Ningol Chakkouba : A Tale of Lost Bonds
Manipur is a state in northeast India, located between Latitutde[1] 23°50’ and 25°30’ North and Longitude 93°10’ and 94°30’. Manipur’s population consists of mainly three ethnic groups: the Meiteis of the valley, the Nagas and Kuki-Chins of the surrounding hills[2] and Meiteis are the majority of the population.
The word Meitei has many different interpretations, Hodson[1] suggested that it was derived from “Mei” which means man or people and “Tei” meaning separate, Metei: separate people. Another interpretation is “Mi” = image, as in God’s image and “Tei” = modelled, Mitei[2]: modelled after God’s image. Another proposal is that of Chongtham Budhi Singh, that the word is a blend of two tribes of ancient China[2]: “Mei” and “Ti”. However, it is historically well known, that the word “Meitei” was used by Pakhangba, to mean the people who belonged to the Nithouja dynasty[2]. Among the many festivals of Manipur, Ningol chakkouba is a social festival[5] celebrated by the Metei community. Ningol means “daughters”, especially married daughters and Chakouba means “a feast invitation”. Ningol Chakouba is celebrated on the second day of “Hiyangei”[5], the eighth month in the lunar calendar of Manipur. An invitation usually comes from the brother or the father. The traditional way of this invitation involves the brother visiting his married sister’s house not with a piece of paper or card, but with Pan leaves wrapped around a freshly cut betel nut[3] (see Figure 2).
It can also be in such a way that the betel nut sits on top of a pan leaf where the leaf rest on a “Tanga”, a patterned banana leaf (see Figure 3).
The significance behind the betel nut and pan leaves is to imply that the invitation consists of a proper lunch as chewing of the pan with betel nut is common in Manipuris after a proper lunch.
Among the many festivals of Manipur, Ningol Chakouba is unique in the sense that it is purely a traditional Manipuri festival. History is not so kind for the Manipuris as it suffered from many cultural changes during its reign as an independent kingdom. The major cultural change was the introduction of Hinduism during the time of King Garbniwaz[2]. From that time, most of the festivals are culturally intertwined and it became hard to figure out which part of the ritual came from our own roots or Hinduism. The festivals of Meiteis were given Hindu names or modified with Hindu form[2]. Some of the festivals[2] are “Heigru Hitongba” (annual boat race festival) was renamed Jal Yatra, “Waira Tenkap” (archery) was converted to Kirtan of Lord Rama, “Chanou Hui Chintu” (New Harvest) substituted by Govardhan puja etc.
Ningol Chakouba, in the beginning, did not start as a festival meant for the daughters. It has its beginning at the time of the first king of Manipur, king Nongda Lairen Pakhangba[5]. The myth suggests that king Pakhangba was originally a God which took the human form and ruled Manipur. During his time, his Queen Laisana invited her brother “Poireiton” to the King’s palace for a feast once a year. Therefore, it was the other way around. Instead, this festival was meant for the “Piba”, meaning brothers or sons. Unwritten history says that this tradition proved rather inconvenient as the brothers have to visit many places to meet their married sisters. So, it was changed during the time of king Chandrakirti[5] when he invited his married sisters for the feast. Therefore, this tradition remained a crucial part of the Manipuri culture.
It is also well known that in a deep sense of Manipuri culture, it is seen by the people at large that a visit of the married woman to their own home multiple times reflects a poor marriage and is considered to reduce the visit as few as possible. Therefore, the single day of the visit carries a lot of emotion for both the brothers/parents at their meet. Unlike other festivals where many people come together to celebrate in unison. This festival does not involve other people other than its own family. But occasionally sisters pertaining to the neighbour also invited even if they are unmarried.
Preparations for the visit starts before a week, just after the arrival of the invitation. Sweets of many different kinds, fruits of different flavours and other snacks for the kids at home are bought. On the day, they will pick the best traditional attire and adorn themselves with the best jewellery for the visit. The sweets, fruits and snacks are not necessary neatly packed but rather showcased by putting them in a large container which is known as “kompak”, meaning large plate while they bring on their way home (see Figure 4). Since ancient Manipur was such a small geographical location where the marriage happened not too far from their own homes.
The proximity allowed them to walk on their way home where they display the kompak filled with eatables placed on their heads. But this is not the case in modern Manipur, where transport allows distant marriage and walks happen only when they reached near their homes after they get down from the vehicles, just for the sake of conserving the tradition, although it is forgotten by the Millenials.
The preparations at home on the other hand consists of arranging gifts for their sisters and their children. Cooks are hired specially for this occasion to arrange a large feast with multiple dishes. Some of the well known Manipuri dishes are made in every household on the day. Eronba(Traditional Manipuri Chutney), Uti (A vegetable stew), Champhut (Boiled Leaves, mainly gourd), Singju (spicy side dish consisting of freshly cut mixed vegetable) are some of the common dishes which is in every plate of the state on that day, collectively called “Chakluk” (see Figure 5).
After the arrival of the sisters, there is a gap before the feast begins. During that time, the eatables which were brought is divided to be given as a parcel of love to their neighbours and nearby relatives where they once danced in their laps.
Once the feast (see Figure 6) is completed, there is a gift ceremony which begins with the first gift offered to the eldest sister and so forth. The brother bows (see Figure 7) as they offer the gift and the sister showers them with blessings as their hands run over their head. The children are happy with their uncles as they receive gifts of clothes and money as a part of the gift. Hence the day is closed with a happy mood.
Although this festival is first celebrated by the Meitei tribe of Manipur, which is the majority of the population that survived Manipur, the festival has been slowly incorporated into other tribes and community as a practical means of spreading harmony[4][5]. To make this comprehensive, a discussion of the dark side of this festival is also important. This stems from the humble offering of the gift. From the traditional point of view, gifts are not meant to be something substantial and not to be demanded by the sisters to their brothers. However, it has been a plague from the start and a matter of concern that many brothers or parents of some families do face the need to bear a demand for specific gifts from their daughters. Also based on this matter alone, there have been many Manipuri feature films that try to capture this side of the story, contrasting the beautiful side of the festival.
Nevertheless, this festival celebrates family bonding and strength in the relationship.
References
[1] T.C. Hodson, The Meitheis, ISBN: 978–81–8370–255–3.
[2] Gangmumei Kabui, 2011, History of Manipur, Vol. №1, ISBN: 81–214–0362–6.
[3] Birendra Singh RK., Fairs and Festivals, Part VII-B, Vol-XXII, Manipur.
[4] Singh, G., 2008. In search of peace in Manipur: lessons from Nagaland. Strategic Analysis, 32(6), pp.1115–1129.
[5] Khomdam Singh Lisam, 2011, Encyclopedia of Manipur (3 Vol.), Vol. №3, p.609, ISBN: 978–81–7835–864–2.
