CHAPTER 8.0 COMMON RITUALS AND CEREMONIALS
8.1 Introduction
Everyone knows that ritual is a set of actions and it is performed
mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by the tradition of a
community and may be performed on specific occasions. It may also be
done at the discretion of communities, by a group, or by the entire
community. Their purposes are also varied. It may be for religious
obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of
practioners, social bonds and moral education and so on
Ritual refersto practices connected with supernatural or religious
experiences and beliefs. It is now widely recognized. Ritual and ceremony
are being performed all over the world as their common features of life.
They have been given a memorial structure to events as personal as
childbirth and as public as the marriage alliances from early days. In the last
few decades, many scholars especially on religion has given to society a
sophisticated set of premises with which to study these deeply meaningful
yet often illegible practices. Because ritual and ceremony have an
undeniably performative component, that work has had a striking impat on
performance studies and has provided a new approach to the communal
ceremonies and secular rituals that were fundamental to the cultures.
8.2 Rituals
Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all known human
societies, past or present. They include not only the various worship rites
and sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also the rites of passage
of certain societies, atonement and purification rites, etc.
In psychology, the term ritual is sometimes used in a technical sense
for a repetitive behavior systematically used by a person to neutralize or
prevent anxiety; it is a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder.
In Meitei society also there are lots of rituals ‘irat tuni ’ and
ceremonies ‘turm’ that have been performed from early days. Some of
them were related with mythology, historical events and memorable
incidents of Manipuri society. In Meitei society, most of the religious
functions are performed with ritual works. Therefore, both ritual and
ceremonial functions are inseparable. Some common rituals and ceremonials
of
the
Meiteis
imoinu iratp,
are
as
na hutp,
follows:
sibu ciraub,
jum sab,
jum seb,
iol cakaub,
pantoibi iratp,
laihraub, mera hucob, luhob, koom numit, irabot de, puja mi
tab, chi tret kuntakp, un aitin, etc. Among them only few selected
constituents are discussed here for the present study as given below:
sibu ciraub
sibu ciraub is the new year of Meitei community and it is a
traditional festival celebrated on the first day of the month of sibu
(equivalent of April) every year. It is an annual religious celebration that
certain rituals are observed with a traditional devotion. Structurally the word
ciraub is a combination of two words having two different meanings cәhi ‘year’ and laubә ‘to declare’. It also means cәi ‘stick’ and laubә ‘to
declare’. In short, ciraub means ‘the announcement of the coming year’.
Linguistically, it can be analysed as follows:
Noun + Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + N + V + NZR) > Compound
Noun
sibu ci laub
sibu + ci + lau + b
> sibu ci laub
the first month of a year + stick + declare + NZR
Here, the compound word sibu ciraub consists of two nouns, a verb
along with a nominalizer.
Some years back, such announcement was made by a person who was
authorized by the king. The authorized person went through the road, lane of
the towns or villages by holding a long bamboo pole with bells fixed on its
top and made announcement of the coming New Year.
Thus Meiteis pray and worship the deity to guard them against
untimely death and diseases and to bring peace, prosperity and social
harmany among the people of the country for the coming New Year.
The Meiteis believe that lai kundinnb ‘assembly of deities’ is
there on every Sunday in the month of Lamta (March), the last month of the
year. During the assembly of deities, the number of sticts representing the
heads and souls of the man living on earth that would die in the coming year
is counted and is kept separately. The following constituents are included in
this construction:
Noun + Noun + Verb + Reciprocal + Nominalizer (N + N + V+ RECI +
NZR)
> Compound Noun
lai kundinnb
lai + kun + tin + n + b
> lai kundinnb
God + village + meet + reciprocal + NZR
This compound word lai kundinnb is constructed by combining
two nouns, a verb root a reciprocal along with a nominalizer.
The constituent of words i.e. si stp ‘removal of sticks’ indicates
the counting of deaths for the coming year. Therefore on this day, in every
Sanamahi cult’ household, prayer and offerings are made to deities to spare
the lives of the family members. After this offerings and prayers, the Meiteis
believe that their lives are spared and granted by the Almighty at least for
another year.
Here, si stp constitutes the following constituents:
Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + V + NZR) > Compound Noun
si stp
si + st + p
> si stp
stick + remove + NZR
Here, the compound word si stp is formed by combining a noun, a verb
root and a nominalizer. Here, the verb root st becomes a nominalized noun
by adding nomalizer p .
Days ahead of ciraub houses are made clean. Kittchen utensils are
made clean or replaced by new ones. On this day a rite is performed at the
gate of every household offering something by the elder member for long
life and prosperity of the members of the family. Offerings and eatable
things are made to the deity namely lmab tumab ‘Lord of my land’.
Noun + Noun (N + N) > Compound Noun
lmab tumab
lmab + tumab
> lmab tumab
God + God
This compound also consists of two nouns.
It is also gotten another ritual called sroi kab ‘propitiation of the
evil spirits’since Cheiraoba is a ritual and festival connected with prayer to
the Almighty for peace and prosperity of the coming year. The elderly
women of the locality do it to appease the evil spirits. Edible items and
others are collected from each family and offered to the tutelary deities in
order to propitiate the evil spirits.
Structurally, it can be analysed as follows:
Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + V + NZR) > Compound Noun
sroi kab
sroi + kab
> sroi kab
the evil spirits + propitiate + NZR
Here, the verb root ka becomes a nominalized noun by adding nomalizer b.
One of the features of ciraub is the ritual of usil sinb ‘substitude
person or thing’. In sna konu ‘Royal Palace’of Manipur, ritual is
performed by the Maiba ‘the priest’ for the life and prosperity of the king,
the kingdom and subjects. In this ritual, amu ‘a local fish’ is used. Here,
usil sinb ‘substitude person or thing’ consists of the following constituents.
Noun + Reduplication + Reduplication + Nominalizer (N + REDU +
REDU + NZR) > Compound Noun
usil sinb
u + sil + sin + b
> usil sinb
tree + substitute + substitude + NZR
Here, the words sil and sin are the reduplicated verb roots.
citab.
In this ritual work, a close associate person of the king was chosen by
the king in consultation with the priest. The person took the responsibility
for any calamity that might befall on the king as well as the people and the
kingdom. He is also the usil ‘substitude person’ which every household
performs with amu ‘a local fish’. For that particular year he is known as
Cheithaba121/citab/.
Linguistically it can be analysed as under:
Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + V + NZR) > Compound Noun
ci tab
ci + ta + b
> ci tab
stick + set + NZR
Here, the verb root ta becomes nominalized noun by adding nominalizer
b.
kob lito patp
The ritual known as kob lito patp is also performedafter a week
that is on the seventh day of ciraub in the place between the Iril River and
Kongba in Imphal. This ritual is observed by the priest concerning the
prediction of the king and the people.
Structurally it can be analysed as under:
Noun + Noun + Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + N + N + V + NZR) >
Compound Noun
kob lai to patp
kob + lai + to + pat + p
> kob lai to patp
a river + god + door + open + NZR
Here, the construction consists of three nouns, a verb root pat and a
nominalizer -p.
12
King Kyamba who reigned in 1467-1508 AD in Manipur introduced the system of citab.
imoinu iratp
It is an ancestral deity who is venerated in every household of
Manipur on puga lairu (Soibam, 2009 pp. 283). The deity was venerated
first by the Luwang dynasty, the then Khumans and subsequently by the
Meitei king Chalamba at Kangla.
Linguistically, imoinu iratp can be analysed as follows:
Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + V + NZR) > Compound Noun
imoinu iratp
imoinu + irat + p
> imoinu iratp
goddess of wealth + worship + NZR
It is made up of two nouns, i.e. a noun + a verbal noun.
na hutp
It is the ear-piecing ceremony of the child. Every Meitei boy and girl
will have a small hole in the earlobes of the ear. It is a tradition that during
childhood, gold or silver ear rings are inserted into the holes. Such ceremony
is performed with much fanfare with friends and relatives with a grand feast
to celebrate.
Structurally na hutp can be analysed as under:
Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + V + NZR) > Compound Noun
na hutp
na + hut + p
> na hutp
ear + pierce + NZR
It consists of two nouns of which the final constituent is the nominalized
one.
8.3.1. CEREMONIALS
8.3.1.1 Introduction
“It is the system of rules and traditions that states how things should
be done at a ceremony or formal occasion” (Oxford Advanced American
Dictionary). Ceremonials may be of any kind i.e. ritual ceremony relating to
religious work, social ceremony relating to an event or function. In fact, it is
very important for social or religious event that a traditional set of actions is
performed in a formal way on a special occasion. In Meitei society, there are
lots of ceremonies ‘turm’ that have been performed from the early
periods. Most of them are more or related to ritual works. Therefore, the
religious ceremonials are done with the help of ritual works. The followings
are the available texts which are collected from different sources.
8.3.1.2 Common Ceremonials of Meiteis
1. Marriage‘luhob’
From the ancient time the Meitei marriage system has been going on
in Manipur. Till today this tradition has been followed with certain
modification. Since the beginning of the Modern period (probably after king
Kulachandra, 1890-1891 onwards), engaged marriage has been very popular
although it was existed earlier. However, marriage by capturing a girl was
very vogue. In the modern generation this practice is not seen any more
except one or two persons. Nowadays, arranged and love marriage are
prevalent to a large extent. Even bridegroom’s parents seek out a girl of their
choice to be their daughter-in-law. In this regard, parents start to take the
likes and dislikes of their son into consideration. Then the parents go along
with some friends to ask a good and beautiful girl to be their daughter-inlaw. After having a positive response from a girl’s parents, an auspicious
day will be fixed by an astrologer for the marriage.
Marriage does not perform between a male and female belonging to
the same Yek ‘clan’. If it is done, they will be made outcast. Some of the
common ceremonies which are performed in marriage are illustrated given
below:
waroipot pub
It is a token of agreement. It is done in prior of the marriage to have
a better relationship between the two families. In this function fruits and
sweets are arranged by the family of the groom.
hi krai pub
In this function, seven kinds of fruits are arranged on a krai ‘a thin
basket’ along with other fruits and sweets for domestic deity Sanamahi, local
deity. It is done the groom’s side to bride’s side. This is the formal
agreement of marriage which is done in prior to marriage.
luhob
It is a formal marriage ceremony of Meitei community. Ritual
functions are made elaborately at the residence of the bride. All the deities
are on this day. Both the bride and groom are ritually sanctified on this day.
According to Meitei belief the groom represents Salairel and bride Leimarel,
who will procreate. The groom sits on luhopal ‘seat’ on the back of the
mandop ‘ceremony hall’. The bride will go around the groom seven times,
and on completion of each round the bride will shower the flowers on the
head of the groom. On the seven rounds, the bride will place garland of
Kundo flowers on the nect of the groom. The groom will place a garland of
Kundo on the bride’s nect. Later both will enter the house and pray to the
deities. The bride is then sent off to yhe groom’s house. She is received there
by the mother-in-law and let to pray to the deities on the six days of
marriage, a grand feast is arranged by the parents of bride at the bride’s
residence. On this day, the bride and groom are invited along with their
friends and relatives.
2. Birth ‘pokp’
When a child is born, the attending Maibi ‘a Priest or Local cuts the
umbical cord of the mother with sharp blade. The placenta is placed in an
earthern pot and later it is burried at a particular place, outside the house. If
the baby is a girl, it is burried in the left side of the house. Whereas, for the
baby boy, it will be burried in the right side of the house. This is done with
ritualistic formalities. A burning piece of pine and smoke of burning
koiu laikm ‘Plectranthus ternifolius D. Don’ and a coin are used for this
purpose. A separate hut called waols ‘lying-in room’ is usally
constructed to avoid pollution, as the home is considered the abode of god
and goddess like snamhi ‘god’, limrel ‘goddess i.e. mother of
Sanamahi’, Imoinu ‘goddess of wealth’ etc. Till the third day a kom-
inbi ‘wet nurse’ is imployed or contacted to feed the child. The sixth day is
the day of ipan tb ‘a ritual work’. On this day, for the long life and
prosperity of the child, the deities of fire, water, air, sun and heaven are
worshipped. Offerings are also made to Sarois ‘evil spirits’ with ritual
ceremany. At night ritualistic prayer is done to the grand ancestors, Pithrai
Khongdaibi. A small party is being held on this day by inviting relatives and
friends of the family.
3. Death ‘sib’
Before 1724 i.e. during the reign of king Garibaniwaz, Meiteis used
to bury the dead bodies. But after Hindunization, Meiteis started cremating
(Hudson, T.C. 1908).
For the death of a person there are different dates for performing
ritual ceremonies performed by the traditional Meitei cult and Meitei-Hindu
cult. For the traditional Meitei religion, on the fifth day, there is lihun
called mani lihun and on the eleventh day there is lann turm. (Note:
mani lihun and lann turm are the Meitei terms and synonymous
terms of sti and sorat of Meitei-Hindu).
From the time of death, the death body is shipted to the right side of
the verandah of the house called pmen. Then the head of the dead body
with directing towards the northern direction will be laid down. The place
where the dead body is kept is called kanlenpm/kaenpm ‘the place
to stay for some time after death’. The death body should be kept at the
southern part of the courtyard, covered with a white cloth, in a small hut
named kapoks. The meaning of the name is generally perceived as:
ka ‘stay for some time’, pok ‘birth’, s ‘hut’. The idea is that human
beings are reborn after death. However, if a person dies on the way or
somewhere outside home then the dead body will not be taken to the
verandah but rather will be placed outside the gate.
The death body will be dressed with a sacred cloth.it signifies that
humans are the negative images of God. The Meiteis burn the death bodies
in a funeral pyre.
4. After death ‘sirb mtu’
There are three important ceremonies that are performed after the
death of a person. They are mani lihun, lann turm and
kumon piroi. In natural death, for the Meitei-Hindu, the day of sorat will
be usally fixed by the person before his/her death or will be fixed according
the will of the family members. In this category, sti and sorat for lmboib,
lmboidb and cuk sab and laimi ludb are categorized. They are
briefly explained below:
On the sixth day of death, a ceremony called sti is performed. On
the twelfth day, i.e. on the previous day of sorat, a small ceremany named
jumseb (cleaning of the house with holy puja) is carried out. It is
performed by a Bamon (Brahmin). On the fourteenth day the srda is
performed.
sti and sorat are performed one day earlier to lmboidb. On the
fifth day of death sti snci is performed and on the twelth day
jumseb pua is done. On the thirteen day sorat is performed. In case of
adolescent death, sti are performed on the fifth day and sorat is performed
on the seventh day. This is the same with unmarried persons. Another name
for this kind of death is known as is cuk sab. This ceremony is performed
if the deceased person is of three years and above.
Both the followers of Meiteism and Hinduism celebrate one feast
programme called nisi kummon. This ceremony is observed on the
completion of one year of death.
niol cakub
Festival is celebrated on the second day of the New Moon in the
Meitei month of Hiyangei (equivalent to November) every year. Ningol132
Chakouba /niol cakub/ is a feast festival of merriment celebrated in the
state of Manipur mainly by the Meiteis. The married women go to their
parent’s house for the feast offered by the parents or their brothers. During
this festival the married women return to their parent’s house along with
some fruits and eatable items. The women are pampered with food, gifts at
their parent’s place. Their mothers are also very busy to prepare meals for
their daughters.
It brings a good relationship and strengthening the family ties. It is a
source of family reunion and get-together. Most of the women and the
children, in Manipur fondly wait for this festival as Manipur is a place of
culture, merriment, fun and traditions. The tradition and culture of numerous
festivals is still maintained and preserved over the years. Having a look at
the festival celebrations, here someone can understand the passion of people.
There are also a series of fares, feasts and festivals which are celebrated
round the clock.
13
The word Ningol may have two meanings in Meiteiron. It is known for the daughter (before
married) as well as married women.
The compound word iol cakub is a combination of two words
having different meanings iol + cakub. Here iol is women and
cakub is a feast.
Noun + Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + N + V + NZR) > Compound
Noun
iol cakub
iol + cak + ku + b
> iol cakub
daughter + feast + call + NZR
It is constructed by combining of two nouns, a verb with a nominalizer.
jum sab
This is the inauguration or house warming ceremony of a new house.
The house owner of the new house will invite his relatives and friends. They
will perform some house warming ritual with a grand feast is hosted. The
relatives and friends enjoy the feast. They will come with case as gift for the
house owner.
A linguistic analysis is given here.
Noun + Noun + Verb + Nominalizer (N + N + V + NZR) > Compound
Noun
jum sab
jum + s + ka + b
> jum sab
house + house + enter + NZR
It consists of two nouns, a verb root and a nominalizer.
8.3.1.3 Significance
Each and every society in the world has their cultural beliefs and
traditions as well. There are also many ritual works and ceremonials in
connection with different societies. And they have also their significance
values. In Meitei society, ceremonies or ritual works convey lots of
significance value. The word Sajibu Cheiraoba, for example, it is believed
that on the first day of Sajibu month (April) the cosmic Universal GodSidaba Lainingthou Sanamahi (Immortal Almighty) stays sitting on the atlar
of the house (south west corner) waiting for the offerings from his devotees.
This day is a rare and most sacred of the year for the honest devotees of
Lainingthou Sanamahi of seven Yek-salais (clan) of Kangleipak do offer
different varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers of the new season to
Sanamahi, Leimaren Ima and Imonu Ima and other spirits of the land and
pray for the welfare of the coming year and seek the grace Almighty God.
Thus every house arranges grand feast that are shared with their
neighbours. During this month all seeds sown in the previous month of
Lamda, (March) sprouted buds of the seedings are coming out to yield
natural shape and colour. Analogically seeds of nine kind of species say
human beings, animals, fishes, insects, mosquitoes, trees, bamboos, pulses
and plants have sprouted and shown their heads like horns of saji (dear) as
designed by Almighty God changes its horn. That is why the great
significance of the first day of sajibu month that people can enjoy life to the
full as the nature expresses herself with a calm weather and plenty. The rites
of past and present societies have typically involved apecial gestures to the
kind of actions that may be incorporated into a ritual. The rites of past and
present societies have typically involved special gestures and words,
recitation of fixed texts, performance of special song or dances, processions,
manipulation of certain objects, uses of special dresses, consumtion of
special food etc. Ritual lamentation-song performed with weeping-in many
societies was regarded as required to ritually carry the departed soul to a safe
afterlife.
In religion, a ritual comprises the prescribed outward forms of performing
the cult, of a particular observation within a religion. Rituals often have a
close connection with reverence, thus a ritual in many cases expresses
reverence for a deity or idealized state of humanity.