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{{Short description|Meitei language poem by Lamabam Kamal}}
{{About|a [[Meitei language]] poem|the traditional Meitei beauty pageant|Meetei Chanu|the traditional Meitei name suffix|Chanu (name suffix)}}
{{Contains special characters|Meitei}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox poem
|name = Meitei Chanu
|image =
|image_size =
|caption =
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|author = [[:simple:Lamabam Kamal|Lamabam Kamal]]
|original_title = Meitei Chanu
|original_title_lang = mni
|translator =
|written =
|first = [[Meitei Chanu (magazine)]]
|illustrator =
|cover_artist =
|country = [[Manipur Kingdom]] (before merging into the [[Indian Republic]]{{efn|The poem was published in the year 1924 and [[Manipur]] was merged into the [[Indian Republic]] on 21 September 1949.}})
|language = [[Meitei language]] (officially known as [[Manipuri language]])
|series =
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|meter = or |metre =
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|publication_date = 1924
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}}
'''Meitei Chanu''' ({{langx|mni|/mə́i.təi cə.nu/}}, [[literal translation|lit.]] "Meitei woman"<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Oinam |first1=Bhagat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X31aDwAAQBAJ&q=Meitei%20Chanu%20(Meitei%20woman)&pg=PT240 |title=Northeast India: A Reader (Meaning of "Meitei Chanu") |last2=Sadokpam |first2=Dhiren A. |date=2018-05-11 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-0-429-95320-0 |pages=240 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary.Chanu |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%86%EA%AF%85%EA%AF%A8&matchtype=default |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref>) is a [[Meitei language]] poem by [[:simple:Lamabam Kamal|Lamabam Kamal]]. It was first published in a magazine, with the same name, called [[Meitei Chanu (magazine)]] in the year 1924. It was republished in the author's book of his collection of poems called "Lei Pareng" in the year 1929. Its central theme is the reconfiguration of the identity of the [[Meitei people]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lancha |first=Ningthouja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69NqDwAAQBAJ&q=false&pg=PA64 |title=Kangla Lanpung Summer 2018 |date=2018-06-30 |publisher=RK Sanatomba Memorial Trust, Palace Compound, Imphal -795001, Manipur |pages=64 |language=en}}</ref>
The poem bountifully reflects the poet's love of his motherland and its heritage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=George |first=K. M. |title=Masterpieces of Indian Literature: Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu & Urdu |date=1997 |publisher=[[National Book Trust]] |isbn=978-81-237-1978-8 |pages=809 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=[[Indian Literature (journal)|Indian Literature]] - Volume 21, Issue 2 |date=1978 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |edition=Volume 21, Issue 2 |pages=145 |language=en}}</ref>

== Analysis ==
The text of the poem shows the [[Feminization of language|feminization]] of the [[Meitei language|language]] and its [[Meitei literature|literature]].
The opening stanza of the poem remarkably implies that the idea of a literary tradition is embodied in the form of a temple that remains empty without a goddess for a very long time. This is a metaphor for an important transformation in history as Mother {{langx|mni|ꯏꯃꯥ|/í.ma/}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary.Ema |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%8F%EA%AF%83%EA%AF%A5&matchtype=default |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref>) or the Meitei Lady ({{langx|mni|ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯆꯅꯨ|/mə́i.təi cə.nu/}}) re-occupies the temple. She is able to return to her temple due to [[European studies|western education]], imitation, and feminization of language and literature.<ref name=":0" />

The poet emphasises original and the vernacular inspiration and poetic elements to construct the temple of ''Meitei Chanu'', countering a common belief that the [[Meitei language]] is insufficient for literary expression.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lancha |first=Ningthouja |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=69NqDwAAQBAJ&q=false&pg=PA65 |title=Kangla Lanpung Summer 2018 |date=2018-06-30 |publisher=RK Sanatomba Memorial Trust, Palace Compound, Imphal -795001, Manipur |pages=65 |language=en}}</ref> He also imagines a pan-[[Meitei people|Meitei]] consciousness expressed through the temple's construction that could end the sickly ({{langx|mni|ꯁꯤꯔꯨꯝ ꯅꯥꯔꯨꯝ|/si.rum nā.rum/}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary.Seerum-Naarum |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%81%EA%AF%A4%EA%AF%94%EA%AF%A8%EA%AF%9D%20%EA%AF%85%EA%AF%A5%EA%AF%94%EA%AF%A8%EA%AF%9D&searchhws=yes# |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref>) Meiteis. Meitei unity is necessary to rebuild the temple .<ref name=":1" />

According to the author, the temple should be made up of flowers and its purpose should be to spread across the world and to bloom in the universities.<ref name=":1" /> He says that all Meiteis should consider themselves as the children of ''Meitei Chanu'' so that the garland of flowers ({{langx|mni|ꯂꯩ ꯄꯔꯦꯡ|/ləi pə.reŋ/}}, symbolising "unity") remains strong.<ref name=":1" />

Nearness ({{langx|mni|ꯑꯅꯛꯄ|/ə.nək.pə/}},<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary.Anakpa |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%91%EA%AF%85%EA%AF%9B%EA%AF%84&matchtype=default |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref>) becomes the central point of the Meitei world, thereby softly referring to [[Imphal]] as the cosmic holy place to the [[Meitei ethnicity]].<ref name=":1" />

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Lamabam Damodar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ouEZEOAusv4C |title=L. Kamal Singh |date=2000 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=978-81-260-0856-8 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.267463/page/n9/mode/2up |title=Lei Pareng Amasung Thainagee Leirang |date=1999 |publisher=Manipur State Kala Academy, Imphal |pages=9–11 |language=mni}}

[[Category:1924 poems]]
[[Category:Meitei folklore in popular culture]]
[[Category:Meitei poetry]]
[[Category:Women in Meitei culture]]

Meitei Chanu (poem) - Revision history

DenicePitcairn: New Article