CHAPTER
Y II
FOLKSONGS AND BALLADS
A. FOLKSONGS
A fo lk s o n g i s a l y r i c a l , s im p le , n ot t o o a r t i s t i c ,
rhythm ic co m p o s itio n o f the f o l k . I t i s n o t an e x p r e s s io n
o f the s o p h is t ic a t e d m ind. I t g n e r a lly r e f l e c t s the s o c i a l
h e r i t a g e , th e en viron m en t, the jo y s and s o rro w s , problem s
and w o r r ie s o f th e l i f e
o f the f o l k l i v i n g in a p a r t ic u l a r
t e r r i t o r y . I t s c h i e f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c l i e s in a f i n e b le n d in g
o f i t s w ord in gs in u n ison ^rfcth the tune in w hich i t
i s sung.
I t i s c h a r a c t e r is e d by a spontaneous s im p le , but n a tu ra l
m elody th a t s p r in g s from the em otion o f the common peop le
— an em otion caused by th e n a tu ra l su rro u n d in g . I t has i t s
l i t e r a t u r e embedded in the o r a l t r a d i t i o n w hich i s tr a n s m itte d
from one g e n e ra tio n t o a n o th e r o r a l l y . " F o lk songs are best
d e fin e d as songs which are cu rre n t in the r e p e r t o r y o f a
f o l k group . . .
."
1
A “ f o l k song i s an a r t in which the average member o f
th e group p a r t ic ip a t e s more g e n e r a lly than in th e case w ith
c u l t i v a t e d m usic o r l i t e r a t u r e o f the c i t y . N ea rly everyon e
2
in a f o l k group knows songs and s in g s them . . . . "
B. MEITEI FOLKSONGS
The h i s t o r y o f M e ite i fo lk s o n g s c o u ld be s a id t o be as
o ld as the h i s t o r y o f M anipuri language and c u lt u r e .
M e ite i
1.
M aria Leach (e d ,^ .TStandard D ic t io n a r y o f F o lk lo r e
M yth ology and L egend. V o l . I I , Funk and W a g n a lls ,C o .,
New Y ork, 1950, p. 1033.
2.
I b i d . , p. 1034
f
j
314
folksongs can reflect better the entire Manipuri culture than
the Manipuri classical
'
literature can do because there is no
dichotomy between cultural and national poetry of the people.
As a matter of fa c t, these folksongs have drawn vigour
and
rejuvenation from the life of the Meitei people, and as such,
they echo the religious movement, heroic deeds, customs, manners,
traditions, b e lie fs, entertainments, love, separation, beauty,
wealth, sorrow and g r ie f, e t c ., in short, all the facts of the
national l if e of the Meiteisthrough simple and sweet notes.
Since ancient times, dances, music and religion have been
inseparably interlinked with the l if e of the Meitei fo lk .
Thus, the folk music and the community dances continued to be
an integral part of the l i f e of the people of Manipur.
As can be expected in a tradition --bound society, fo lk ­
songs f u l f i l various functions in the Meitei society. Folksongs
play an important part in fu lfillin g the ritual functions of
various r it e s , and ceremonies prevalent in Manipur. They are
also sung in praise of gods and goddesses. Besides, they are
sung while observing certain fe stiv a ls. For example, Hijan
Hirao, a ritual song is always sung in fu lfillin g the ritual
of the Lal-Haraoba fe s tiv a l.
Meitei folksongs of love and yearning, expressing the
mutual attraction between man and woman are particularly popular
among the youth, although they are sometimes sung by grown up
315
peop le. They express etern a l human sentim ents, and might have
been a s so cia te d , at le a st in the past with the idea o f
fe r tility .
Often folk son gs provide good recrea tion and amusement to
the people. The folksongs lik e Phousu Ish ei (husking song)
through th e ir enchanting tunes, love and sex
themes convert
the d u ll work in to a sp ortive experience while providing an
avenue to fo rg e t the fatigu e and hazards o f hard work. Women
sing songs throughout the day while c u ltiv a tin g the f i e l d or
p ro te ctin g the crops from w ild b ird s. S im ila rly , men a lso sing
songs while catching fis h at the lakes or while returning home
from t h e ir day’ s work. They a lso serve the fu n ction o f
communication channel fo r knowledge and b e l i e f . They are one
o f the most powerful propaganda media to d ir e c t the a tten tion
o f the people towards a p a rticu la r programme.
Folksongs a lso provide pleasure and jo y as they en liven
th e ir plays and games. Now there is a tendency towards
disappearance o f such game songs and play rhymes from amongst
M eitei ch ild ren studying in schools imparting ’ modern*
ed u cation .
In Manipuri, a ’ fo lk s o n g ' i s c a lle d Khullak Ish6i or
Khunung Idhei :
Khilluk or Khunung means r u r a l; Ish ei means
song. There are variou s kinds o f folk son gs in the M eitei
s o c ie t y . However, these folksongs may be conveniently c l a s s i ­
f ie d in the follow in g groups fo r the present study :(a ) Sengs
o f Religious and R itu a lis tic Association, (b) Songs o f
Love and Yearning, (c ) Songs sung in connection with certain
Ceremonies, (d) Work songs and (e ) L u llab ies, Rhymes and
C hildren's Game Songs.
(a ) Songs o f Religious and R itu a lis tic Association
( i ) Invocations
Sana Lamok : Sana Lamok is sung while i
praying Pakhangba, e tc . by a malba.
The singer takes much
care in singing th is invocation song unerringly. As mentioned
in the book 'Naothingkhong Phambal Kaba' (c irc a A.D. 663), the
song Sana Lamok was also found to be in vogue at the time o f
the coronation of king Naothingkhong. It is also said that it
was sung as a welcome note to the king near his throne when
he returned from a tour or m ilita ry expedition. It was also
believed that i t bestowed upon the king lon gevity and immunity
from illn e s s i f sung c o rre c tly . I t has an obscure c.ri-gin. A
part of th is song is quoted below :
"Lairen ngangdi / Langgoi sayang thakta /
Karl l aktaroinongthoirago lakshik-Q / Sharen yetna lam /
Khubi kaorong shu / Khuya y e t- o i t humrfa /
Sana Lamok phamda / Tubes sana namiren /
_
3
Mlren thouyangbabu t illarem le
N. Khelchandra Singh, Arlba Manipuri Sahityagi It ih a s ,
Imphal, 1969, p. 21.
Because of the archaic nature of the language, a
l i t e r a l tran slation is almost impossible. In th is and
other specimen o f th is kind, which fo llo w only the main
idea has been given in English a fte r quoting the text
i t s e l f . However, even th is has not been possible and
simply the text has been quoted.
317
An English rendering w ill read like this
0 , King
:
Why should not you
Come on a horse back ?
Come and surpass a l l ,
Be seated comfortably
On the royal seat
I have stood as the royal shadow to thee,
Ahonglon : Ahonglon is a ritual song of medieval Manipuri
litera tu re, most like ly a fragment of lengthy composition now
forgotten. From olden days, the maibas and the malbis have
been s t ill chanting Ahonglon while worshipping the gods. It
also describes the yearly joyous festivals called Ahong
kummei
celebrated in honour of the gods, which was performed
by the successive Meitei kings every year according to the
particular month of the calendar with pomp and grandeur. The
song was sung to the accompaniment of a Manipuri musical
instrument called
' pena' (a multiple - stringed fiddle played
by a bow). The rhythm of Ahonglon song is vigorous. There is
a traditional belief that the gods were pleased if Ahonglon
was sung and that the pleased gods would bestow plenty and
prosperity on the community of the village in which it was
sung. There are still people who believe in the efficacy of
Ahonglon song. Although the " fun-making" referred to the
Ahonglon song was not meant for amusement of the people, it
was a jubilant activity of the gods, A portion of this song
is as follows :
318
“ He hao he hao he hao /
Hongnemse hongnemse /
Hongnemlo hongnemlo /
Lamlenmada hongnemba /
Kangleiyond! hongnemb! /
Ringmayonda hongnemba /
Khoyamthaobu hongnemba /
Kaiyingthaobu hongnemba /
Lairenyaina rianongyaina hongnemba/ Liklairenna
ningthaorenna hongnemba /
Loidamgldi tha kaodana / Langhelgldl kamkaodana hongnemba/
4
• • •
• • •
etc* etc*'
I t means : “ Make fu.n, matce fun, L6t us make fun In the
best o f lan ds. To make fun Irk a corner o f the realm. To make
fun in the kingdom o f the M eiteis. To make fun in the best o f
c i t i e s . To make fun every year without any ommissions (skipping)
5
even a sin g le year, and in the same m o n t h . e t c . e t c .
Yakelba s Yakeiba i s sung to the accompaniment o f the pen!
as a d a ily service to wake up the king in the morning. It is
a lso sung by the singer with the pena as a r it u a l morning
prayer o ffe r e d to the d e ity during a Lai-Haraoba f e s t i v a l .
This
song g iv es an exhaustive and d e s cr ip tiv e survey o f how the day
breaks in the h i l l s and the plain and in the neighboiu'inf state
o f senbl (Burma) in tersp ersed with region al legen ds. An English
rendering o f th is song i s as fo llo w s :
“ Day breaks in the region o f Moirang
When the Uthum. a water bird
4.
N. Khelchandra Singh, o p . c i t . , pp. 44-45.
5.
R.K. J h a la jit Singh, A H istory o f Mani]air i L itera tu re,
Imphal, 1976, p. 175.
319
Sweetly s in g s ; 'Turn Turn'
In the bash by the la k e .
And that was a bird
Transformed by the soul o f a woman
Who happened to be an unfortunate a te p -w ife .
Thus the people o f Moirang did percieve r is in g o f the sun.
And on the side o f Senbi (Burma)
The l i t t l e bird that heralds morning
Is no other than the b ea u tifu l parrot
Which was transformed from a lo v e ly g i r l
6
Who used to protect the f i e l d from wild b ir d s .'1
Fakhangba Langyensei :
Pakhangba Langyensei i s rela ted to
the coron ation o f a M eitei k in g. The coron ation o f the M eitei
kings was held at Kangla (situ a ted at the present cantonment
area o f the 4th Assam R i f l e s ) . There i s a mound with a deep
h ole in i t . Ancient and Medieval M eiteis believed that there
was a serpent c o ile d up in a c h a r a c te r is tic way beneath the
ground o f Kangla and that the hot a ir above and inside the hole
was the f i e r y brea/th o f the serpent emanating through i t .
For coron ation , the king and the queen sat on a high
platform b u ilt on the h o l6 , but the k in g 's posture was v e r t ic a l
above the h o le . This Pakhangba Langyensei was sung by a person
of
6.
Thongam Sagei and
i t was repeated in chorus by s ix ty ''our
Ch. Manihar Singh, *A Note on Early Manipuri P oetry’ in
Quarterly Journal V o l. 11, No. 4 , (October-December), 1981
Published by Manipur State Kala Akademi, Imphal, p p .5 -6.
320
c o u rtie rs while the king and the queen were climbing the
golden ladder to reach the top o f the platform .
This song
con sists o f 48 stanza of three lin e s each with a s y lla b ic
r e fr a in in the th ird lin 6 . As i t would be a f u t ile attempt to
give i t s complete tra n s la tio n , the cen tral idea o f th is song
may be put thus :
“With the blessin gs o f my preceptor and bowing down to
God, I , the sin ger, sing th is song. A ll those who assembles
here .' Please lis t e n with undivided attention . Now I sing o f
the big serpent. It has now u n c a lle d i t s e l f and has come out.
I t s eyes are shining. 0 , what a dazzling sig h t. A lo tu s of
gold has appeared in the bosom o f the serpent and a gem, in the
bosom of the lo tu s. Let us look at the gem conferring immortal­
it y
on our king. Gems o f love are f a l l i n g in showers from
heaven and the Earth-goddess has received them fo r the king.
L6t us now bow down to the Earth-goddess with her b le s sin g s,
t h is kingdom i s now happy and prosperous lik e the kingdom o f
8
the gods.“
LoufrtErol Ish ei
:
on L a lr o i numit (la s t day of the L a i -
Haraoba f e s t i v a l ) , the M eiteis perform a r it u a l on r i c e c u ltiv ^ t^ tio n . The meeting, subsequent qu arrels and re c o n c ilia tio n of
Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi during the rice c u l t i v a t i o n is
a compulsory r it e in the f e s t i v a l. Nurabi (Panthoibi in
7.
N. Khelehandra Singh, op. c i t . . p. 13 Fn.
8.
R.K. J h a la jit Singh, op .c i t . , p. 173.
321
disguise) sings invocation song of the presiding d e i t y o f
the community for giving prosperity to the comnunity. Then,
Nurabi with six girls after an early meal are out to work in
the paddy-field* Then, they chant Lou t arol* an invocation
song to the paddy spirit along with dancing* A fragment of
Loutarol Ishei is .as given :
“Poirei khunja hup /
Tayum nai.ia tin /
Yotlei nongthang kup /
Te n g pak lallu sha /
Thouri leeshang toi /
Haru nongga phou /
Porom natS sham /
Kaithet maru tup /
Yupa khuman tan /
Yangdou mamei sham /
Wahl koktai tup /
Louri shungdai yan /
9
Khalei ngam thungle*”
Peeren machee khom /
Inother fragment of Loutarol Ishei is :
“Lamlenmadi: heyl 0 /
Mad&lmada heyl 0 /
Kanglelyonda heyi o /
Yoymayaibu heyi 0 /
Pungmayonda heyl 0 /
Taorimaibu heyi 0."10
There are three kinds of Loutarol namely, Phouoibi
Akong.lambagl Loutarol« Shoubol Lairel Loutarol and Poire it ongi
Loutarol.
According to the deity, one of Loutarol invocation
songs is generally sung by maibi.*
11
In Lal-Karaoba this
Loutarol song is followed by Louyal Ishei (cultivation song).
9*
N. Khelchandra Singh, op.cit. , p. 8
10.
Ibid. , p. 17
11.
Ng. Kulachandra Singh, Meitei Lai-Haraoba, Imohal, 1963,
p. 109.
322
An English rendering of Louyal Ishe! i s as follows :
I t ' s f a t h e r * 3 f i e l d , that they should hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t ' s grand-father's f i e l d , that they should hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t ' s a f i e l d that give s peace to the land, that they should
hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t ’ s a f i e l d of long l i f e to our king, that they should
hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t ' s a f i e l d of prosperity to our land, t h a t , they should
hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t ’ s a productive f i e l d , that they should hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t i s a f i e l d , that gives lo nge vi ty.
They should hoe i t .
Let us hoe.
I t ' s chol: chayil *s (a v a r i e t y of ri c e ) f i e l d , that they
should hoe i t .
Let us hoe.
I t ' s panphuk panphol*s (another rice v ar i e ty ) f i e l d , that
they should ho6 i t ,
Let us hoe.
323
I t ' s shongree mayangba»s (another ric e v a rie ty ) f i e l d ,
that they should hoe i t .
Let us hoe.
I t ' s lomtia tektS»s (a v a rie ty o f r ic e ) f i e l d , that the;,
should hoe i t ,
Let us hoe.
I t ' s phourel phou.1ao»s (a kind o f r ic e ) f i e l d , that they
should hoe i t #
Let us hoe.
I t ' s shingkha shingthun^s f i e l d , that they should hoe i t ,
12
Let us hoe.
Phongou Ish e! :
According to M eitei fo lk b e li e f , there
i s a harvest goddess whose b lessin gs are necessary fo r a
bou ntiful crop. She i s c a lle d Goddess Phouoibi. Therefore,
a ft e r h arvestin g, the threshing work i s done on a mat c a lle d
l o uyei phak in the f i e l d i t s e l f and on that very day, the paddy
thus collected h^eaped up in the form o f a small mound a f t e r
winnowing i t out and is u su a lly followed by worship and prayer
to Goddess with song known as 1?hougou Ish ei * ( VPhou * means
paddy;
' gou1 or*kou' means c a llin g ; Ish ei means song; a song
symbolising welcome to paddy c ro p ). F e r t i l i t y is the cen tral
m otif o f th is song. This song i s s t i l l in vogue in the M eitei
society with some v a ria tio n s here and there
12.
I b i d . , pp. 109-110
:
324
0 Goddess, Phouoibi ;
Gome, come, come ;
Make for us heaps of Thangyi paddy
Gome, come, come,
Bestow what is good and wealth
Come, come, come,
Bless us with h il l s of Thangyi paddy
Come, come, come
0 Goddess Phouoibi
Gome, come come.
N&nglao Ishei
13
t
In Manipur there are various rituals
to invoke the rain. However, one of the oldest process to call
for the rain in times of drought was the ritual performed at
Nongjukhong, a place towards the south-east of Langjing, a
h i l l to the west of Imphal. The malbas would make various
kinds of offering and sing a rain invoking song called
Nonglao I she i . The song runs thus :
0 ra in , pour down
Submerge the peak of Langjing
Float down maidens of Pat soi
Let the youths of Unam pick them up.
0 Rain of Kouba Kounu
0 rain of Loijing Loiya
13.
Informant
s
0 . Bhogeswar Singh, Singjamei
325
0 ra in o f Ire n e Baham
0 ra in o f Thane .line K o ir e l
0 r a in o f Wangbren. the supreme d e it y o f south
0 ra in o f Shambum Maharaba
0 ra in o f the n o rth -e a s t
0 ra in o f Haokap chinesang
0 ra in o f Kbunpham neane.iene
Come down in to r r e n ts
May the sky produce thunder
And may the clouds rumble
L et the ea rth be heavy
May the goddess o f w ater g lid e ra in
And may the goddess o f w ater shower r a in on u s . ^
C h ildren a ls o sin g the above Nonglao Is h e ! w ith some
15
m o d ific a tio n s .
Mikon Thagonba s On L a ir o i. num it, the Lal-H araoba i s
concluded w it*1 a song known as Mikon Thagonba - a hvjmn sung
by a s in g e r to the accompaniment o f the frena instru m ent. Th is
song r e v e a ls th a t the sou ls which are b e lie v e d to be in the
s ta te o f e c s ta s y due to the pomp and grandeur o f the Lai-H araobg
f e s t i v a l are u s u a lly c a lle d bade in to the human b ein g. L ik e - v is e
on the la s t day, Thhbal Chongba i s a ls o concluded w ith the
performance o f Mikon Thagonba song which I s sung by the le a d
sin ger and responded In ehorus by the p articip an ts o f i t .
14.
Chinglon L a ih u i (MS)
15.
For d e t a i l s see s e c tio n ( e ) o f L u lla b ie s , Rhymes and
C h ild r e n 's Game Song£,
A
326
s p e c im e n
o f M ik o n T h a g o n b a
Im p h a l i s
as follow s
Liv in g
at
Let
as
call
The
b est
song
sang at S a g o l b a n d M e in o L e i r a k ,
s
far o ff
th e
place,
so uls n e a r e r
o f the G uru
i s w ak a boat
Im m o rta l A t i y a Guru
Is
sittin g
on th e
stern
Im m o rta l Im a L e im a r e n
Is
steerin g
Oh
s fiv e
the
boat
so uls
S i x w ith
shadow.
Oh
so u l,
D o n 't
be e m p t y .
Oh
so u l,
D o n 't
lose
Let a s
The
call
in
the
your e n t i t y .
s o u l w i t h Koo K o o .
s o u l w o u ld come g r a d u a l l y ,
A n d w o u l d k e e p b e h in d the
st e p
by ste p
C h in g h u n g h u t
Further,
The
Chakpi R iv er i s
your : yonder
And f u r t h e r ,
W hen t h e
Chakpi
The T o i b i k h o n g
S till
P a it
*
•
riv e r
is
(c a n a l)
p ast
is
there
a- head
farth er,
th e T o i b i
•
canal
•
•
*
The L o k t a k w i t h h e r n i n e
And t h e
eight
tr ib u ta rie s
o f them b e i n g
b lo c k e d
327
With the pegs of reeds
The dam being the Langom (a kind of plant)
•
•
•
•
•
•
The place called Khwairamband
On the track of the Naga river
Collides with the reed pegs
Langom would act
•
•
as dam.
•
•
Threefingers below
•
•
the navel
There are golden
And silver vessels.
Open with the golden key
And with the silver key.
Inside the golden vessel.
And the silver one
The soul, would house
Both the vessels being locked
Let us call in the souls with Koo Koo
Do you concede to it (soul)
I , the soul, do
I , the shadow do.
16
( i i ) Songs Containing Myths Or Legends Or Allusions to
Legendary Or Historical Events
Ougri
16.
:
Informant
Ougri
:
is a creation hymn. Ougri is an old
M« A m b i Singh, Phumlou V illa g e .
328
Manipur! word, corrupted from ou ri meaning rope. Ougri song
i s o f m ystical o r ig in . On L a ir o l humit (the la s t day o f L a iHaraoba), Qu.gri i s sung fo r the p rosp erity o f the community
in a l o c a l i t y or o f the v i l l a g e . Equal numbers o f both male
and female catch hold o f a rope t ig h t ly forming a c i r c l e ,
the knot o f the rope i s in fron t o f the d e ity . Th6 male
p a rticip a n ts stand at the side o f the Lainingthou (God) and
the female p a rticip a n ts towards Liirem bi (G oddess). While
singing Ougri
the lin e is not to be broken and the rope
should not f a l l on the ground. There i s a b e lie f in the
M eitei s o c ie t y that i f the rope f a l l s on the ground in course
o f sin gin g, that w ill bring ruin to the community o f the
l o c a l i t y or o f the v il l a g e . T h erefore, at the time o f singing
O ugri, the p a rticip a n ts take s u ffic ie n t care to observe the
ru le s s t r i c t l y . The rnaiba, standing in the middle o f the
c i r c l e , sings the f i r s t lin e o f the ou gri as a lead singer
and the p a rticip a n ts fo llo w it in chorus. Thus, the song
continues t i l l the end. Choral singing o f i t with i t s vowel
harmonies and matching consonants in a long drawn s ty lis e d
manner on such a fe s tiv e
occa sion as that o f Lai-Haraoba
makes at a l l times very charm. A fragment o f this
given below :
' Hoirou haya hoirou haya hoirou haya
Haya so hayS- so. hayasa~ Ing&i Ingsa Irigsa
He hup he hup he hup Qpgri -0 K o lle .
•
•
song i s
-329
Apan baba Charangsenbn
Khoibungsenba Nongshaba melba
Nongpok Leimachabu Toareng Leimachabu
•
•
•
♦
•
•
Malem houhgelgibu
Nongga houngelgibu
P o irel shenmgeigibu
•
•
•
•
•
•
Kongloaton Louthiba gsf
Hao mukriare Lengphai ch a lle
M'ongba ye t i e t a s i l ye t ie kharonyetle
“•
•
"
•
•
•
•
, 17
The f i r s t portion d e scrib es the variou s a p p ella tion s o f
the sun and the rest t e l l s us about an in cid en t o f the crea tion
o f the u n iverse.
A nolrol :
A n o iro l, a long com position forming a part o f
the Lai-Haraoba r ir u a ls i s tr a d it io n a lly sung by pena-sakpa (a
singer with pena instrument) with brisk rhythm and re fra in
thrown in at irre g u la r in t e r v a ls . It d escrib es the ev olu tion o f
dance in d iffe r e n t ages. This song a lso revea ls that when Ashlba,
in accordance with the in it ia t iv e of the Immortal Ruler o f the
Universe had fin ish ed the crea tion o f the w orld, dancing was
introauced to the w orld, as a mark o f r e la x a tio n . In the very
17,
0 . Bhogeswar Singh and P. Kokngang ( e d s .) , Arlba Sheireng,
Imphal, 1977, pp. 29 .32 .
330
song of Anolrol it is mentioned that Konde khuchum Mai had
composed the dance and taught it to Panthoibi who was also
called Tubi Ngangyok Chanu Toibi Tangkanubi. This dance was
performed at the Mahouching by Panthoibi during her incar­
nation as Khabi Lengnao Mombi
before her father Taoroinai
whom she had invited to a feast
s
At a place at Mahouching (Mahou H i l l )
At Mahon Phaipok ching (Mahou phaipok H il l )
•
•
•
•
•
•
Khabi Lengnao Mombi
While serving her father with feast
While serving Taoroinai with feast
•
•
•
•
•
•
The dance performed in the Hayichak
Danced by Soraren, the Chakpas saw
18
•
•
•
Hi.jan Hirao
•
:
•
•
Hijan Hi rap, a ritu a listic song was
composed in connection with a historical incident which
reportedly seems to have occured during the reign of a king
of Luwang dynasty(circa 400-600 A . D , ) . This is now sung in a
certain customary rite or at the conclusion of a Lal-Haraoba
festival only by the maiba. This song tells us about
the
significance of Lal-Haraoba and also the rites that the maibl
18.
Ng. Kulachandra Singh, o p .c i t . .
pp. 57-61.
331
conducts during this fe s tiv a l. Besides, a fragment of this
song describes the customary rites to be performed by the
malba at the time of fellin g a tree. The last part of the
song is charged with deep human sentiments. The k i n g ’ s men
with two skilled artisans, namely, Wangmitkhu Khutheiba and
Wangmanao Silheiba spotted a tall and beautiful tree at
at Kouba Ingel H ill for making a royal boat out of i t . On
the night previous to the felling of the tree, the forest
which is lying on the h i l l side, in the form of a mother,
cried in agony for the tree as her departed child. A portion
of it has been rendered in English thus :
“ At the dead of night
The mother who had begotten the tree
And the mother of all giant trees
The Queen of the hill-range
And the Mistress of the gorges,
•
♦
•
•
•
•
Took the tall and graceful tree
To her bosom and w ailed,
“Oh, my son tall and big,
While yet an in fa n t, a sapling
Did **nt I te ll you
•
•
•
•
•
•
To be an ordinary tree ?
•
•
♦
•
♦
•
332
The king
men have found you out
And bought your life with gold and silv e r.
•••
.«•
On day break backed at the trunk
You wj.ll be found lying prostrate,
No longer w ill you respond
^
To your mother's call
Nor a likeness of you
Shall be found, when I survey
The whole hill- side,
Who shall now releive my grief"
19
So also the lofty range (mentioned in this
song Irok
Ningthou Ningthiba and chingsang ningthou Aremba) has been
personified as a father lamenting for a dying child.
Kholju Lamok :
Khoi.iu Lamok is obviously ritual song
and is not easily understandable to the present
generation.
But this song, with a particular form of recitation and with
the allusion to incidents, historical or traditional b e lie f,
can create an aura of the hazy past. In the Lal-Haraoba
festival when the Lai
worship) after
arrives at the laibung (place of
' Ikouba' ( I » water; kouba = c a l l ) , Hholju.
Lamok is sung. At the time of singing of i t , a fire is
lighted in order to ward o ff the ev il s p irits, disease borne
19.
Ch. Manihar Singh, o p . c i t . . pp. 5-6.
germs and e f f l u v i a . The text of the song is as follows
'Korou Ncngthoren 0
Sana namiren miren thouyangbabu
Khanuwai yamwairakki k o l l e .
L e io h ik c h ik lib a Leitham tham libalakki Kolle
Kouba kounu khoi
Makhan khungam khoi
Ghamaingang phana kon
Shanthong heimari heimarangria
HeisuP h eiso i yan
Naben khoimom lairemma
Pui ehagoinungda l i rouhei
Teen.ja l a ic h a tannahei
Te enmu l aimu tannaheina
Konma nangeine
Chakshanubi ma she eng khang
Naman luwahg taptetaplaiba
Hainingshangna shonmoi yarnme
Shishano peekhatkhiye
Ngamranubeena peekhatkhiye
Khamdingnubina peekhatkhiye
Haoraan yetoi konphaba
Ngaircng shingmit y e bnananhaba
Kashan khu.nngam shong
Huyen lamshingbu. phanashingna
T,
.20
Konma nangeime.
There is another song gen erally sung while dancing
in the L a i-Haraoba f e s t iv a l. The song is as follow s :
0 I n g e lie i flow er blooming in the mountain,
You ars fa llin g o f f without having been o f any use.
I t is a p ity .
1 am not fa llin g on my own free w i l l .
I am fa llin g because the wind blows.
I (w ind), too, am doing nothing
The flower is f a llin g ,
Because the strength o f it s stem is diminished.
21
The above song has d iffe re n t meaning and conceptions.
Many scholars in terprete in d iffe r e n t ways. According to R.X
J lia la jit Singh, the In gel l e i flower blooming in the mountain
refe rs to a beautiful woman liv in g high on a social pedestal
In the 17th century, there were many such women inside the r
harem in Manipur. Though th e ir beauty attracted the at bent i..,
20.
N. Khelchandra Singh, o p .c i t . , PP. 46-47.
21.
H. Sourachan ra Sharraa, Me ite i _ K h u l ^ f h a l ,
(n.d.), p. 12 .
235
o f many a commoner, they were fa r above the reach o f the
common men, since they liv e d inside the royal compound. They
ar6, th erefo re, compared to flow ers in g e lle i blooming in the
mountain. As desire remained u n fu lfille d they were compared
to flow ers f a llin g o f f without having been o f any use. The
flow er, in rep ly , says that she is gradually withering net
w illin g ly but compelled by the almighty time.
22
Some other scholars say that th is song alludes to a
h is to r ic a l
event in the annals o f the h isto ry o f Manipur. In
the seventeenth century Charairongba, the adopted son o f king
Palkhomba and Nungthit Chaibi, a daughter ofmdid servant were
in love and also had i l l i c i t re la tio n . She became pregnant and
th is news reached the ears of the king and the queen. Therefore,
a plan was made to keep her at the Thangal h i l l situated in
the north o f Manipur. In course o f tim e, a son was born to her.
When Charairongba became the king, he could not keep her and
her son in the palace due to the fe a r o f objections from his
cou rtiers and subjects, she died before he met her again. Thus,
he lamented over such separation. Therefore, the flower in gelilel
was compared to Nungthil Chaibi who could not get fu lfilm en t
o f her youth though she was in love with Charairongba. She
is
lik e flow er in g e lle i withering unused. People believed that it
was
sung by the king Charairongba. Nov-a-days, i t is sung in
the Lai-Karaoba dances.
22.
R.K. J h a la jit Singh, o £ . c i t . , p. 173.
( i i i ) R it u a lis t ic Songs With E rotic And Love Themes
Khenchp : Khencho is a type of old r it u a l songs of Manipur
whose composition is arch aic. It i s d i f f i c u l t to say when and
who composed th is song . Khencho i s quite obscure to the present
gen eration . We can fin d it in the book Naothlngkhong Phambal
Kaba. It is a lso found in som6 old Manipuri books namely,
Fanthoibi Khongkul, P u d il, Lelthak L elk h lro n . e tc . Khencho is
chorus song in the Lal-Haraoba fe s t iv a l* It i s s t i l l sung in
t h is f e s t iv a l t i l l to-day by male and female standing in front
o f the god and the goddess. Like O u gri. the maiba <Ls a lead
sin ger sings Khencho and the p articip an ts repeat the same by
clapping t h e ir hands and a ls o stepping out th e ir f6et in forward
and backward movements. It i s noted fo r i t s music a risin g out
o f the modulating sound of impressive consonants. It is gen erally
said that i t was composed a ft e r the lik en ess of reverberating
dill produced by the mad to rre n ts, o f a h i l l y stream flow ing in
the western part o f Manipur and strik in g against stone boulders.
Another fascin atin g account is that the undulating rhythm was in
im itation of the lig h t footed w ild goats jumping on the rocky
h i l l slopes. It runs as fo llo w s
:
“Khencho-re khencho-re / Khencho rangmei khencho-re /
Achi chirong chi chirong / Ham6ng khenchp makhencho /
...
•••
Shagol tongba kairamba / Nangbu tongba yangdedo /
Lamgi paria khongsiiangbi / Nangbu shaiba ngangdeda /
Athing kore thingkore / Thingko langmel thingkore /
23
Lalren kokpa thingkore.*'
Paosa' i
Paosa i s one of the songs which formed part of
the Lai-Karaoba r it u a ls . There are many v a ria tio n s in Paosa
Is h e i. This song i s r e a lly e ro tic r id d le s . In the Manipuri
version of dance, Panthoibi dances incorporating Paosa is sung
by the maibi and the pena
h a rp is t. The song is a pungent love
repartee supposed to take place between male and female
d iv in it ie s (gods and goddesses). Therefore, the song is c a lle d
’ Paosa*. The ancient Paosa songs are terse and laconic but
th e ir philosophical in te rp retatio n s are rather lon g. It is
a ls o sung in a lig h t-h e a rte d tone by men and women p a rtic ip a tin g
in the Lai-Karaoba f e s t i v a l. A fragment of Paosa Ish e i u su a lly
sung in the Lai-Karaoba may be seen as fo llo w s :
Oh, l i t t l 6
young man,
Angling by the cave
Angling by the bank
As you have thrown a clod
My water pot has broken
Won't you repay ?
Repay, repay, please repay
Ho ya ho ya ho ya
23.
Ng. Kulachandra Singh, op .c i t . , pp. 121-122.
338
Oh la d y , I d id n ’t throw that
Which dw ells in the house o f earth
24
•
•
•
•
•
•
Another very popular love song with poetic imagery is
as fo llo w s s
When the h e -b ird (chekla) flew away.
The sh e-bird returned home
And not knowing the whereabouts of her husband
The sh e-bird i s smitten with sorrow
0 dear son o f my m other-in-law
From the golden ravine o f the mountain,
Come back fly in g to me.
25
The imagery of beauty of a lo v e r w aiting fo r her beloved
in impatient expectation forms one of the b e au tifu l aspects
o f Manipuri fo lk -so n gs. The above folk-son g has many la y e rs
o f meanings and also the art of p e rso n ific a tio n . We cannot
overlook such imagery of luminous beauty. This song is also
u su a lly sung while dancing the Khamba-Thoibi dance before the
d e ity during the Lai-Haraoba f e s t iv a l in Manipur accompanied
by musical instruments* However, the o rig in of the song and
the composer of th is melodious song are remained untraced.
Another imagety expressed in another folk-son g r e fle c t s
the mood and passion o f a lo v e r who is f u l l y concerned fo r
h is beloved. In th is folk-son g things are suggested, intimated,
24.
I b id . , p. 55*
25.
H. Gourachandra Sharma, o p .c i t . t pp. 13-14*
339
hinted a t, but n everth eless ex p ressly stated :
The lo tu s blooms yonder in the east (fr o n t)
The bees are hovering around l u s t i l y
Come, my beloved, come,
The world i s f u l l c£ envy and jea lou sy
March ahead my beloved.
This i s one o f the most popular folk son gs sung during
the Khamba-Thoibi dance in Lai-Haraoba. There are variou s
in te rp re ta tio n s but the commonly accepted view i s that it
d e scrib e s the feminine beauty. The breasts o f the beloved
are
lik e the lo t u s . The black bees (mean the youngmen) are
darting fo rth towards the lo t u s . She unmasks her beauty to
the bees in order to en tice the w illin g lo v e r whose looming
shadow f a l l s upon h er. Everything in th is song is an id e a lis e d
world embracing nature and humanity.
(b ) Songs Of Love .And Yearning
Khutlang Ish el s Love themes pre-dominate the folksongs
in Manipur. In the previous section we have dealt with songs
with e r o t ic and love themes, having r i t u a l i s t i c a s s o c ia tio n .
But most o f the love songs that are sung with f u l l o f emotion
are secular in nature. They are gen era lly sung ou td oors, in
the f i e l d s , la k e s, e t c . ---- in sole without the help o f any
26 .
I b id . • p. 12.
340
musical instruments# For example, a young man, who works in
the fie ld or fishes in a lake, starts singing. He may address
group of g irls who work near the same place. One of the girls
gives an indirect but reciprocal reply spontaneously through
a song medium using words appropriate to the questions of the
youngman. This kind of songs are termed as Khutlang Is h e l.
The beloved is compared to objects of nature, often at a level
which Y .K . Sokolov d ifin e s as "Psychological parallelism ."
In
the Khutlang Ishel the g irl is a beautiful flower and the boy
a bee or black bee :
Young man :
Sweet flower, maiden, most beautiful one
When I see you, 0 flower.
I have no language and I cannot express
Like a fish-bone stuck in the throat
Enchantress of my heart
And for me the mountain bee
On which day may I express
The unexpressed words
Intended to express to you my dear.
Young woman :
0 most excellent b ee;
When I hear your bachelor's voice
My maiden's heart loses#
The strength of the tiger
Is the dense forest,
The strength of the bird,
Is the a ir ,
The strength of the female
341
Is the man,
The strength o f the man
I s th6 female,
Please express what you lik e .
Please inform what you wish.
Please do not wait fo r the time, my dear.
2?
Another songs in the same singing style as that of
Khutlang Ish e ! i s gen erally sung by a boatman, or a wood c u tte r,
e tc . while returning home a ft e r h is d a y 's works or d riv in g
c a ttle towards home in the evening or returning home in a narrow
or lo n ely road at the la t e hours during n igh t. He sings it
addressing h is beloved who is at a f a r o f f distance in a plain
voice in fu ll-t h r o a t e d high pitched note. He sings alone. He
does not care whether somebody lis t e n s to it or n ot. But, he
sings in w ilderness. The only p e c u lia rity of such songs i s that
i t i s composed extempore. The fe e lin g s espoused in such songs
ar6 the products o f the s in g e r 's own experience and the compo­
s itio n i s e x c lu siv e ly h is . The burden o f such song i s more often
a M eitei legend
s
It i s a l l calm and quiet place.
In such a land,
I thought
To converse
27.
Informant : H. Mangoljao Singh, a renowned Khongjcm-parba
singer in Manipur.
342
With h is lady love
Which i s mor6 important than my l i f e
Being the daughter o f someone from a separate
fam ily.
I cannot take her fa th er
Which I had been thinking
The sweet v o ic e o f you
maiden :
Is Imprisoned in my heart
Just portraying in the core o f my heart
In such a land
Walking side by side fa cin g fron t and back
With you, maiden,
I sh a ll fin d the fu lfilm e n t o f my l i f e .
(c ) Songs Sung in Connection With Certain Ceremonies
28
29
Songs connected with Thabal Chcngba are sung by a lead
singer on dholak and the p a rticip a n ts respond to in a chorus
repeating th e ir le a d e r 's sin gin g. At the outset the leader
chants,
'Hari B ola1.
the p a rticip a n ts respond, 'He H a ri1. It
means that the song would proceed fu rth er :
28 .
I b id .
29 ,
As we have se6n Lai-Haraoba happens to be the biggest
f e s t iv a l o f the M eiteis and thus songs sung in that
f e s t i v a l would a lso come under t h is ca tegory. However,
they have been already treated in e a r lie r s e c tio n s .
343
Harl Harl bola He h arl
•
It means,
•
•
•
«
.
‘As the time o f the year approaches, the
Yaosang i s set on f i r e . We w i l l dance fo r the prosperity c f
our v illa g e and the land. 0 God H «re , you a r e . 1
The Thgbal Chong ba l y r i c s are very lo v e ly , Songs connect­
ing the Ramayana and the Mahabharata events, and those comme­
morating h is t o r ic a l n arration of e a rly M eitei k in gs, folk-tales,
e tc . also form part of the Thabal Changba. It is worth mention­
ing here that song about spring season, the lo tu s and the black
bee, Xhamba-Thoibi, Mainu Peacha, Tonu L a ijin g Lembi, e t c . are
popularly sung. On the la s t day Thabal Chongba i s concluded
with the performance o f a song c a lle d
'Mikon Thagonba'
a
hymn which i s sung when the souls which are believed to be in
a state o f ecstasy are c a lle d back into the human bodies. Some
specimen of Thabal Chong ba~ songs are as fo llo w s
L a ijin g Lembi)
: (Seng on Tonu
i
'Phairen thagi thajinda / Kum^agi marangyaida /
Moirang leim arol taretna / Ibema Ayahg Leimagi /
Chainaba kabok poklingei / Pakhang Thangja Hanbaga /
Moirang pakhang asina / Thanga le ik a i k oirakle /
Moirang leim arol taretna / Moirangl tada angamba /
Nlngthougi mariai achanba / L a ig i kabok poklingei /
30.
For d e t a ils see Preceding pages
325-327.
344
Phagi ju gal to a h c id e /
Asl wabu haiduna /
Chingoi mapao khum&ak&e / Moirang pakhang anldo /
Mongba marahyalda hankhare / Ngabak pangoi le ir a g a /
Mol rang lelm arol taretsu / L algi kabok pokpa loiraduna /
Mongba marahyalda h a lla k le / Molrang khorl lamjaoda /
Kbundinblgl lamyalda / Pakhang Thangja Hanbaga /
Nura L a ijin g Lembig¥ / Nura palchang unnare /
31
Thangjlngna l e i pun punkhare. 1
e tc. e tc.
It means
at the beginning o f the month o f Phalren while
seven Lelmarol ( g i r l s ) o f Moirang were making purched r ic e at
the residence o f Kumaba fo r Ayang Leima, the young men o f
Mairang with
Thangjahanba came there and wanted to poke jokes
w ith the g i r l s . Thereupon, the seven g i r l s o f Moirang to ld the
noble and fa v o r ite c o u r tie r s o f the king o f Moirang that while
they were making the parched r ic e fo r the goddess. Ayangleima,
i t i s proh ibited (as per the e x is tin g taboo) to crack with
them. The two youngmen returned home. A fter some tim e, seven
g i r l s o f Moirang also returned home ju st a ft e r they had made
the purched r i c e , Thangjahanba, the youngman met Nura L a ijin g
Hanbi, at the cross-roa d o f Khundinbi o f Moirang Khori. Lord
Thangjing had already decreed that they should be spouse, e t c .
e tc.
31.
R.X. Snahal Singh, ‘Manipurgi Lok S a h itya' in gahitjjra,
11th Issu e, May (19 69 ), Imphal, p. 29.
345
And another song on Spring season j
Victory to God, Yaosang is set on fire
All the youngtters
Thing for the prosperity
Praise the glory of God, with their mother,
So that they might live happily.
0 H a r i, 0 sisters
Let us sing the glory of God.
The Spring has set in
Plants and trees grow green,
Shei.jak blooms,
The mustard plants too bloom.
Cuckoo, the bird
Bites bowers on the mango trees
And keeps it inside the mouth intact her throat full of it
With her sound of cooing in the melodious rapture,
32
etc. etc.
And another TKabal Chongba Song runs thus :
To-day, the day
Let us sing the glory of God, Hari.
It s being the full-moon of LamdiT month
The moon is fhll in her glory
Chaita^nya Prabhu was bom
Just after his birth.
32.
R .X . Snahal Singh, o p .c i t . t p. 2 0 .
346
H eribol Yaosang was set on f i r e
At the court-yard o f the father
And in the four conners o f the courtyard
Let us make a Neela Chhatra
Bina, the sakhi
Makes the imacje o f Radha-Krishna
Before the image of Radha-Krishna
And in the middle of the temple o f Hari
33
Let us sing the g lory o f God Hari.
e tc. e tc.
(d ) Work Songs
The number of pUrecWork Songs’ in Manipuri does not seem
to be very la r g e . Most o f the work songs proper in the M eitei
language re la te to r ic e husking. These songs o f r ic e husking
are known as Phousu I s h e i. Such songs are gen erally sing on
a moonlit night when women fo lk are busy in husking.
O cca sion a lly it is a lso sung by young boys and g ir l s while
husking tog eth er. Although Phousu Ish ei abounds in v a r ie ty
h ere, one can e a s ily hear the tunes :
Broad face o f Mi si *s paddy-pounder (M isi-a kind o f tre e )
The smooth p estle o f Uthao
(a kind o f tre e )
A round winnowing fan o f Leihou Sintak (a kind of bamboo)
33.
Informant s M. Amubi Singh, Phumlou V illa g e
347
Keeping the winnowing fan before me (lady)
Holding it with both hands fis t e d
Praising the Almighty God’ s name freq u en tly .
The smooth p6stle o f Uthao
She r a is e s i t in the sky
Her b e lly gettin g squeezed
And drops i t in paddy pounder#’ s hole
With movement in her waist
P raising the name o f god
The g i r l s husk the paddy
In the fa t h e r 's courtyard.
34
Another Phousu Ishei i s that :
'Hayum yanaba thoudahgkok/ Shing challaku hairaga/
Phou purakpa yanaba/ Nangria chakrxi. h a ira g a /
Phougak ch ajik namthiba/ Chakpu sad ana- pi ,1age/
N&ngna yensang hairaga/ Laphu yengang thumnamdabi/
Jen sang saha pi .1a g e / Nangna ngabu hairaga/
Khongbandagl ngachakto/ Ngabu sana pipage
It means s
0 servant when you are asked to cut the f i r e ­
wood you have gone to bring the paddy. If you ask me f o r r i c e ,
I w ill feed you stal6 meals o f Phougak (a kind o f r ic e ) as r ic e .
I f you ask curry, I w ill give you plantain without sa lt as carx-y.
34.
Informant : Angom Khongnang, a renowned Khong.jom-parba
singer in Manipur.
35.
R.K. Snahal Singh, o £ . c i t . , pp. 12-13.
348
I f you ask fo r f i s h , I w ill feed you on tadpole caught from a
d itch instead o f f i s h .. .
And another one i s as fo llo w s :
*
0 mother, 0 mother
Let us come, o mother
Don't come. It i s ra in in g.
We w ill come by holding the Yempak
Don't come. The road i s slip p e ry ,
life,will come by holding the stick
Wien we grow up by to-morrow
And become mature.
At the middle o f the Sanjenthong bridge
While coming on the back o f the elephant
We won't forg et you
36
0 mother 0 mother.
In the M eitei s o c ie ty t r a d it io n a lly Just before the Yap sang
f e s t i v a l , the g ir l s o f a p a rticu la r l o c a l i t y assemble in a
group at the residence o f a p a rticu la r g i r l in the evening to
begin the husking a c t i v i t i e s o f the paddy. Since there would
be no time during the Yaosang they com pulsorily begin the
proceedings as ea rly as a month before the Yaosang. As such
they keep s u ffic ie n t stock o f paddy fo r th is occa sio n . While
they are husking in a group, the young boys a lso jo in them.
36.
H. Gourachandra Sharma, o p .o i t . , p. 26.
349
Usually, a g i r l and a boy husk the paddy. During the husking
they sing the Phou su I she! and quite often they talk about
th e ir love a ffa ir s matually. Sometimes, they make use of
rid d le s . The song is ap tly unisoned with the rhythm produced
during husking with p estles.
Some work songs are connected with the a g ricu ltu ra l
operation. For example women sing songs while keeping a
guard over th e ir crop to protect from predatory birds, e tc .
One of the songs gen erally sung by the women fo lk while
protecting the crop from the w ild birds in the M eitei society
i s given below :
Ha
U rit (t a i l o r b ir d ), a deaf bird,
Not responsive to the c a ll of your mother.
No reply to the c a ll o f your fath er.
Ya ho ya ho
Ya ya ho .»
( e ) L u lla b ies, Nursery Rhymes And C hildren’ s Game Songs
Of the several kinds o f rhymes current, lu lla b ie s ,
nursery rhymes and rhymes connected with ch ild ren ’ s games
constitute the most important group, both q u a lita tive and
qu antitative in variab ly. In M eitei rhymes, lo g ic and coheranee
are conveniently dispensed with. I t may be said that many of
the rhymes have variation s in d iffe re n t version s. Some of the
350
these rhymes are pure lu l l a b ie s and others are meant for
amusing or humouring the c h il d .
A lu lla b y in Manipuri is
termed as 'Naosum or Naothem
37
Is h e i. ’
To l u l l a child to sleep is a very tid io u s job for
a mother. She adopts several methods to l u l l her child by
g ivin g sweets, toys e t c . and by singing Naosum or Naothem
I sh e i. In v a r ia b ly these types o f songs have a haunting music
and soft and tender notes natural to the themes. U su ally they
are fa n c ifu l compositions. The rhymes in these songs are often
m eaningless.
In the M eitei
so ciety ,
soothing a crying c h il i
w ith the help of Nao sum or Naothem I shei is also found a ss o ­
ciated with the mythological story of Konthoujam Lairembi :
♦Ne ne hayinage /
Hayinage haya h o /
haya hum/
Ne ne /
Ne ne hayinage/
Haya ha /
Ne ne h ayinage/
Ya~ ho / '
38
This song was i n i t i a l l y sung by Ima Leimaren Shidabi in
order to l u l l the crying ch ild KhoiMphaba to sleep. The language
of the song is very o ld , and as such, it is d if f ic u l t
it
into E n g lis h . However, the only word
to render
'hum' in the second
lin e of the song is s t i l l in vogue in the M eitei society to
37.
Naosum or Naothem I shei :
'N ao ' means, 'c h i l d ', sum or
them m eans'to l u l l or to sooth' : I shei means song. In
other words, it means a song for soothing a crying c h ild .
38*
Khoriphaba Naothemlol (M S)*
It is remarkable to note the
na sa l voice in the rhyme which can e a s ily l u l l a child
to sleep.
351
l u l l a ch ild to sleep . It i s n o t, however, now-a-days, found
in use as a lu lla b y in Manipur. It i s , sometimes, sung as r itu a l
song here and there in Manipur.
And another lu lla b y is as fo llo w s ;
Moon, Moon, 0 , b ea u tifu l Moon,
Bit your baby on my back.
I sh a ll l u l l to sleep .
W ill you ob lig e me,
o,
b ea u tifu l Moon.
With a fr u it o f f i g - t r e e
Oh, i t is fa lle n on your dung
It has fa lle n on your urine
39
Oh, who w ill eat i t ?
This song i s s t i l l popularly and tr a d it io n a lly sung by
any woman in the M eitei s o c ie ty on a m oonlit night to l u l l a
crying baby to sleep com fortably on mother*s back. The mother
very o ften a llu re s her ch ild to look at the b ea u tifu l moon.
The theme o f the song simply expresses that the mother o f the
baby beseeches the moon to give a boon in the form o f a fr u it
o f a f i g - t r e e so as to enable her to beget a f r u i t f u l fcaby. In
t h is co n te x t, d iffe r e n t in te rp re ta tio n s o f many scholars abound.
However, the above one i s a commonly accepted in te rp re ta tio n .
There i s a tr a d itio n a l b e l i e f among the M eitei people that the
black spot on the surface o f the moon i s an old woman s it t in g
at the fo o t o f a f i g - t r e e .
39.
Pombiron Shekneeng (MS)
352
Another type o f lu lla b y which has been rendered in
English is as fo llo w s s
0 langthrel
Why d on 't you shoot ?
The cow eats my sh oots,
0 cow
Why do you eat the shoot ?
The cow-boy does not tend me
0 , cow-boy.
Why d on 't you tend the cow ?
The mother does not fe e d ,
0 , mother,
Why d on 't you feed ?
The fire-w ood is not dry,
0 , fire-w ood
Why d on 't you dry ?
The rain pours,
0 , ra in ,
Why do you pour ?
The fro g croaks.
0 , fr o g ,
Why do you croak ?
The custom o f my fo r e fa th e r s .
Why should I give i t up ?
353
Go . . .
go . . .
go . . .
ga . . .
ga.
Th is type o f lu lla b y r e la te d to what i s termed as form ula
t a le can be spun out c e a s e le s s ly in M e ite i s o c ie t y .
It
M e ite i analogue in which the f i r s t th in g addressed i s
is a
the
l a n g th r e i (a sm all m ed icin al plant used by the M e ite is w h ile
40. R.K. Snahal Singh, o p .c i t . ,
p. 8.
Assamese v e r s io n o f t h is song i s as fo llo w s
:
0 flo w e r , 0 flo w e r ,
Why d o n 't you bloom ?
The cow n ip s my sh oots,
Why should I bloom ?
0 cow, 0 cow,
Why do you n ip the shoots ?
The cowboy does not tend me,
Why should I not n ip ?
0 cowboy, 0 cowboy,
Why don ’ t you tend the cow ?
The cook does not make r i c e ,
Why should I tend ?
0 cook, 0 cook,
Why d o n 't you make r ic e ?
The f u e l l e r gath ers no f u e l ,
Why should I cook ?
0 fu e lle r , 0 fu e lle r ,
Why d o n 't you gath er fu e l ?
The smith does not make me a dao,
Why should I gath er ?
0 sm ith, 0 sm ith,
Why d o n 't you make the dao ?
The charcoal-man su p p lies no c h a rc o a l,
Why should I make ?
0 charcoal-m an, 0 charcoal-m an,
Why d o n 't you supply ch arcoal ?
The cloud pours,
Why should I supply ?
0 clou d , 0 clou d ,
Why do you pour ?
The fr o g croaks,
Why should I not pour ?
0 f r o g , 0 fr o g ,
Why do you croak ?
The custom o f my fo r e fa t h e r s :
Why should I g iv e i t up ?
P. Goswami, F o lk - lit e r a t u r e o f Assam. Gauhati, 1965,
pp. 50-51.
354
offering oblations to their d e it ie s ). A song of this type is
also found in Assam and in O rissa. Accordingly, the b elief,
in this regard is that if the frog croaks, it would be raining
sooner or later.
Another logic type of lullaby sung by a mother and a baby
in the form of dialogue is as follows
:
0 , mother, 0 mother,
Let me also come, o mother,
Don't come. It is raining
I w ill come by holding
Yempak
Don't come. The road is slippery.
I w ill come by holding the stick.
0 , lovely mother,
Let me also come, o mother
Don't come, dear daughter.
There is flood, Don't come.
Let me come by rowing the boat
0 , lovely mother,
Let me also come
Stay with your elder brother
I f I stay with my elder brother,
41
He w ill hit me with the handle of shanggai (a kind of dao).
In the Meitei society, this song is also sung as Phousu
Ishei (song of husking the paddy).
41.
N. Khelchandra Singh, o p .c i t . » p. DO.
The most popular nursery rhyme sung by the mother at the
time of bathing her child is as fo llo w s
“ I pa machum ta ro /
Ipu machum ta ro /
Numitng Karingei Kahouro/
• • •
:
• • •
Thabiria wahglingei wanghouro/
^2
M
•••
This rhyme is s t i l l chanted by the maibi on the sixth day
o f the b irth of a c h ild . On th is day, the maibi ra is e s the
c h ild by chanting th is rhyme a ft e r she had completed the
symbolical feeding of the c h ild . Moreover, th is rhyme is
recited by the mother or an e ld e rly woman ra isin g and holding
the child ju st a ft e r i t s bath or during i t s bath. The theme of
t h is rhyme i s an expression of the wish o f the nursing female
fo r the c h ild to grow up soon lik e the sun shinning in the sky
and also to have th6 strength and q u a lity of the fath er
and
the ancestors.
Another type of rhyme i s t r a d it io n a lly recited by the
children invoking sunlight and wishing away t ie shade when they
get le s s sunlight during th e ir bath in w inter. It is said that
in olden days mother used to sing th is song when there was le s s
sunlight while bathing the c h ild . They sang it fo r wishing sun­
lig h t and a lso the strength of th eir c h ild . Now-a-days, children
sing it fo r only fun. The rhyme i s as fo llo w s
0 , sun-shine come out
Goddess of shadow, get inside
42.
Ib id .
:
Goddess o f lig h t corne ou t,
The cotton basket is in the sun
At the estate o f Haoreibi
Children sing some lin e s o f Nonglao Ish ei with certa in
m o d ifica tion s when i t rains a fte r a long in te rv a l during absence
o f ra in . It i s an expression o f happiness over r a i n f a ll . The
rhyme runs thus :
0 , Rain, pour down
Submerge the peak o f the Langjing H ill
Float down o3d man and old woman.
When the ch ildren f l y k i t e s , they chant a rhyme - HJungsLtLffudi Pangkhoklana ngarni1 (The leaves o f arum win the wind)
in the b e l i e f that the wind w ill blow more and more as the
speed o f the wind i s found in s u ffic ie n t fo r fly in g k it e s .
Children sing another rhyme whenever they fin d a convenient
place to ride on a springy branch o f tree or anything e l s e .
Norn nom sagaitong
Chanaba l e i t e takhenthing
43.
H. Gourachandra Sharma, o r . c i t . . pp. 31-32. This rhyme
i s a lso r e c ite d by the ch ildren with ce rta in v a ria tio n s
when they are playing Phiphoubi ( Phi = c lo t h , phouba/
phoubi = to sun or to make dry by the heat o f the sun)
and the rhyme i s as fo llo w s :
Nungsa-o th ora k lo, Uruir. l e ima changkharo, Kabo l e it e
p h ir e it e , Konaraba tin g Fing. see a ls o , R.E. Snahal,
o p . c i t . , p. 10.
357
There are many rhymes which growing c h ild re n re c ite while
playin g d if f e r e n t game and the fun o f such games c o n s is ts as
much in fo llo w in g and observin g some procedures as in r e c it in g
the rhymes. These rhymes may be c a lle d c h ild r e n 's game song.
For example,
•Uchi chi chi khahgmeitat
Kharungmapal khousaba
S en tai la k i frung
Here in the game song, c h ild re n pinch the opposite part
o f the palm one upon o th e r. A l l the hands are moved up and
ru n
togeth er as the rhyme i s r e c ite d by one o f them. Just a f t e r the
com pletion o f the r e c it a t io n w ith the word
' frung *, each one of
them lo osen s t h e ir hands* This game i s termed as Uchi ch i chi
sannabsf ( uchi chi chi game) .
Another type o f c h ild r e n 's game rhyme is as fo llo w s
:
' Tong tong tongdrumbi
Chakrik nakrik chawaibi
Thadoi temu temu
Maton sana chi chou
45
Khat K h aW ok -o. '
The above rhyme i s r e c it e d by one o f the c h ild re n o f a
group when they play a game in which they s it
44.
L a le i Lathup T h ile l
(MS)
45.
H. Gourachandra Sharma, o £ . c i t . ,
p. 23.
in a c i r c l e ,
place th e ir hands on the surface of the ground. One of their.
re c ite s in a rhythmic motion and strik e s the palms one
by
cue
with h is righ t f i s t . As a ru le , the hand on which the la s t
stroke f a l l s is removed and th is process i s repeatedly c o n ti­
nued u n t il a l l the hands are removed.
Another kind of rhyme known as Kwak Kwak is gen erally
sung by children as a game o f fun in between the lead er who
acts as the mother of the children and the intruder (the crow)
In such a rhyme, there are v o lle y s o f stock questions and
answers. While re c itin g th is rhyme the children form a row of
sin gle lin e holding on to the back of the lo in -c lo t h of the
other.
The f i r s t child who i s the biggest one of a l l takes the
ro le of the mother and the la s t one acts as the youngest child
Another ch ild who stands facin g the mother plays the ro le of
kwak (c ro w ).
In th is way, the game s ta rts by exchanging
questions and answers. The aim of t h is game is that the mother
w i l l protect the youngest child at her best le v e l even though
the crow attempts h is best e ith er to catch or to eat the
youngest c h ild . The progression in the events leading to th is
pretended fig h t between the offen siv e crow and the mother
protecting her children is r e a lly very a ttra c tiv e when the
game assumes i t s f u l l swing e s p e c ia lly when the Kwak Kwak
rhyme i s enchanted by the mother and the crow :
359
Crow : 1Caw-caw ?
Mother
What i s the news ?
Crow
It is Mayans (foreign er^ news.
Crow
Let me have a mouthful o f r ic e .
Mother
Don't eat.
Crow
Let me drink a drop o f water,
Mother
Don't drink.
Crew
Let me go over your head.
Mother
Don't go your fath er Sorarel liv e s there.
Crow
Let me go to the rig h t.
Mother
Don 't go
Crow
Let me go to the l e f t .
Mother
Don *t go
Crow
Let me go through your two le g s .
Mother
Don't creep through them e ith e r.
Crow
Is there your son Khcmdcn Meiroubi ?
Mother
There is none.
Crow
Who is at the rear ?
Mother
My youngest son.
Crow
Let me e a t, then,
_46
Swa
When the game s t a r t s , the crow t r i e s to snatch away .he
smallest the la s t one. In the meantime, each member in the
row t r i e s not to break away from each other and at the same
time the mother also t r i e s to prevent the crow from attempting
46.
R.E. Snahal Singh, o p . c i t . . pp. 9-10; see also H.
Gourachandra Sharma, op .c i t . , p. 22,
360
to catch the youngest ch ild (the la s t o n e). When the crow
overpowers the la s t one in the row, i t endeavours again to dc
the same fo r the one a fte r the l a s t . Thus, one by one those
ch ild ren who had been snatched away become out and the game
ends as soon as the ch ild next to the mother i s snatched by
the crow. This game i s gen erally played by g i r l s .
One can very often come across another type o f rhyme
which ch ild ren use while playing Seboti Kaonaba :
Se Se Seboti
Bhubani, the ch ild o f Laishram
Let us fig h t : you and I
Let us sc 3 who w ill win
I can uproot you lik e a kauna (a kind o f reed)
I can break you lik e a thambou (s ta lk o f the lo tu s )
We should bid fo r the g i r l s clo th
We should then bid fo r the b a ch e lo r's clo th
We can trv then to pick up a h e it r o i (F locou rtia Cataphracta
(B o t.)
It has fa lle n at the fo o t o f the tree (h e i t r o i )
.47
Swa
The rhyme i s f i r s t r e c ite d in a very challenging mood
before the start o f the game among p a irs. Just a fte r fin is h in g
the chanting with the word Swa, they begin to stretch th e ir
4®.
R.K. Snahal Singh, o js .c it ., , p * t O .
361
le g s a lte r n a te ly l e f t and right in the squatting p o s itio n .
And as th is goes on, they tr y to ou tla st each oth er, and the
one who remains to the la s t in that ex ercise i s declared the
winner and those who stop e a r lie r are d efeated . Although beys
sometimes play i t , th is i s very popular among the g i r l s .
Udagi chaoba tfchongnahgni/
• • •
Te te t enawa/
Mana pungba heinouni/
•••
• • •
•••
Kelsampatkl tenawa/
He’nouna mullaga' /
Tenawana
haraol /
The above rhymes are a lso voiced by ch ild ren when they
play QQraobi Tannaba- - a game.
Here, ch ild ren are d ivid ed into two groups o f equal
numbers. They take p o sitio n facin g one another and a lin e is
drawn demarcating the two groups. One ch ild o f a group advances
to touch the ch ildren belonging to i t s o p p osition r e c itin g the
above rhymes without any breathing stoppage. I f the chaser
touches any c h ild , he is removed. Again, a ch ild from the
other group fo llo w s s u it . However, the ch ild ren o f the opposing
group touch the chaser when he breaks the rhyme and oreathing
before reaching the lin e drawn at the ce n tre , he t o o , i s also
dism issed. That group which can elim inate a l l the players o f
the other group win the game. This game i s very popular among
the M eitei g i r l s o f Manipur v a lle y .
362
C. BALLADS
•The ballad is a form o f n arrative folk son g . This type
o f folksong v a rie s con sid era bly with time and p la ce, but
certa in c h a r a c te r is tic s remain f a i r l y constant and seemingly
48
fundam ental.'
It i s a lso a com paratively lon g , impersonal
n arrative song which d e p icts a single inciden t or in cid en ts
through the con ten t, style and designation o f the fo lk .
However, ballad i s prim arily a ta le in verse form, o r ig in a lly
said to have been sung to the accompaniment o f dance. The
ballad i s incomplete without excitement and r e p e titiv e music.
The ballad i s at present sung by the m instrel with the
accompaniment o f some musical instruments.
D. MEITSI BALLADS
In Manipuri 'b a lla d ' i s c a lle d ' Khullak Wart I she i '.
The M eiteis are very much proud o f th e ir ballads as the
ancient and medieval Manipuri lit e r a tu r e i s very rich in
b a lla d . The ancient and medieval Manipuri lite r a tu r e i s f o l c
in content and sty le which may w ell pass fo r a b a lla d . There
i s a t o t a l derth o f documented and printed volumes o f these
b a lla d s , hence no such e f f o r t s seem to have been made to e d it
them coherently in Manipur. However, ba lla ds are s t i l l found
popular among the people o f Manipur. The ballad has variou s
fu n ction s in the M eitei s o c ie t y . Like fo lk so n g s, it provides
■
48.
M. Leach ( e d . ) , ^Standard D ictionary o f F o lk lo r e .
Mythology and Legend. V o l. I , Funk & Wagnalls G o.,
New York, 1949, p. 106.
363
good recreation and amusement to the people. It moul^ the
9
behaviours o f the people in d iffe re n t ways suitable to the
M eitei community. I t is also c lo s e ly rela ted with devices o f
socia l con trol. It serves the functions o f knowledge and
b e lie f . Ballads showing the l i f e h is to ry o f heroes present
some moral and behavioural instances before the fo lk which
cast la s tin g e ffe c t s on th e ir minds.
The ballads, as are popular among the M eitei fo lk s o f
Manipur v a lle y under the present study may be c la s s ifie d into
four d iffe r e n t groups according to th e ir respective themes :
(a ) Mythological ballads, (b) H is to ric a l ballads, (c ) Ballads
concerning
the flo r a and fauna and (d ) Ballads based on
legends, some o f which are o f epic n a t u r e --- episodes from
epics and puranas.
(a ) Mythological Ballads
The M eiteis have large numbers o f d iffe r e n t mythological
ballads that t e l l about the creation o f the earth and human
beings, descent and other relevant s to rie s concerning these.
The legends about Sorarel, Sanamahi, Pakhangba, Konthcujam
Lairembi, Panthoibi, e tc . are s t i l l sung in the M eitei society
to the accompaniment o f a musical instrument called pena. This
i s an instrument used by M eitei m instrels and bards producing
a sonorous and l i l t i n g sound. The o rig in o f th is instrument is
also mythical with d iffe r e n t version s. The pena is said to be
364
the symbol o f the anion c f Atiya Sidaba and Ima Leimarel
Sidabi whom M eiteis regard as the Supreme God and the
Supreme Goddess and the sound o f the pena seems to be the
product from th e ir union. It is a m ultiple stringed musical
instrument played by a bow f i t t e d with jin g lin g anklet
b e l l s . The instrument is so important and plays such a
v i t a l ro le in th is type o f ballad singing that on la te r
occasion s any kind o f fo lk music played with th is instrument
i s c a lle d ' Pena Ishei '. The singers o f Meitei ballads playing
with th is in stru m en t
pen a are known as pena sakpa ( sakoaT
means s in g e r ). During the hey days o f royal power in Maninir,
a separate in s t it u t io n fo r peniT, known as Pena Lcisang came into
existen ce and pena became an inseparable part o f a l l the s o c ia l
and r e lig io u s fu n ction s o f the M eiteis. It became an in d isp en s­
able instrument in the Lai-KaracbaT dance f e s t iv a l o f d iffe r e n t
sylvan d e it ie s of Manipur. True fio i t s o r ig in , the style o f
pena music i s confined to only indigenous arid lo c a l themes o f
m ythological and legendary nature never straying in the f i e l d
o f ballad adopted from Indian sources. On August 1874, when
Maharaja Chandrakirti heard the singing o f some fo lk s to r ie s
o f Moirang from some pena- sin gers ^ike Ojha Channamba on h is
way to Cachar J ila fo r h is meeting with Lord North-Brook, the
Governor General and V iceroy o f India, he was so much impressed
by the n arration that he patronized and encouraged pena singers
fo r i t s popularity even when Hinduism had i t s great in flu en ce;).
The real form o f a ballad singing in the style and the tune o f
%
365
pe n a
is
came
into e x is t e n c e
a g ood e x am p le
in M an ip u r.
Konthou.jam L a i r e m b i
o f M e it e i m y th o lo g ical
r e a d at
d ifferen t
lev els.
v a r y in
s m a ll d e t a i l s .
There
H e re
is
a re
one
differen t
sky.
out
An o r a c l e
o f home
s h o u ld
c a u tio n e d h e r
in
r e m a in
She w a s l i k e d
search o f v e g e t a b l e s
p io u s
s in c e
h e a v e n l y abode on the
d e s c e n d e d on the
thus
th e
by S o r a r e l ,
earth
i n th e
S o r a r e l w o uld
fifth
d a y . On the
sittin g
on h i s
C h in g p h u r o n N a h u in u w a s m a r r ie d
m a r r ia g e
she went
o f her m arriag e,
dog.
one d a y , w ent
A s l u c k w o u ld h av e
The H a o ro k K o n th o u ja m
it,
p e r fo r m e d
such r i t e s
granted
i m m o r t a l it y and
So rarel.
on a h u n t i n g
th e
sin ce
th e
a v isib le
p a r e n t s who w ere
as they
C h in g ­
q u a n tity
and
Th erefo re,
h e h ad
i n h e r K o n t h o u ja m
b ite.
d a y t h e y were
So rarel.
r e l a t iv e s had d i e d .
to h e r
return
o f a sn a k e
c e r e m o n io u s ly
to h e r h u s b a n d L o r d S o r a r e l t h a t
Him to a l l o w h e r v i s i t
A fter
e x p e d it io n w ith
dog d i e d
c o m p la in e d
i m m o r t a l it y
In
and
A f t e r many y e a r s ,
that
gra n tin g
he
i m m o r t a l it y and
apprehended
b y not
she
the
a p p o in ted d a y ,
p r o s p e r i t y by L o r d
of her
the
and t h a t
t a k e h e r to
clan.
saw smoke com ing up i n
one
fie ld
to L o r d
fo r lo n g
god o f
tw o- headed e l e p h a n t ,
cre m ate d the dog
had not
p h uron N a h u i n u
the
a l l o w h e r to go
p ro m is e d to b e s t o w
p r o s p e r i t y o n the H a o r o k K o n th o u ja m
th eir
called
aw ay to h e r h u s b a n d ’ s p l a c e .
Sorarel
H aorek K o n th o ujam ,
to
be
:
daughter
p a r e n t s no t
T h i s ca n
v e r s i o n s w h ic h
such e x a m p le
H a o r o k K o n th o u ja m h a d a b e a u t i f u l
C h in g p h u r o n N a h u i n u .
ballad.
clan.
she
betrayed
She
m ourning
her
requested
io r
one
366
departed. Sorarel, who knew the whole episode, warned her
not to be misled as there was no death in her clan and
consoled her that the smoke that she had seen was not due to
any cremation at a l l . However, on her insistance, Sorarel
allowed her to v isit her parents on the condition that she
should not take food and drinks at her parent's i f they
offered any. She descended on earth with the help of a golden
ladder. On her arrival here she learnt that it was only a plot
engineered by her relatives with a view to calling her down
in their midst for a happy get-together. Remorseful at her
own failure to stick to the instructions of Lord Sorarel,
she
sought her parents permission for her return to Lord Sorarel.
But, she shared pleasantries with her parents and relatives
who pursuaded her to share food and drinks prepared by them.
She in it ia lly pleaded that she was prohibited by her husband
to share any food and drinks in her paternal home, and i f she
could be found sharing with them, she would not be allowed to
return to her husband's abode. Her parents then, put seven
layers of cloth above her one after the other so that her
husband, Sorarel would not see her taking food. Thus, she took
food and drinks offered to her in the belief that Lord Sorarel
would not notice i t . But, Lord Sorarel, who, could see every­
thing from above was furious and spat on her food. He sent his
message that she would not be allowed to return^His abode since ^
she had broken the promise which she had made. She felt sorry
for the mistake and spent her life in her parents' heme remorse­
fu lly and in worshipping her Lord ceaselessly. A long time passed
367
and Lord Sorarel knew o f the repentance of his consort and,
u ltim a tely, took her back to h is abode through a strong
storm. Then, the Eaorok Konthoujam in s ta lle d an image
of
Chingphuron Nahuinu in her paternal place and started worshio/ping her. Even to-day people believe in the presence o f Konthou­
jam Lairembi (Chingphuron Nahuinu) in a spacious jungle
standing in the middle o f the Konthoujam v illa g e .
In the M eitei s o ciety , mythological ballads are usually
sung by the bard to the accompaniment o f pena. In Manipur, the
term pena has two connotations :
One
-
the instrument
i t s e l f and the other to mean the performance fo r which accom­
paniment with the pena is basic character.
Now-a-days, the singing o f the m ythological ballads lik e
the Oreation o f the Universe, the Creation o f the Human Beings,
e tc . has become very popular in Manipur as there is a strong
tendency o f revivalism o f the Sanamahi cult among the M eiteis
o f the present century.
(b ) H is to ric a l Ballads
I t appears that the singing o f h is to r ic a l ballads in
Manipur is c lo s e ly associated with a new style o f ballad
singing now popular as Khongjom-parba.
The term 'Khongjorn-
parba1 is one o f the singing styles o f M eitei ballad ex istin g
at present.
1Chong.iom is a place 35 Km to the south of Imphal
on the Indo-Burma Road where the Manipuri fought th e ir la st
363
b a ttle against the B r itis h e rs in the year 1891 bat were
defeated. It is claimed by scholars that a certain talented
Dhobi Leinon
also started singing in remembrance of h is t o r ic
and tra g ic war of Khongjom in 1891 on the accompaniment of
some make-shift instrument and subsequently, it became gradually
very popular in Manipur. This became a new technique of Keitei
b a lla d singing to be known as Khong.iom-parba. Khongjom is the
name of a place and parba i s some sort of a part or chapter
say lik e Bhisma-parba
of the Mahabharata. In such style of
b a lla d singing the singer would use a north Indian percussion
instrument c a lle d dholak in place of the peria. Thus, o r ig i n a lly
Khong.iom-parba was the name of the songs sung on the h i s t o r i c a l
importance characterizing the heroic a c t i v i t i e s of Manipur and
other incidents of courage and bravery. In the Khongjom war
many brave Manipuris fought v a li a n t ly against the B r it is h and
such brave heroes lik e Paona Brajabashi, Chinglen sana,
Heirangkhongjam, etc. died in t h is b a t t le . Subsequently, P ir
Tikendrajit and Thangal General were hanged fo r complicity.
In the Meitei society even i f the ballad singers of
Khong.iom-parba take up the themes other than that of Khongjom
episodes, i t is also known as Khongjorn-parba. Meitei h is t o r ic a l
b a lla d s are also sung by the b a lla d singers of pena. They have
taken up such themes a ft e r it was taken up at f i r s t by Khonf-jorr^
parba singers.
Some instances of h i s t o r i c a l b a lla d s in Manipuri are
episodes from the l i f e of Charaircngba, from the l i f e
of
369
Garibniwaz, the taming o f a wild elephant by king Ehagyachandra,
the death o f Gamfahir Singh, J ila Darbar (episodes of the meeting
o f Chandrakirti Maharaja with the Viceroy o f In d ia ). One such
example is as follow s :
In 1874 Maharaja Chandrakirti o f Manipur went fo r a Darbar
at Cachar a fte r the Rath Jatra fe s t iv a l. That Darbar was
arranged under the unique circumstances o f a v i s i t by the then
Viceroy and Governor General of India tc farth er cast err-.
Bengal and Assam fo r the Maharaja o f Manipur to meet b is
Excellency in Cachar.
The Maharaja of Manipur started h is journey cn Thursday
and stayed the very night at a Sangai macha
( sangai = house,
macha = sm all). At the dawn o f the follow in g morning, he f e l l
prostrate before the Lord Govindaji and prayed fo r a goal out­
come o f his impending Darbar. Be also prayed that he would
build a golden temple i f h is mission o f the proposed journey
could be f u l f i l l e d by the blessings o f the Lord. Kamalkant,
a Panji Sanglakpa (head o f the panj1 (a s tro lo g e r) performed
the customary r it e s o f the royal journey and the king stepped
out nine steps as a mark o f the start o f his journey on the
advice o f in is a strolo ger. The king with h is two lovin g sens,
Kulachandra (Wahgkheirakpa) and Jh alak irti (Phaijaoba Samu
Hanjaba), several o f his principal o ffic e r s and Mr. Brown, the
P o lit ic a l Agent in Manipur l e f t fo r Cachar. Eight-gun-salutes
were given in honour of the king. Moreover, pena singers sang
in praise o f His Majesty. When the king reached the KhwairembaM
370
K e lthel (market) he was warmly welcomed by the people of four
£§nas with fruits and flowers. The king told them that he would
be out of the kingdom for only twenty days. He, further, asked
them to pray to Lord Govindaji for the welfare and peace of the
kingdom and also for his successful return from the Darbar. H e n
the king and his party went along the Sega Road and reached
Bisnupur via Kwakeithel, Khabi Nambol, the Mayu Khurairakpa
panpham. At lisnuptir, he prayed to Lord Vishnu waving a light
before the idol (offering of 'arti'). He also listened to the
stories of the Bhagavata^. The king then marched on to Jachar by
easy stages.
When the king reached the bank of Gwai (Barak) river, he
along with his courtiers halted the night at the spot. As it
was raining heavily on that night, the water of the river's
Gwai was also rising steadily. On the following morning, the
king and his party found that the suspension bridge over the
river had been swept away by the currents of the river. At this
critical juncture, Laishang Jatra, one of M s
brave courtiers
came forward courageously to repair the bridge. Therefore, he
jumped into the river and started repairing of the bridge. While
he was repairing the bridge, Bino Jatra and Yambiya Kadhop Jatra
with three other persons also helped him in repairing the bridge.
Thus, the king and his party crossed the Gwai river and then,
they marched tc Cachar by easy stages. The king went through
the forest of Jiri. After crossing the Jiri forests, he reached
the
place of Kalika and spent the night there. On the follcv:ing
371
day, the king and his men crossed the big r iv e r of J ir i with
the help of the elephants. The k in g 's elephant dragged
the
big ra ft of the king against the current to the other bank of
the r iv e r . They reached the foot h i l l o f Phultor a fte r having
crossed the h i l l range o f Aho^arang. Then, they halted at
Lakhimpur. On the follow ing morning, the king marched on with
h is two sons and two thousands army men guarded them l e f t and
rig h t. The king was warmly greeted by the two p o lit ic a l agents
o f the Viceroy on the bank o f the riv6 r Bhadra.
A suitable camp had been provided in the station o f Cachar
(S ilc h a r) fo r the Maharaja and his attendants by the Deputy
Commissioner fo r the en tire sa tis fa c tio n o f the former. The
Darbar was duly hold on the board o f the V ic e ro y ’ s yatch and
i t was o f a very s a tis fa c to ry nature. The presents were, as
usual, exchanged, and the Maharaja with h is two sons were also
entertained fu lly at the evening reception. The Chief Commissioner
o f Assam who came with the Viceroy had an opportunity o f seeing
and conversing with the Maharaja, A fter the departure o f
His
Excellency and the Chief Commissioner a fte r the Darbar, the
Maharaja rested fo r a few days. On the 14th August, 1874 A.D.
the king l e f t Cachar fo r Manipur.
(c ) Ballads Concerning the Flora and Pauna
Many ballads on the flo r a and fauna are popularly sung by
the Meit6i ballad singers and m agnificient imaginative exercises
372
are percept able in such b a lla d s. These ballads are sung in
both the pena and the Khong.j om-parba. s t y le . The ballads on
f l o r a are m ostly associated with © rchids. In f a c t , i f can be
said with emphasis that the expert and ta len ted singers often
ramble in to anecdotes and episodes which are connected with
the o r ig in , growth, naming, features and s o c ia l u t i l i t i e s of
many orch id s that are found in the fo r e s t s o f Manipur. The
ballad
on orch ids and flow ers i s popularly known as Leir o n .
The ballad on Kombirei, a kind o f flow er that blooms in sunm ■
<nd grows only at the place c a lle d Lamphelpat and the ballad
on d iffe r e n t orchids lik e nw aklel, Melei Leisana Yungjurrah,
Yerumlei., Khcngunmelei,
Sam .lirei, e t c . are good examples of
th is t r a d itio n . Although, the ballad on Kwaklei has some
v a r ia tio n s , one o f them i s as fo llo w s :
At the close cf Lahgbachak era (Kali-yug) a Sou ben bird
in v ite d a l l the birds to a grand fe a s t . On that occasion there
arose a dispute among the birds who would s it at the head and
at the end o f the fe a s t . It was a custom that the sen iorrcst
bird would s i t in the f i r s t place and the other birds to be
ranked in order o f th e ir resp ective s e n io r it y . The birds
claim ing the seniormost p o sitio n were the crow, the ow l, the
crane and the swallow. The swallow claimed that he was entim.ec.
to s it in the f i r s t place as he had a good lo n g e v ity . The crow
was angry at the improper claim of the swallow and he, t o o ,
contested fo r the p la ce. Thus, they started qu arrellin g
in
the feast o f the Soubon b ir d . At th is ju n ctu re, the owl and
o (c
the crane also came forward to stake the claims f o r the place.
A l l birds began to discuss the situation . F in a lly , the v u ltu re,
the e ag le, the Indian purple cooi> ( porphyrio pollocephalus
polioce chains') resolved to seek the help of the Tal bang pan
Mapu
(Supreme Lord) fo r resolving the dispute. The four birds
agreed to the decision that they should go to the heavenly
abode of the Tffi bang pah Mapu. They put up t h e ir case fo r His
judgment* The Lord Taibang pan Mapu examined the birds one by
one. The Lord f i r s t asked the crow in which era he was born
and how he would j u s t i f y h is claim. The crow claimed that he
was born in the Lahgbachak era
and he had witnessed the battle
o f the Kurukshetra, fought between the Pandavas and the
Kauravas from h is nest built on a big banyan tree which was
growing in the middle of the b a t t l e - f i e l d . Then, the Taibangpan
Mapu
asked the crane and the owl to j u s t i f y th eir claims. The
two birds gave th e ir explanations that they were born in the
Hayachak era (Treta yu g)# and narrated the story of king Havana's
as having kidnapped S it a , the wife of prince Rama, which took
place in that era. Then, the Lord asked the swallow to give his
proper explanation of his claim. This b ird , in turn, claimed
that he was born in the Hayeechak era (Satya yug). He told that
he bu ilt h is nest on the shore of the great sea and the forceful
waves o f the sea and swept away h is w ife , children and a l l h is
belongings to the sea. So with a vin d ictive motive he t r ie '
his
best several times to dry up the sea by ingesting i t s water but
there was no
receeding of the water le v e l at a l l . hhen these
374
attempts became f u t i l e , he repeatedly tr ie d to dry up the sea
dipping h is body into the water and drying h is feath ers in the
sun. U ltim ately, being h e lp le ss he sought His guide and h elp .
The Lord Taibangpan Mam came fo r His guide and even in stru cted
him to build h is nest in the houses o f the human beings at that
tim e. From the narration o f the swallow, the Lord Taibangpan
Mapu
came to know that the swallow bird was born in the
Hayeechak era
and the owl and the crane were one era ju n ior
to him. The crow,
was the youngest o f a l l the four b ir d s . The
owl and the crane were pardoned fo r they were born in the same
e ra . The juniormost birds the crow was fin ed fo r claim ing the
f i r s t place o f the fe a s t . T h erefore, the Lord asked the crow
to give h is comb as fe e . The crow presented h is crest to the
Lord. H enceforth, a l l other crows had become com bless. The
Lord planted the crest on a tree and blessed it to grow
as
an orch id . Following year the orchid came o f age and a purple
colou r flow er had n ic e ly bloomed. The Lord Taibongpan Mapu
named the flow er as Kwaklei (kwak
-
crow, l e i = flo w e r; an
orch id born out o f the comb o f the crow) and thus Kwaklei
orchid came into being. F in a lly , the fea st o f the Soubon bird
was s u cc e s s fu lly conducted with the senicrmost bird swallow
49
s it t in g in the f i r s t p la ce.
And, another Manipuri ballad on Kombir6i
50
(a kind o f
flow er) about i t s o rig in is as fo llo w s :
49.
Informants : Angom Khongnang Singh and H. Mangcljac
Singh, renowned Fhong.iom-parba singers in Manipur.
50.
K o m b ire i - Wild flow ers o f d a r k -blue and pale yellow
co lou rs r e s p e c tiv e ly .
375
Yaithingleim a, the’ youngest queen of the Lord Lainung
Thongaren, one day, requested her husband to allow her to
become a human being and to witness the human drama of the
Lord Thangjing o f Moirang in re a l human l i f e .
But her husband
refused her request and warned that sh6 would learn the sin fu l
character o f the human being in case she becomes a human boin~.
However, Yaithingleima repeatedly persuaded him tc comply with
her request and promised that she would not change her cbarac;er
lik e that of a human being. F in a lly her husband Leinung Thongaren
agreed to her request and instructed her to plant Pa s o t le i
which bloomed in white colour in the land of Death. He te la
that the change of the colour of the flow er would be the sign
o f the change of her character a ft e r transform ation into human
being. The colour of the flo w er i f changed, he would come town
to the earth fo r taking her back to the heavenly abode.
Thus,
h is wife planted the flow er pasotlei in the land of Death.
Yaithingleim a, then was transformed into a human being and
was born as a daughter of Pambal Araba of Hoirang. Her mother's
name was Nganuthembi. As years ro lle d by she came of age
and
she f e l l in deep love with Shamba Lamganba, the sun cf Saitreng
Araba. They even promised to withstand the thick and thin of
l i f e when they attained manhood and womanhood, Yaiih ingle ?
’n-a
was renamed as Yaithing Konu in her human l i f e . But her change
of character was c le a rly indicated by the gradual change r.f w
colour o f Pa sot
flow er in the land of Leinung Thongaren, the
god of Death. Sc Leinung Thongaren sent some of h is d is c ip le s
376
to cut short the l i f e
of Yaithing Konu. When Yaithing Korn
came out to her old f a t h e r ’ s courtyard fo r the c o llec tio n of
the clothes which were kept fo r drying in the sun she
was
caught and strangulated to death by the d is c ip le s of Leinung
Thcngaren. His d is c ip le s took away her soul to the abode of
Leinung Thongaren.
On hearing the news of the death of Yaithing Konu, her
dear lover Shamba Lamganba also committed suicide and h is soul
followed the soul of Khanmung Yaithing Konu. However, ohc ocul
o f Konu crossed the r iv e r e a s i l y while the soul of Shamba
Lamganba could not cross i t and his soul remained crying cn
one side of the r i v e r . Leinung Thongaren explained the reasons
f o r which Yaithingleima was k i l l e d in her human form. She
agreed with her husband but narrated to him her story o f love
with Shamba Lamganba whose soul
remained on the other bank of
the r iv e r . At the story of h is wife Leinung Thongaren f e l t
sympathy f o r the soul of Shamba Lamganba and he sent h is
d is c ip le to bring the soul of Shamba Lamganba to his abode.
Shamba Lamganba
and Yaithingleima f e l l prostrate before the
Lord Leinung Thongaren and sought h is nercy to forgive them
and restore th e ir l i v e s as they had not been united on the
earth. They also promised to serve him a ft e r th eir death. At
la s t Leinung Thongaren was pleased to see th e ir gx-eat longing
fo r a happy union and he blessed them with the restoration of
t h e ir l i v e s . He told h is wife that the flower which she had
planted as a token to indicate her change of character
had
changed i t s colour to a deep blue one and i t would be named
—
51
as Kombirei (komba = fic k le mindedness, l e i or r e i = flo w e r).~
A few M eitei ballads centring round animals are also very
popular, A ballad on Moirangsa, a tame and very sensible
elephant of the royal palace k ille d under tra g ic circumstances,
i s the most popular M eitei ballad o f th is category. The story
o f th is ballad nans thus :
Moirangsa the
famous elephant
o f the Maharaja Chandrakirti
(ancl), which created
a legend o f it s
ownin Manipur, was thought
to be a precious presentation from the Moirang given in the
honour o f Maharaja Kumar TJripoktaba, the son of the king Kara
Singh. Maharaja Kumar TJripoktaba in turn ^and)later on presented
th is elephant to his brother Maharaja Chandrakirti Singh, As
the o rig in a l place
o f the elephant
wasMoirang, i t was popularly
known as Moirangsa
(Moirang means name o f a place; Sa
means
anim al).
During the time o f king Chandrakirti there were three
important ch ief elephants adorning the k in g ’ s garrision . The
elephants were Kondumba, Moirangsa and Heramot, and of these
three the Maharaja was found o f Moirangsa because of it s valour,
strength, plausible capacity to understand e a s ily the human
signs and talk s.
51.
Informant : A. Khongnang Singh, Wangoo V illa g e . According
to Ii. Mangoljao Singh, Kombirei was f i r s t planted at
Moirang. This place o f Moirang is s t i l l known as Kombi r e i Kom. But, th is view was not accepted by some scholar.
According to them, i t was f i r s t planted at Lamphcloat.
373
T h e re
existed
an e l e p h a n t
in
h av in g
c h o s e n S a m u y a is h a
the k in g d o m a t r a d i t i o n a l
the
righ t
(C h ie f
e l e p h a n t s o f the k i n g .
o v erla p p in g
tio n al
very
th e
In
the
to
o f the e l e p h a n t )
But,
a s the M o ir a n g s a h a d
trunk
8 (e ig h t )
paddy f i e l d
To
be
greatest
due
t h e r e b y not
seed of
in
d a y an o ld
C h an drak irti
the
a n im a l.
h ap p ily .
So
see,
I
the k i n g
the
Y aish a
and
g iv in g
all
the
o f M o ir a n g s a more
heart
ch ie f
of
tin
and h a d
S a m u y a is h a .
sew
fire
accom pany
royal o c c a s io n s .
a n im a l.
The
o f M o ir a n g s a
the
p a la c e
of
b e g g a r woman w as
in
sp ite
of
its
born a s an a n i m a l ,
am h e l p l e s s ,
the k i n g
su rp rised
b e in g
you are
weak and k e e p i n g m y s e l f
an
liv in g
a liv e
alm s
from d o o r to
d o o r ."
So
s a y in g
the woman went
aw ay w i t h t e a r s
in h e r e y e s *
M o ir a n g s a
really
felt
woman and a s a mark o f
three
days to g eth er.
s y m p a th y ,
The
of
by
To ad d more
a n d u s e d to
b e g g a r woman came to
"T h o u g h
tru n k
and p a r t ia lit y
o f K o n d u m b a.
p referred
the
other
f o u r hectares
t h a n the
fav o u ritism
person
the
a n im a l w ent
in- d u arg e
-
trad i­
(the
p riv ile g e
gave
be
C h an drakirti
same
saw the
said ,
th e
the
i n the
happy l i f e
But
b y b e g g in g
and
she
fu lfillin g
ch a rg e
k in g
to
a l s o h o n o u r e d M o ir a n g s a
(c a n o p y )
o f tim e t h e k i n g ' s
alm ost
a left
fu ll
and lo v e
jealo u sy
other
p e r s o n who w as i n
j e a l o u s y the k i n g
One
see
to t h e
care
the k i n g
thakans
p recise
course
th is
How ever,
th e
from among the
o f c h o o s in g him a s Y a i s h a ,
e le p h a n t s ).
M o ir a n g s a
to
o v erla p p in g
r e l u c t a n t l y h ad to make K o n d u m b a ,
a n im a l.
th e
rig h t
c rite ria
p ro v id in g
of
the
trunk
custom t h a t
o f the
p ity
on f a s t
for
fo r
a n im a l w as
the
taken aback at the a ttitu d e o f the animal and u ltim ately the
in cid en t was brought to the n o tice o f the kin g. So the king
sent h is su b jects to every parts o f h is kingdom in the
hot
pursuit o f the old beggar woman. When the beggar was brought
in , the king o ffe r e d her a hearty meal with d iffe r e n t d e lic io u s
ro y a l dishes with g i f t s in the presence o f Moirangsa ju st to
please the l a t t e r . As soon as the woman was s a t is fie d h e r s e lf
with the o f f e r , Moirangsa t o o , started taking the dry hey and
the plantain tree as a token o f pleasure and g r a t ific a t io n .
Phaijaosana, the younger brother o f the king Chandrakirti
was the Samuhanjaba (O ffic e r in-charge o f the elep h a n ts). Once
i t so happened that the Maharaja did not lik e to accompany
Moirangsa fo r J ila Darbar at Cachar. In annoyance to the k in g 's
d e c is io n , Moirangsa d e lib e r a te ly went away from the palace and
stayed along the coast o f the Ikop pat (la k e ). Samuhanjaba
reported the sudden disappearance of the animal to the king in
tim e. The king knew the in ten tion of Moirangsa and sent h is
messengers in search o f the animal with a sp ecia l in stru ctio n
to announce that the king wished and had to accompany Moirangsa
to the J ila Darbar. When the elephant learn t o f the news, he
h u rried ly returned to the palace with a dead tig e r which he
k i l l e d on h is way to the p alace. The elepliant made a ioud trumpet
at the gate o f the palace. On hearing i t the king came out o f
h is royal chamber to greet Moirangsa without any attendants.
Moirangsa took down the dead t ig e r from h is back and placed
380
before
th e k i n g
a s a mark o f
b efo re
the k i n g .
The k i n g
of
a dead
He
th o u g h t h i m s e l f t h a t
there.
elep h ant
h is to ry
Jila
of t h is
A f t e r the
chandra
it
of h i s
w o u ld
in s id e
D a r b a r w as
death
c o u rtie rs
Thangal v illa g e
the
the k i n g
of
the
k in g
of M an ip u r.
to h u n t
and
c a p tu r e
and one d a r k n i g h t
of
of
i t s h in d
a fe r o c io u s
in
the
dark
and d a n g e r o u s to
ment
of
the k i n g , t h e
The
D u r in g h i s
the
le g s w h ile
fig h t
some w i l d
fo rces
took
c o u ld
go n e a r
them .
c o u rtie rs
the
(a n e l e p h a n t
o f th e K oub ru H i l l s ) .
K o u b ru L e i s h a k i l l e d
tim e
of
the
son Surathe k i n g
e l e p h a n t s w h ic h
camped at th e
c o u r t ie r s kept
p la c e
set
bank
fig h t
in
the
as
it
afraid
free.
fig h t.
o f the
by Koubru
It
is
still
M o ir a n g s a
in
the
style
of
on th e
theme
of
sin g ers never
s in g
Hone
p un ish ­
fo llo w in g
Leish a ,
b eliev e d
that
M o ir a n g s a .
sin g in g
and
was v e r y
the n e w s on the
been k i l l e d
of
M o ir a n g s a
b e tw e e n M o ir a n g s a
B e in g
sp re a d
t h e M o ir a n g s a h a d
Kiaong.iom-parba,
of
life
time
Kondum ba w as
sto p the
m o r n in g t h a t
the
odds
i n the
Th e h e l p l e s s M o ir a n g s a w as k i l l e d
the k i n g ’ s s o l d i e r s
At
success.
and M o ir a n g s a a lo n g w i t h Kondum ba to th e
Ik o u
Kondum ba,
of
C h an drakirti h is
th e
That n i g h t ,
o ffer
Darbar e x p e d itio n .
sig n
another e p is o d e
the v i l l a g e .
one
the
r o y a l cam pus and w o r s h i n o e d
te rro rise d
lo ck in g
Jila
be a good
had
riv er
bent down
elep h ant.
became the k i n g
sent h i s
eve
How M o ir a n g s a h e l p e d
jo u rn e y fo r
and
w as v e r y much p l e a s e d at
c a r n i v o r o u s on the
He t o o k t h e
h im
p re s e n ta t io n
the
k illin g Moirangsa by Kondumba. But they sing on the theme
that Moirangsa was k ille d by Koubru L e is h a .52
(d) Ballads Based On Legends, Some O f Which Are Of Epic
N a t u r e --Episodes From Epics and Puranas
Ballads based on legends are very popular among the
people of Manipur. In such category of ballad,, we may put
ballads based on different incarnations of Moirang known as
Moirang Saiyon.
The love story of Khamba and Thoibi, which
is the most popular legend having an epic n a tu r§,is woven
round Khamba and Thoibi who are regarded as the last incar­
nations of Nongpok Ningthou and Panthoibi in the Moirang
Saiyon_chain of stories. The ballads on Moirang Saiyon are
grand majestic saga of the eternal triangle in which gener­
ations after generations would find reflections of the variou
hopes, ideals and aspirations of each age. The story of each
incarnation is fairly well known among the people of which
Khamba and Thoibi story stands out in popularity. The story
of Khamba and Thoibi is centred round Thoibi, the princess
and heroine of the story, an embodiment of ideal maidenhood
and Khamba, an orphan and hero of the story -- an ambodimen
of manhood. The story is rich in human sentiments. The
characters are representatives. The story pays a premium to
chastity and n o b ility . It ennobles the listen ers, emboldens
52.
Informant : Kh. Ibeni Devi, a renowned Khong.lom-parba
singer in Manipur.
382
the h elp less, warns the easy going maidens, teaches moral
lessons to these running a fte r temporal and fle e tin g pleasures
and b en efits. It demonstrates the triump
of virtu e over v ic e .
Thus the story bears rep e titio n but there is no monotony aoout
i t . And the story is blended with s ix sentiments --- e r o tic ,
h eroic, p ath etic, myterious, humorous and horror strikin g with
motivated actions in man. The ballad on Khamba and Thoibi an:I
other Sal.von
(incarnation) have been elaborated and made
longer through successive generations by addition o f relevant
episodes and incidents by bards d is tin c tly and successfully.
Some sto ries ox Moiran.s Saiyon lik e Khamba and Thoibi, Tcnu
L a ijin g Lembi, Khuyol Haoba and Yaithing Konu, e tc . may be seen
53
in the preceding chapter Y on Myths and Legends.
Besides,
Moirang Saiyon, there are also some other M eitei ballads based
on legends.
Over and above, there are ballads on the incidents and
the episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The
characters present in these episodes are modified to look lik e
characters in the socia l l i f e o f the people o f Manipur by the
ballad singers. From the Ramayana, the episodes of the e x ile
o f Sita into the jungle; the capture o f Sita by Havana, e tc .
and from the Mahabharata, the episodes o f the o ffe rin g o f
golden lelhao ( Mlchelia chamoaka (B o t.)
53.
by Gandhari and Kunti,
As we have already observed in Chapter Y Section B,
pp. 163-164, a M eitei myth o f legend is often in the
verse o f sung form and is then designated as I she 1 ,
however, such a narrative in the prose form is termed
wari.
33S
the ep isod es o f the e x i l e o f the Pandavas e t c . are popu larly
sung by the b a lla d s in ge rs in the s t y le o f Rhone.join - oar on
w ith dholak or in the pena sin gin g s t y l e .
fi. CHARACTERISTICS OF TEE MANNERS OF PRESENTATION OF DIFFERENT
BALLAD SINGING FORMS
In the preceding s e c t io n s , we have a lre a d y been acquainted
w ith the two p r in c ip a l modes o f H e i t e i b a lla d sin gin g v i z . ,
the
Rena and the Khong.iom-parba. There i s a t h i r d form known as
Moira n g-s a i which does not en jo y the same kind o f p o p u la r it y
w ith a l l c la s s e s o f people as i s done by the oth er two. New
below we are d iscu ssin g some important fe a t u r e s r e l a t i n g to the
modes o f p resen ta tio n o f obese v a r io u s b a lla d singing forms.
(a )
fan a Singer
The PQna sin ge r i s g e n e r a lly clad in white d h o ti and put
a turban o f the same c o lo u r . However, i f he i s recognised and
a u th orised by the k in g , he i s allowed t o put on Khamen- chat pa
d h o ti in place o f the white one. The sera s in g e rs put cn gold
bangles and g o ld e a r - r i n g s . Sometimes pena s in ge rs wear re sham
ph u r it
( re sham = v e l v e t ;
phurit = s h i r t ) .
As describ ed by Chandam Gopal,
54
bhava, r a s a , s t y le and
composition o f pena s in gin g may be d iv id e d in to three c a t e g o r ie s ,
54.
Ch, Go p a l, ’Khunung I s h e i 1 (la n ip u r i L o k r i t ) Man i purl
Dance Seminar E. N ilak an ta ( e d . )
1975, Imphal, p. 55.
v i z . , L a ir o i, Wari- oaring or Kabya sakpa and H eirol Leirc-1.
L a ir o l is f u l l o f shanta and madhur m sa. I t is a prayer to
the gods and goddesses praising th e ir q u a litie s and th e ir
p ro o itia tio n . Most of the pena
singing in connection with
the Lai-HaraobaT is o f th is kind. The second category i . e . ,
Wa ri - paring or Kabya sakpa~ is the narration o f the d iffe re n t
clans o f the Meitfels. Ballads sung by the pena singers on the
theme o f Kharnba and Thoibi, Khuyol Kaoba, e tc . are in th is
category. I t has karuna, sringar and v ir a r asa. E e lr o l-l e i r o l ,
the la s t category is a song singing about the description o f
fr u it s and flow ers and th e ir natural beauties.
3csides,these
three categories, pena singers ncw-a-days have taken up the
episodes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other
Hindu
c;c
puranas.00
A pena singer is in vited by a person or a group fo r a
performance in a place arranged fo r the purpose. He is paid
according to the number o f days which he sang. The oena singers
lik e solo performers sing in the outhouse or at the place
arranged fo r the purpose. They are sometimes assisted by one
or two o f th e ir disciples s ittin g behind them while the lead
^ena
singer s its alone in the middle on a w ell decorated dais.
A singer sings four to fiv e hours in a day. He may sing for more
than a month according to the desire of the person or a group
who has in vited him. He may be asked to start eith er from the
55.
E. Nilakanta.,
1981, p. 129.
Aspects of Indian Culture, In ?h al,
385
beginning to the middle or from the middle to the end as
desired 0,7 the patron.
(b ) Khongjom-parba Singer
The dress o f a male Khongjom-parba singer is a white
dhoti end a white shirt or kurta and fo r female singer, the
phanek mayeknaiba and a chadar of sin g er's choice. At the
very start o f singing Khongjom-parba, as a tra d itio n , a
bandana (prayer) to the Almighty, the reigning king, g u n s :
the assembling nobles, aged men and females, e tc . is sang and
i t is sometimes in Sanskrit feed ly r ic s and sometimes in
Manipuri language. The sabha bandana is follow ed by a ly r ic a l
composition depicting the beauty o f the land o f Manipur
and
then the actual ballad narration of the theme asked fo r is
continued. The singing may take place at the out-house or at
a place arranged fo r th is purpose where a mat sometimes
covered with white cloth is kept in the middle in a position
to be seen by the a u d i e n c e f r o m
three d irection s i f
the wall is there at the back o f the singer. Khongjom-parba
is actu ally one man's show in a s ittin g p osition . But ncw-adays two persons also sing at the same time and th is tyre 01
performance is called Khongjom-t>arba phaibok means ivhcngjotn^
parba double.
The melodic structure of Khongjom-parba, it
may be said, is a mixture o f nat sangit and pena singing of
56
,
the M eiteis.
The male or female Khongjom-parba singer
56.
Ch. Gopal, lo c . c i t .
386
g en era lly bends down and h it s the dholak from time to time
in conform ity with the speed and tune o f the words. At the
time o f n a rra tion , a fte r the end o f a chapter or one incident
and a new chapter or stage I s to be taken up, the v o ice o f the
singer becomes a l i t t l e lower sig n ify in g the s h iftin g from one
to another.
(c ) Mo ira n g -sa i Singer
This is also another sty le o f singing ballad only on the
theme o f Moirang Saiyon (d iffe r e n t incarnations o f Moirang)
p a r tic u la r ly on Khamba and T h oib i, This style which came in the
la t e r period is known as M oirang-sai. It was introduced by a
gentleman named Maibam Shamumacha Singh during the reign o f
Maharaja Churachand Singh, and also sang on the episode o f
T h o ib i's going to and coming back from her e x ile at Kabow
(Burma). 57 The sty le o f the song Moirang-sai
, a mixture of
_
gg
the P ^ a and the Khong.jom-parba
_
comes from Moirang Ishei
which means the song o f Moirang. Moirang i s the name o f a place
situ ated at 65 Km to the south o f Imphal but about the meaning
o f the word ' s a i 1, there are d iffe r e n t view s. One o f the views
i s that sal
i s derived from Manohar Sai
or Mano S a l, a kind o f
Kirtan singing which came to Manipur during the time o f Maharaja
Chandrakirti. 59 Another opinion i s that Moi r —
an g-sai is the
57. Surchand Sharma, Loikum L oika, Imphal, 1965, Preface
U jO
58. Gh. Gopal, M eitei Kullak Ishei in Sahitya, 15th is s u e ,
Nov. 1971, p. 58.
59. P. Kokngang ( e d . ) , Manipuri Monoharsaigi Hourakpham amasun
Chaokhatlakpa Mawong, D ec., 1973, 7th is s u e , Mityeng, o. 1
i7
shortened form o f Moirang Saiyon which indicates a ll the
legendary s to rie s of Moirang.
This type o f ballad singing is also performed
v illa g e s
in the
and towns seasonally. This type is lik ed p articu larly
by the younger generation. The people o f the older generation
normally avoid i t because o f the highly e ro tic nature o f the
text and the manner o f it s presentation. An important feature
o f Moirang-sai is that a l l it s participants are females
(except the dhclak player (m ale). Normally four to s ix females
sing the songs in two groups facing each other in the arena
north and south in a standing p osition . Their dance movements
are broad fund has a wider sweep than other refin ed dances. The
chorus leaded sings and acts out in fin e style with a few
occasional dialogues and plenty of dances. No musical in stru ­
ment is played by the singer but is assisted by a male drummer
with a dholak s ittin g in the eastern side facing the d e ity .
The chorus leader normally stands s lig h tly ahead o f the group
facing to the north. The costumes of the singers are Phanek
Mayek Naiba, blouse and Innaphi with plenty o f geld ornaments.
The singing of Moirang-sai gen erally takes place in the middle
or at the end o f the performance of Khubak Is h e i, a song with
the clapping hands which is seen during the Rath Jatra fe s t iv a l
only. To in v ite them to sing Moirang-sai only is very rare. A
huge amount o f money is earned by the singers from the
interested audience. I f the audience is s a tis fie d by the
pefformance, the singers o f the performers get much money and
388
i f not, they are laughed at. In this style of singing, both
beauty and melodious voice are necessary to satisfy the
audience. Like Khong.icm-parba
and pena
singing, Moirang-s~£i
singing is also a profession for earning livelihood in the
L eitei society.
M EITEI
C H IL D R E N ’S
GAM ES
*W1V
T R A D IT IO N A L
TONG TO N G TONGDRUMBI
0 0 - RAOBI
SEBOTI
B A LLA D
S IN G IN G
m o ir a n g - s a i per fo r m a n ce
PENA SINGER WITH PENA
FLOWERS ---- THEMES OF BALLADS
KHONG JOM- PARBA SINGING