CaraVanOtterloo: small fix details for consistency

2026-02-02T03:51:06Z

small fix details for consistency

SonOfZeus: Created page with "{{Short description|Description of plants in Meitei culture}} {{About|the usage of plants specifically in Meitei culture|the worldwide perspective|Plants in culture}} {{Contains special characters|Meitei}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2023}} Many {{langnf|mni|'''pāmbī'''s|plants}}{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-b..."

2024-02-11T16:49:01Z

Created page with "{{Short description|Description of plants in Meitei culture}} {{About|the usage of plants specifically in Meitei culture|the worldwide perspective|Plants in culture}} {{Contains special characters|Meitei}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Use Indian English|date=December 2023}} Many {{langnf|mni|'''pāmbī'''s|plants}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-b..."

New page

{{Short description|Description of plants in Meitei culture}}
{{About|the usage of plants specifically in [[Meitei culture]]|the worldwide perspective|Plants in culture}}
{{Contains special characters|Meitei}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2023}}
Many {{langnf|mni|'''pāmbī'''s|[[plant]]s}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%84%EA%AF%A5%EA%AF%9D%EA%AF%95%EA%AF%A4&searchhws=yes# |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |page=115 |language=mni, en}}</ref> play significant roles in the different elements of [[Meitei culture]], including but not limited to [[Meitei cuisine]], [[Meitei festivals]], [[Meitei folklore]], [[Meitei folktales]], [[Meitei literature]], [[Meitei mythology]] and Meitei religion ([[Sanamahism]]) of {{langnf|mni|Kangleipak|[[Manipur]]}}.
[[File:ꯈꯌꯣꯝ ꯂꯥꯛꯄ.jpg|thumb|300px|Arrangement of different plant items for a religious ritual in [[Meitei culture]]]]
[[File:An old sacred banyan tree in the shrine of Lord Wangpulen (Wangbren) inside the Kangla fort in Imphal.jpg|thumb|300px|Worship of a banyan tree inside the [[Kangla]]]]

== Perspective of Mother nature ==

The "Hijan Hirao" ({{lang-omp|"Hichan Hilao"}}), an [[ancient Meitei language]] narrative poem, mentions that King Hongnem [[Luwang Ningthou Punshiba]] of [[Luwang dynasty]] once ordered his men for the cutting down a tree in the forest for crafting out a beautiful royal [[Hiyang Hiren]]. In accordance to the story, his servants found out a big tree growing on the slope of a mountain and by the side of a river.
They performed traditional customary rites and rituals before chopping off the tree on the following day.
In the death of the night, Mother nature started weeping in the fear of losing her dear child, the tree.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Ch Manihar |url= |title=A History of Manipuri Literature |date=1996 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=978-81-260-0086-9 |pages=16, 17 |language=en, mni}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Datta |first1=Bīrendranātha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRvaAAAAMAAJ |title=A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India |last2=Śarmā |first2=Nabīnacandra |date=1994 |publisher=Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture, Assam |location=India |page=356 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Barua |first=Lalit Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoECgkZ0Wu0C |title=Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India |date=1999 |publisher=Spectrum Publications |isbn=978-81-87502-02-9 |location=India |page=71 |language=en}}</ref>
The painful lamentations of mother nature is described in the poem as follows:
{{Blockquote|At dead of night 
The mother who begot 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 wailed: 
"O my son, tall and big, 
While yet an infant, a sapling 
Didn't I tell you To be an ordinary tree? 
*
*
The king's men have found you out And bought your life with gold and silver. * *
At daybreak, hacked at the trunk 
You will be found lying prostrate. No longer will you respond
To your mother's call Nor a likeness of you 
Shall be found, when I survey The whole hillside. 
Who shall now relieve my grief?|Hichan Hilao (Hijan Hirao)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Ch Manihar |title=A History of Manipuri Literature |date=1996 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=978-81-260-0086-9 |pages=16, 17 |language=en, mni}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Datta |first1=Bīrendranātha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRvaAAAAMAAJ |title=A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India |last2=Śarmā |first2=Nabīnacandra |date=1994 |publisher=Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture, Assam |location=India |page=356 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Barua |first=Lalit Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoECgkZ0Wu0C |title=Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India |date=1999 |publisher=Spectrum Publications |isbn=978-81-87502-02-9 |location=India |page=71 |language=en}}</ref>}}

== Plants used in rites and rituals ==
{{langnf|mni|Kushumlei/Kusumlei|[[safflower]]}} is used by the [[Meitei people]] for decorations during the [[Sajibu Cheiraoba]] (Meitei Lunar Near Year Day) celebrations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-25 |title=Kushumlei |url=https://medicinalplants.co.in/kushumlei/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Manipur Medicinal Plants |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{langnf|mni|Kombirei|[[Iris (plant)|Iris]]}} is also used by the Meitei people for decorations during the [[Sajibu Cheiraoba]] (Meitei Lunar Near Year Day) celebrations. In [[Meitei culture]], Kombirei flower represents love, life and death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Lamphel Nawa Kombirei'' - Traditional offering at Cheiraoba: The most romantic flower in Manipur |author=Irengbam Mohendra Singh |date=24 March 2020 |url=http://e-pao.net/epPageExtractor.asp?src=features.Lamphel_Nawa_Kombirei_Traditional_offering_at_Cheiraoba_By_Irengbam_Mohendra.html |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=e-pao.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Transplantation efforts on to save Manipur's indigenous flower 'Kombirei' |url=https://www.ifp.co.in/6996/transplantation-efforts-on-to-save-manipurs-indigenous-flower-kombirei |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=[[Imphal Free Press]] |language=en}}</ref> It is frequently mentioned in the [[Meitei folktales]] and folk songs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iris laevigata - Water Iris |url=http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Water%20Iris.html |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Flowers of India}}</ref>
In honor of this flowering plant species, the [[Government of Manipur]], organises the "Kombirei Festival" every year, in the aim to preserve and conserve the natural habitats of ethnic flowers like Kombirei.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dy CM inaugurates Kombirei Festival -2021 |url=https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2021/4/13/Imphal-Apr-12-DIPR-Deputy-Chief-Minister-Yumnam-Joykumar-Singh-has-reiterated-that-the-Government-is-committed-to-restore-water-bodies-to-conserve-rare-flora-and-fauna-of-Manipur-He-was-speaking.html |access-date=2023-04-13 |work=The Sangai Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-04-12 |title=Kombirei Festival kicks off |newspaper=Pothashang News |url=https://www.pothashang.in/2021/04/12/kombirei-festival-kicks-off/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Real plants mentioned in old texts ==
=== Cape jasmine description ===
Giving reference to Meitei King [[Khagemba]] and the [[Manipur Kingdom]], the beauty and grace of [[Kaboklei|Lei Kabok]] flower, also called {{lang|mni|Kabok Lei}} ({{lang|la|[[Gardenia jasminoides]]}}, [[cape jasmine]]), is described by Meitei King [[Charairongba]], in his book, the "Leiron", as follows:
{{Blockquote|It is a flower that remains ever fresh as not eaten by worms and is fondly sought after in the four corners of [[Manipur Kingdom|the country]], eight directions, nay in all quarters. It is distinct for its beautiful shape, its tender stalk and for its pure white colour. It is a flower once nurtured by King [[Khagemba]] who preferred to take it with him even for his long home. It is a flower that comes handy to both boys and girls as a present of love. Such a luscious flower has blossomed forth in an unending array of white and definitely the season is of this flower.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Ch Manihar |title=A History of Manipuri Literature |date=1996 |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |isbn=978-81-260-0086-9 |pages=92, 93 |language=en, mni}}</ref>}}

== Real plants mentioned in folklore ==
=== Colocasia/Taro plantation folktale ===
[[File:ꯍꯅꯨꯕ ꯍꯅꯨꯕꯤ ꯄꯥꯟ ꯊꯥꯕ.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Meitei folktale]] of {{langnf|mni|[[Hanuba Hanubi Paan Thaaba]]|term1=[[Old Man and Old Woman planting Colocasia]] |term2=[[Old Man and Old Woman planting Taro|Taro]]}}]]
In [[Meitei mythology]] and [[Meitei folklore]] of {{langnf|mni|Kangleipak|[[Manipur]]}}, {{langnf|mni|Pān|term1=[[Colocasia]] |term2=[[Taro]]}} plants are mentioned. In the [[Meitei folktale]] of the {{langnf|mni|[[Hanuba Hanubi Paan Thaaba]]|term1=[[Old Man and Old Woman planting Colocasia]] |term2=[[Old Man and Old Woman planting Taro|Taro]]}},<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-04-16|title=Paan Thaba staged |newspaper=Pothashang News|url=https://www.pothashang.in/2018/04/16/paan-thaba-staged/|access-date=2021-04-12 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-06-07|title=Planting Taro: Subverting the Tale |newspaper=Pothashang News|url=https://www.pothashang.in/2018/06/07/planting-taro-subverting-tale/|access-date=2021-04-12 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Old Couple Plants Taro :: ''Hanuba-hanubi paan thaba Fungawari Singbul'' |author=B. Jayantakumar Sharma |translator=Akham Gautam Singh |date=8 August 2017 |url=http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=manipur.Folks.Folk_Tales.Old_Couple_Plants_Taro_Hanuba_hanubi_paan_thaba_By_Akham_Gautam |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=E-pao}}</ref> an old aged lonely couple, who have no youths in their family, were deceived by some trickster monkeys, regarding the planting of the Colocasia/Taro plants in a very different unusual style of plantation.<ref>{{Cite book |section=The old couple and the taro plants |section-url=http://archive.org/details/dli.language.1358/page/n51/mode/1up|title=Folktales of Manipur|author=B. Jayantakumar Sharma |author2=Chirom Rajketan Singh |translator=Kamaljit Chirom |date=2014|page=51 |publisher=Cultural Research Centre Manipur |isbn=978-93-83201-14-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Hanube and Hanuba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpM8DAAAQBAJ&dq=hanube+and+hanuba&pg=PT33|title=New Folktales of Manipur|last=Oinam|first=James|date=2016-05-26|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-945400-70-4|page=33|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Hanube and Hanuba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpM8DAAAQBAJ&dq=hanube+and+hanuba&pg=PT34|title=New Folktales of Manipur|last=Oinam|first=James|date=2016-05-26|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-945400-70-4|page=34|language=en}}</ref>
The old couple agreed to do the monkeys' advices, peeling off the best tubers of the plants, then boiling them in a pot until softened and after cooling them off, wrapping them in banana leaves and putting them inside the soils of the grounds.<ref>{{Cite book |section=The old couple and the taro plants |section-url=http://archive.org/details/dli.language.1358/page/n52/mode/1up|title=Folktales of Manipur|author=B. Jayantakumar Sharma |author2=Chirom Rajketan Singh |translator=Kamaljit Chirom |date=2014|page=52 |publisher=Cultural Research Centre Manipur |isbn=978-93-83201-14-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Hanube and Hanuba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpM8DAAAQBAJ&dq=hanube+and+hanuba&pg=PT35|title=New Folktales of Manipur|last=Oinam|first=James|date=2016-05-26|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-945400-70-4|page=35|language=en}}</ref>
In the middle of the night, the monkeys secretly came into the farm and ate all the well cooked plants. After their eating, they (monkeys) planted some inedible giant wild plants in the place where the old couple had placed the cooked plant tubers. In the morning, the old couple were amazed to see the plants getting fully grown up just after one day of planting the tubers. They were unaware of the tricks of the monkeys. So, the old couple cooked and ate the inedible wild Taro plants. As a reaction of eating the wild plants, they suffered from the unbearable [[tingling]] sensation in their [[throat]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |section=The old couple and the taro plants |section-url=http://archive.org/details/dli.language.1358/page/n53/mode/1up|title=Folktales of Manipur|author=B. Jayantakumar Sharma |author2=Chirom Rajketan Singh |translator=Kamaljit Chirom |date=2014|page=53 |publisher=Cultural Research Centre Manipur |isbn=978-93-83201-14-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Hanube and Hanuba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpM8DAAAQBAJ&dq=hanube+and+hanuba&pg=PT36|title=New Folktales of Manipur|last=Oinam|first=James|date=2016-05-26|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-945400-70-4|page=36|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Oinam 37">{{Cite book |chapter=Hanube and Hanuba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpM8DAAAQBAJ&dq=hanube+and+hanuba&pg=PT37|title=New Folktales of Manipur|last=Oinam|first=James|date=2016-05-26|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-945400-70-4|page=37|language=en}}</ref>

== Meitei language films named after plants ==
* [[Kaboklei]]
* [[Leipaklei]]
* [[Nobap]]
* [[Orchids of Manipur (film)]]

== See also ==
* [[Hills and mountains in Meitei culture]]
* [[Birds in Meitei culture]]
* [[Animals in Meitei culture]]
* [[Vegetation deity]]
* [[Trees in mythology]]
* [[Sacred garden]]
* [[Sacred tree]]
* [[Floral emblem]]
* [[Plant epithet]]
* [[Nongmaiching Reserved Forest]]
* [[Flora (mythology)]]
* [[Greek garden]]
* [[Roman garden]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Meitei culture]]
[[Category:Meitei folklore]]
[[Category:Meitei literature]]
[[Category:Meitei mythology]]
[[Category:Plants in culture]]
[[Category:Sanamahism]]

Plants in Meitei culture - Revision history

CaraVanOtterloo: small fix details for consistency