the north made one of their chiefs 
Rajah of Manipur, and that his family, while, like the Manchus 
in China and other conquerors, adopting the civilization of the 
country, retained some of their old customs. This is shown 
in the curious practice at the installation of a Bajah, when he 
and the Ranee appear in Naga costume ; also that he always has 
in his palace a house built like a Naga's, and wherever he goes 
he is attended by two or three Manipuris with Naga arms and 
accoutrements. I once told a Manipuri what I thought on the 
subject, and he was greatly struck by it and admitted the force 
of what I said."

Photographs of the Kangla or Coronation Hall show that the 
front beams of the roof have crossed and carved ends which are 
distinctly reminiscent of the decorations of the houses of the 
Khullakpas of Naga villages. 

It may be observed that the 
sang-kai punsiba or hut in the Naga style, to which Major- 
General Johnstone makes reference, means the long-lived hut 
and granary (sang = hut, kai = granary, punsiba = late dying 
=long lived). 

The Lois, a title applied to the inhabitants of a number of 
Ching = hill), probably the hill that faces the sun. The great annual 
rainpuja takes place on this hill, which is intimately connected with 
other magical rites. — T. C. H. 

villages which are some distance from Imphal, and which are 
and have for long been in subjection to the Meitheis, are of 
various origin. Sengmai, a village on the Manipur-Kohima 
cart road about nine miles from Imphal, is said to have moved 
there from the south. Fayeng Loi, however, preserves a tradi- 
tion that they once occupied the site of the Konung or Fort 
from which they were driven out by Pakhungba, which means 
the rise of the Meithei power. Andro Loi, a village in the 
vicinity of Fayeng, claims the same origin. 

The villagers of 
Chairel, situated on the Imphal river not far from Shuganu, 
declare that they once occupied the slopes of Nongmaiching. 
The Lois in the south-east of the valley at Kokching, who 
live by iron-smelting, were once under the rule of the Heirok 
King, whose dominions stretched from Kokching to the Imphal 
river. McCulloch * states, that the appointment of an official 
with the style and title of Budhiraj to govern Kokching dates 
from the reign of Gharib Nawaz. The village of Susakameng 
is said to be inhabited by the descendants of Chinese who came 
to Manipur in the reign of Khagenba. The villages on the 
Logtak, Thanga and Iting, are known to have had their origin, 
as had Shuganu, on the banks of the Imphal river, as penal 
settlements to which all classes of offenders were sent. From 
the Chronicles it would appear that the Loi villages possess 
considerable antiquity, for it is stated that they were founded 
by Airaba, whose reign is dated about 1000 a.d., that is, in the 
period before history of any real authenticity begins. 

Khagenba seems to have been the first monarch to make use 
of the Loi villages as places of detention for prisoners, for he 
is said to have sent captives, taken on a raid against Nagas 
probably in the neighbourhood of Maram in the north, to 
Shuganu in the year 1645 A.D. Ten years later his successor, 
Khul Chaoba, transported a number of Manipuris, who, under 
the leadership of the Angom Ningthou, had raised the standard 
of rebellion against him, to Eharai Loi. In the same year this 
king seems to have had trouble with other Loi villages, for he 
is recorded as having sent expeditions against Andro, Kameng 
Chikhong (salt well), and Yaripok, all of which are capable of 
identification as extant in modern days. The religious changes 
introduced by Gharib .Nawaz were the occasion of wholesale 
deportations to Loi villages, and from that time onward the 
Chronicles constantly make mention of deportation to a Loi 
village as a punishment. In spite of, or perhaps because of, 
this not very auspicious origin the Loi villages are among the 
most prosperous villages in the State, for the reason that, untram- 
melled by caste prejudices, they are able and allowed to practise 
industries which are denied to the Meitheis, whom, however, to 
the neglect of their temporal advantages, they are anxious to 
follow into the respectability of Hinduism. On the occasion of 
the recent census many of them seized the opportunity to declare 
themselves Hindus, a proceeding which greatly shocked the 
Meitheis. 

==Affinities==

The group name " Meithei " has been derived from mi = man 
and thei = separate, while in a footnote to a contribution of 
immense value to the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1853, Brian 
Houghton Hodgson expressed the view that "in the * Moitay* 
of Manipur we have the combined appellations of the Siamese 
Tai and the Kochin Chinese * Moy.* In other words, the Mani- 
purian tribe, called Cossiahs by the Bengalis, belong to the Moi 
section of the great tribe called Tai by themselves and Shan 
vel Syan by the Burmese, the sectional name being also foreign 
and equivalent to the native."* Of course, the Manipuris are 
totally distinct from the Khasis,t and while Shan influence 
has exerted as great an influence over the culture as over 
the politics of Manipur, it is difficult, especially on linguistic 
grounds, to group the Meitheis with the Tai races when the 
structure and vocabulary of the Meithei language alike agree 
with those of the Tibeto-Burman races, a conclusion which 
rests on evidence very largely provided by Brian Hodgson 
himself. 

Consult monograph on **Khasi8," by Major P. R. T. Garden, LA., 
who deals with the linguistic affinities of the Khasis very thoroiM;hly : 
also consult vol. ii. of the Report of the Linguistic Survey of Miia. 
Mon-Elhmer and Tai Families’’

The researches of the Linguistic Survey of India enable us to 
take a comprehensive view of the relationship of the Meithei 
language to the languages spoken by the hill tribes both in 
the State and beyond it. Dr. Grierson gives it a place in the 
Tibeto-Burman group of languages and defines the position of the 
Kuki Chin group to which it belongs, in the following words : — 
** The Kuki Chin languages are closely connected with all the 
surrounding groups of the Tibeto Burman family, the Bodo and 
Naga languages to the north, Kachin to the east, and Burmese 
to the east and south. More particularly they form a link 
which connects Burmese with the Bodo and Naga languages, 
having, especially in the north, many relations with the Kachin 
dialects, which in their turn, form another chain between Tibetan 
and Burmese." * In another passage he insists on the close con- 
nection between Kachin and the Kuki Chin languages, especially 
Meithei which he considers to be the link between the two 
groups.t 

The remarks which I shall have to make when dealing with 
the hill tribes in Manipur need not be here anticipated, 
but their effect, cumulative and sustained, is to show that two 
hundred years ago in internal organization, in religion, in habits 
and manners, the Meitheis were as the hill people now are. The 
successive waves of foreign invasion, Shan, Burmese, English, 
Hindu, have each left permanent marks on the civilization of 
the people so that they have passed finally away from the stage 
of relatively primitive culture into one of comparative civiliza- 
tion, but their ultimate homogeneity with the Nagas and 
Kukis of the hills is undoubted, and in my opinion needs no 
further insistence. 

The annals of Manipur leave it impossible to doubt that at an 
earlier period the intercourse between the Meitheis and the 
Naga tribes was coloured by considerable intimacy which may 
explain, if it does not altogether justify, the legend that at one 
time the Manipuris used to marry Naga girls from the great 
village of Maram. In a passage in the narrative of the reign of 
the reformer Gharib Nawaz, we find mention of an invitation to 
all the Naga chiefs. " The ministers and Sirdars of Manipur 
received the Naga Chiefs continuously, and made friendship 
and intimacy with them. The Raja entertained the Naga chiefs 
with good feasts and wine." 

Whether the real nature of the connection between the Mani- 
puris and the hill tribes will ever be traced is doubtful, because 
it is obscured by the lack of historical material, the place of 
which cannot be entirely taken by comparative ethnology. 
Among the hill tribes in Manipur we find the same system of 
exogamic divisions, even the same names for the divisions, 
a phenomenon which is in my opinion capable of a very simple 
explanation. This topic will be discussed when dealing with 
the hill tribes. A speculative writer, like McLennan,* may 
found on such facts an elaborate theory of the growth of early 
human society, but here is it not due rather to community or 
identity of origin than to contact and chance connection ? 

In discussing the origin of the Loi communities I found it 
necessary to set in array facts which clearly show that they are 
for the most part of the same origin as their Meithei masters. 
Unfortunately it is not within my power to add very much to 
Dr. Grierson's remarks on the paucity of linguistic evidence as 
regards the affinities of these minor groups. " None of these 
dialects has been returned for the survey, and they have 
probably all disappeared. The vocabularies published by Major 
McCulloch show that they cannot belong to the Kuki Chin 
group. But it has proved impossible to class them as belonging 
to any other group. There is apparently some connection with 
the Naga languages, especially with the eastern sub-group. But 
the materials available are not sufficient for a definite statement. The question must therefore be left open.  
*Primitive Marriage, pp. 109-111. Among many of the hill tribes 
are current legends which, differing in details, invariably agree in de- 
claring the Manipuris to be the descendants of the youngest of three 
brothers and therefore the most favoured. 

But in order these legends are fortified by allusions to such differences as the superiority of the Manipuris in the matter of the clothing and their greater cleanliness. All that these 
ex post fado stories prove is that the hill tribes recognize their relation- 
ship with the Manipuris who, on their side, are for the most part content 
to acquiesce tacitly in the claim which they cannot explicitly deny. 
Such a legend as that which explains the ignorance of writing among tiie 
hill tribes, is found in many places with just enough variation to aSiiist 
it to local peculiarities. Of. Dr. Tylor {Anthropohgify p. 377) : ** What 
the poet relates may be fiction, what lie mentions is apt to be history." 
to make it possible to compare the forms given by McCulloch 
with those occurring in other Tibeto-Burman languages, I have 
given them as an appendix to the Meithei list, because this 
language has, to a considerable extent, influenced the vocabulary 
of the Lui dialects." * It is curious to observe that the names 
of the two principal Tableng villages, the members of which 
speak a language belonging to the south-eastern sub-group of 
Naga languages, are Wanching and Wakching, which happen 
also to be the names of villages in the south of Manipur. 

While the advance of Meithei has obliterated the dialectical 
distinction of the Lois of Sengmai, Andro and Chairel, their 
religious customs have suffered less modification, as will be seen 
in the section on religious beliefs and practices. In anticipation 
of these results I venture to say that we may regard the Lois as 
in much the state as the Meitheis were when coerced into the 
smooth paths of Hinduism.

==Dress==
Colonel McCulloch describes the dress of the Manipuris in 
the following terms : " The men dress in the same way as they 
do in Hindustan ; but as a people the Munniporees far surpass 
the people to the west in the cleanliness of their garments. . . . 
Unless permitted by the Raja, various articles of dress and 
ornament cannot be worn, and permission to wear any of these 
articles is much coveted. Persons of high rank are permitted 
to have carried before them a red woollen cloth ; of a less rank, 
a green woollen cloth; and of a less still, a cloth of cotton 
manufacture. These they use as rugs to sit on, and it is only 
for such use they are prized ; as articles of dress they may be 
used by any who can afford to buy them. 

The dress of the 
women is quite different from that worn by the women in the 
west. It consists of a striped cotton or silk cloth passed round 
the body under the armpits and over the breast, a jacket, and 
a sheet." t Dr- Brown, however, amplifies this account in the 
following passage : " The dress of the men does not differ 
materially from that of the Bengallee, and consists of the 

dhotie, koorta, or shirt, only occasionally worn, and a chudder, 
or sheet. In winter those who can afford it wear a quilted and 
padded coat, like that worn in the Punjab, generally having 
long uncomfortable sleeves and enormously high collars. Shoes 
are seldom worn. The puggree is shorter than that worn by 
Hindustanis, but is put on in the same manner. The dress of 
the women when of good quality is picturesque and pleasing. 
During the hot weather it consists of a piece of cloth open 
except at the bottom, where it is stitched together by the edges 
for a few inches ; this is folded round the body, under the arm- 
pits and over the breast, and tucked in by the hand at the side 
of the body. In length it reaches the ground, but as this would 
be inconvenient in walking, it is hitched up about halfway to 
the knee, and tucked in again at the waist. 

This piece of cloth,called a 'fanek* is only wide enough to go one and a half times 
round the body ; this gives enough room, however, for the legs 
in walking. The fanek is made in cotton and silk, and the 
only patterns are stripes of various colours and widths running 
across the material, the groundwork being of different colours. 

The commoner patterns are red with green stripes, green and 
black, blue with black and white stripes, yellow and brown, dark 
blue with green and white stripes, etc. At the top and bottom 
of the garment is a broad margin, on which geometrical figures 
or patterns of various kinds are sewn by hand with floss silk in 
various colours. Over the fanek is worn a white sheet,* which 
is folded in the usual native manner, the face, however, being 
left uncovered. In the cold season a short jacket with long 
sleeves is worn ; this reaches below the bust over the fanek 
and is worn tight-fitting. 

The material is usually velvet or 
satin, black, blue, or green being the favourite colours. The 
great drawback to this dress in a European's eyes is its tendency 
to spoil the figure the whole weight of thefanek resting on the 
bust soon ruins the shape. Female children, until puberty, or 
near it, wear the fanek round the waist, the upper part of the 
body being bare." It is necessary to add some particulars to 
the above account by noticing the peculiar costumes which 
custom permits or demands on certain occasions, by mentioning 
in some detail the sumptuary rules and regulations, and by 
giving some account of the periods at which, according to the 
annals of the State, changes 'in the attire of its people have 
been introduced. 

The following sumptuary laws are recognized, and were 
enforced among the Manipuris by their own officials : — 

The Kameng chatpa dhoti is a white silk dhoti with purple 
patterns of scrolls stamped on it by means of wooden blocks, 
which are said to have been introduced by the Chinese 
merchants who visited the State in the reign of Khagenba, 
circa A.D. 1630. It may not be worn by persons of inferior 
rank, but Rajkumars may use it at their pleasure, a privilege 
which is now extended to sons-in-law of the Raja. 

The phi-ge-napu dhoti is an orange-coloured dhoti which may 
be worn by the classes of persons mentioned above. Children, 
however, are permitted to wear it. 

Theju-gi mairi dhoti is a red silk dhoti which may be worn 
in the presence of the Raja by persons who hold titles of office 
as members of the Chirap, or by the favour of the Raja. On 
ordinary occasions it may be worn by anybody, but not in the 
presence of the Raja. 

The gulap machu dhoti, or rose-coloured silk dhoti, of a pretty 
pink shade, may be worn only by the privileged persons who 
hold office or enjoy the royal favour, but it may be worn by 
any one else on ordinary occasions provided the Raja is not 
present. Children may wear it at pleasure. 

Pagris with silk-patterned ends may be worn by descendants 
and relatives of the Raja and by those upon whom it is con- 
ferred as a mark of favour or distinction. Pagris with silk 
borders may not be worn in the presence of the Raja. Wrestlers 
and runners when performing in public wear a pagri with a 
projecting front, to which the name lam khang poak is given. 
The Raja's immediate servants, when in attendance at his meals 
or when accompanying him to worship or when massaging him, 
wear the pagri so as to cover the mouth. Ordinary persons at 
ordinary times are not allowed to come into the presence of the 
Raja with their pagris coiled in this fashion, nor are they 
permitted to twist it in rough coils when entering the royal 
presence. 

Women are not allowed to wear chadars embroidered with 
gold either in the presence of the Eaja or elsewhere without 
permission. Descendants of the Baja are not bound by this 
restriction. 

The national sports and games afford an opportunity for 
special and elaborate costumes. On the occasion of the great 
annual boat-races, in which in former days the Raja used to 
take part, the steersmen of the competing crews wear a 
kameng chatpa dhoti (see above), and to add to the dignity of 
the high-coiled pagri with fringed ends permitted to them, 
they wear feathers of the Argus pheasant or of the Hume's 
pheasant, with blossoms in long trailing coils of the blue orchid 
(Vanda caerulea). The wrestlers wear the kameng chatpa dhoti 
and the curious head-dress, which has a portion twisted up in 
front, in a manner which resembles the Marring coil 

The costume of the polo players is more practical, and consists of 
a short jacket of dark velvet, worn even in hot weather, a dhoti 
generally of white cotton, and quilted leggings of a stout and 
serviceable nature. The pagri is fastened in such a way as to 
protect the ears and side of the head from blows, and if not 
particularly picturesque, is at any rate of great use, for in the 
heat and fury of the game the players become excited, and 
some people think that if they cannot hit the ball, they may 
as well hit the man. 

The religious festivals, such as the Lai haraoba (or making 
merry with the gods), are occasions when the sumptuary laws 
are a little relaxed, and women don their gayest apparel 
without let or hindrance. Those who have been selected to 
take a part in one of the religious dances wear a handsome 
costume which is as modest as it is also beautiful, and which 
is sanctioned by long custom for these occasions. Old women 
make a living by hiring out these costumes, for they cost too 
much for ordinary purses to buy outright, and the appreciation 
of their charm, which so many British officers have shown, 
adds to their cost. The head-gear is a small skull-cap of black 
cloth or velvet, with a narrow band of pearl trimming at the 
edge ; sometimes they wear an ornamental branching spray of 
white imitation pearl beads on the cap. 

The jacket is close fitting, and is of black cloth or velvet, with gold trimming 
about two inches deep on the sleeves, which do not reach down 
to the elbow. A white cloth is wound tightly round the waist 
from under the breasts just over the hips to give support. The 
petticoat is made of silk, either green or dark red, and at the 
bottom is a band of sequin ornamentation eighteen inches to 
two feet in depth. Over the shoulder and round the waist is 
fastened a decorative ornament, which I can only compare to 
a sabretasche with a shoulder-strap. On a groundwork of red 
silk or satin, they sew round, oval, or square pieces of glass 
silvered, set in gold and silver tinsel, with loose fringed ends 
of the same bright materials. Over the silk skirt they wear a 
top-skirt of white delicate muslin woven in the country, on 
which are sewn rows and rows of silver tinsel, till the whole 
is a mass of gorgeous splendour, reflecting the light in all 
directions, as the agile creatures whirl round and sink down 
in ecstatic worship of Radha Krishna, in whose honour they 
dance. The little lad who takes the part of Sri Krishna wears 
a handsome dress with a resplendent head-gear, adorned with 
peacocks' feathers and silver tinsel. 

The first change in the matter of dress occurred, according to 
the Chronicles, in the reign of Chalumba, circa 1550, who is 
said to have "introduced the system of wearing Dhuties and 
decent clothing, coats made of wax cloth were also introduced 
during his time." It would be of extreme interest to know the 
precise nature of the presumably indecent clothing thus dis- 
placed. The luhup (lu = head — not a Meithei word — hup = khup, 
to cover) or head dress was first brought into use by Kiagenba 
in about 1600, and the Chronicles note that it is used by men 
of rank at the time of the festivals. Khagenba is also 
responsible for the adoption of the head gear known as Lam- 
khang poak. He was a zealous reformer in the matter of dress, 
for he also caused the people to take to the turban or pagri. 

The first mention of the Kameng chatpa dhoti, or royal 
dhoti, dates from the reign. of Pikhomba, who ordered a man of 
the Potsangbom pannah to be beheaded for stealing one of these 
cloths, but its introduction is probably much earlier, as, accord- 
ing to tradition, it was first made in the country by Chinese, 
who are said to have visited Manipur ia the reign of Khagenba 
{circa 1630 A.D.), the inventor of a costume to which the name 
ningkham furit was given for the use of royalty and the 
ministers of state. The faichareng, a cap worn by ladies of 
high rank, is first mentioned in the year 1746, when the Rani, 
the wife of the Raja Pamheiba or Gharib Newaz, wore it at a 
dancing party given by the Chothe Nagas in their village. 

Since that date changes of costume are not mentioned in the 
Chronicles, but the approach of European civilization has given 
rise to the fashion of wearing cast-oflf clothes from England. 
The combination of two such excellent garments as the dhoti 
and the frock coat does not display the merits of either garment,
but the "old clothes'* corner of the Sena kaithel is always 
crowded, and in the early days of the British occupation a 
frock coat fetched in Manipur considerably more than it 
originally cost, while the competition for collars raised the 
price to about one rupee each. Free trade in these commodities 
has lowered the prices, but " Bilati " coats are worn by as many 
as can afford them, and the sale of old uniforms is making 
the fortunes of the enterprising traders who import them. 

In dress the Lois are not distinguishable from Meitheis. 
The women wear the same costume. These remarks are also 
true of the Panggans, men and women, with the difference that 
the Panggan women wear faneks, which they fasten under the 
right breast, while Meithei women fasten this garment under 
the left breast. The colours of the faneks of Panggan women 
differ from those used by Manipuris, as, for instance, the green 
used by a Meithei will be darker, less glaring than the shade 
of green allowable to the Panggan. 

==Tattooing==

The Manipuris do not tattoo, and there is no record of their 
having at any time practised this custom. 

==Ornaments==
Dr. Brown * says that " The ornaments are earrings, necklets, 
and bracelets ; ankle ornaments are never worn, or rings on the 
toes. Nose ornaments are limited to a small piece of gold wire 
in the side of each nostril. The only ornaments which may be 
worn without restriction are earrings : these may be worn by 
any one. With regard to other ornaments of gold, permission 
for all but the upper classes to wear them must be obtained 
from the Raja. Ornaments of other metal than gold may be 
worn freely." The earrings worn by the men and by the 
majority of the women are of plain gold, generally a thin 
casing over a solid piece of lac. Men do not wear other 
ornaments, but the necklaces worn by the women of the upper 
classes are of tasteful, simple filigree designs manufactured by 
native goldsmiths, who prefer almost pure gold to work on, as 
their tools are not tempered for work on alloyed gold. The 
bracelets and necklaces are of chased and hammered patterns, 
while plain beads formed round a hollow nucleus of lac are 
common. 
==Weapons==
The universal weapon, used in all kinds of emergency and for 
every purpose, in the fields, in war and in the arts of a more 
peaceful nature, is the dao. But the more the people of Manipur 
have become acquainted with the tools and implements of 
western civilization, the more thoroughly have they accepted 
the specialization of tools which marks the progress of organized 
modern industry. The advent of the horse, the foreign animal 
[sa, animal ; gol or kol, foreign], added an arm to their military 
organization which eventually became famous in the wars of 
the dawn of British authority in Further India. The cavalry 
of Manipur, better known as the Cassay Horse,* fought both for 
and against us in the First Burmese War. Their weapon was 

*Extract from Snodgrass's Narrative of the First Burmese TTar, pp. 85, 
86 : '* Numbers of these unfortunate beings (captives of war) from Cassay, 
Arracan, and Assam are to be found in Ava ; and even villages are to 
be met with on the Irrawaddy inhabited by mechanics, ironsmiths, and 
particular trades, whose features plainly indicate a foreign origin. The 
Mimniporeans or people of Cassay, in particular, abound in great 
numbers, and they are much prized as clever workmen. Owing to their 
superior skill in the management of the horse, the Burmese Cavalry is 
almost exclusively composed of them ; and they are distinguished by the 
national appellation of * The Cassay Horse.* '* 
the rambai or dart, the use of which was due no doubt to the 
fact that shock tactics could not be successfully carried out with 
such light cavalry in any country in which they were called on 
to operate. 

"It consists," as Dr. Brown says,* " of two parts — one, the 
outer, is formed of ten or twelve long quills of peacock feathers, 
which are bound together so as to form a narrow hollow cylinder 
At one end is fastened a heavy pointed piece of iron ; into the 
sheath thus formed a bamboo rod is placed, projecting outwards 
about five inches, and forming a handle ; to this handle, to give 
a better hold, a piece of cord is attached ; each horseman had two 
quivers full of these arambas fixed on either side of his saddle 
behind ; in using them, the handle of the rod, which fitted the 
sheath with moderate firmness, was grasped firmly and the 
sheath flung, leaving the bamboo core in the hand ; the heavy 
iron on the point made the aramba fly true. 

In pursuing, the aramba was thrown in front, and in retreating was useful in 
throwing behind and impeding the enemy." Spears, bows and 
arrows were also used as weapons of offence, and the intro- 
duction of firearms, while rendering them and the aramba to 
a large extent obsolete, also gave scope to the ingenuity of 
Manipuri artisans, who manufactured rough matchlocks, and are 
known to have risen to the height of producing a breech-loading 
gun of iron, which Dr. Brown thus describes : t " The breech- 
loader above mentioned, which is still in existence, is of iron 
and about three feet long ; the breech piece is separable from the 
gun and received the charge, its extremity being then inserted 
into the bore of the gun, a portion of barrel being cut out to 
admit of this ; the movable breech piece fastened behind by a 
slot passing through the gun (see photograph). 

The bullet weighed only a few ounces, the bore being small. The piece, 
carriage and all, was carried by two men. Nothing is known of 
the inventive genius who made this gun, except that he was a 
native of Munnipore : it is probably about a hundred years 
ago." Eound shields, made of buffalo hide and studded with 
brass knobs, sufficiently thick and strong to turn a spear thrust, 
are carried, but mainly on ceremonial occasions only. Tradition 
asserts that from Chinese merchants who visited the State 
during the reign of Khagenba, circa 1630, the Manipuris learnt 
the art of manufacturing gunpowder, an art which to this day 
is still practised by the Kukis, who probably derive their 
acquaintance with it from the Manipuris. The Chronicles state 
that Khagenba, in 1627 a,d., " experimented to make big guns, 
and prepared one metal gun of big size." 

There is a curious weapon of the form and on the principle of 
the bow, which is used as a catapult. The pellets of hardened clay travel with considerable force and with some accuracy.
=See also= 

[[The Meiteis: Introduction]]

[[The Meiteis: Preface]]

[[The Meitei Language and Grammar]]

[[The Meitei: Laws And Customs]]

[[The Meitei: Religion]]

[[The Meitei: Traditional economy]]

[[The Meiteis Habitat, Appearance]]

[[The Meitei community after 1947 ]] 

[[Category:Communities|M
MEITEI COMMUNITY]]
[[Category:India|M
MEITEI COMMUNITY]]
[[Category:Name|ALPHABET
MEITEI COMMUNITY]]

[[Category:Communities|M
THE MEITEIS HABITAT, APPEARANCE]]
[[Category:India|M
THE MEITEIS HABITAT, APPEARANCE]]