Chapter 1
Introduction:
Lapiere R.T.(Sociology, McGraw, New York, 1946; p.68) said,
“Culture is the embodiment of customs, tradition, etc. of the learning of a social group over the generation”,
and so said, Melville F. Herskovits in his book on Cultural Anthropology (1955: p.3),
“Culture is the ways man has devised to cope with his natural setting and his social milieu; and how bodies of custom are learned, retained and handed down from one generation to the next”.
We may examine as to how far are the people of Manipur who can be broadly divided into Meitei, Kuki and Naga, living in the valley and the hills surrounding it are related or otherwise in consideration of their culture, tradition, customs, etc., more particularly so in view of the fact that while the Meiteis living in the valley profess Hinduism, the Kukis and the Nagas living in the hills surrounding the valley embrace Christianity.Origin and Ethnic Affinity:
According to Grierson, G.A. (Grierson, G.A.; Linguistic Survey of India, Vol.II, Calcutta, Government Printing Press, Calcutta, 1904; p.6), the Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas are all of Mongoloid stock belonging to the Tibeto-Burman Family, and their language is clubbed in the Kuki-Chin group of language which would have been a better appellation had it been given the Meitei-Chin linguistic group. This will enable the whole group divided into two sub-groups, the Meiteis and the various tribes which are known under the names of Kuki and Chin. By this, it only proves that the Meiteis and the Kukis and the Nagas are closely related in terms of language. All the same, the Kachin connection has been proved by the linguistic affinity between the Meitei and the Kachin (Hudson, T.C., The Meithei, London, 1908 : p.10).
McCulloch, W., (The Valley of Manipur, Gyan Publications, Delhi: 1859 : p.4) stated that in view of striking affinity in the language and culture of the people of Meiteis and the hill tribes of Manipur including their folklore, he was prompted to advance a theory that the Meiteis are descendants of the Kukis and Nagas. Brown, R. (A Statistical Account of Manipur, Government Printing Press, Calcutta, 1874 : p.28) also subscribed to this view of tribal origin of the Meiteis and speculated that “should it be a correct view that the valley of Manipur was at no very distant period almost covered entirely by water, the origin of the Munniporees from the surrounding hill is the proper and only conclusion to be arrived”. Similarly, Hudson, T.C. (1908 : p.11) was bold enough to say, “Two hundred years ago, in the internal organisation in village, in habits and manners the Meiteis were as the hill people now are. The successive courses of foreign invasions, Shan, Burmese, Hindu and English, each left permanent marks on the civilization of the people so that they have passed finally away from the stage of relatively primitive culture with one of comparative civilization but their ultimate homogeneity with the Nagas and Kukis of the hills is undoubted”.
An important feature is the indispensable Customary Law elements in regard to the parts played by each ‘Salai’ and to ensure participation of several ethnic and tribal groups in bringing and contributing different kinds of wood available in their regions which were used in the construction of halls in Kangla. Their participation in coronation-ceremony was essential. It was customary to collect water from different pools (Naoroibam Indramani : Coronation of Manipuri kings, Sanathong Monthly Journal, Imphal, 2001, Vol.VIII, No. 4, pp.15-18) belonging to the seven different ‘Salais’. Use of different designs and colours on clothes both among the seven Salais of Meiteis and the tribal groups, a practice followed since the reign of Pamheiba, reveal the divergent cultural base. Wearing of Tangkhul customary dress by the King during the coronation ceremony was a demonstrative impact factor for the people to integrate. These are seen as attempts to depict characteristics of the occasion to project the King as supreme authority of all the people living, both in the Valley and the hills, in expression of solidarity and integration of societies.
To light the most important fact about the origin of the Manipuri, the Kukis, the Meiteis and the Nagas as having a common origin. A folk song often sung at the Laiharaoba – a festival of the Meiteis reveals – that whether it be the settlers of the hills or that of the valley, both are of the same stock (W. Damudor Singh : Merger of Manipur with the Dominion of India; The Sangai Express : dt. 27-29, Sept., 2006). The song,
“CHINGDA TABA MAHAIGE, TAMDA TABA MAHAIGE, WAKON TANOI NOI …”
when sung in its indigenous and primeval tune significantly expresses inseparable ‘one-ness’ and deep relationship that existed between these groups of people.
That the Kingdom of Manipur, a segmentary state, had been in existence since the early Christian era constituted of the people belonging to the hills and the valley, cannot be denied the indigenous groups of people categoriesed as the TAM-MI (the people who settled in the valley) and the CHING-MI (the people of all groups irrespective of their indigenous ethnic divisions settled in the valley or those who remained in the hills) (Amal Sanasam : “Social Integration in Early Manipur, some Aspects” – A Seminar paper on Ethnic Relations Among the People of North-East India with Special Reference to Manipur, organized by Centre for Manipur Studies, Manipur University, Imphal.) because of their customary laws and socio-political common terminology found in their respective administrative units is also a fact.