Religion
[edit]Hinduism and Sanamahi
The people of Manipur follow several faiths and religions which can be traced down to its unique historical past. Sanamahism is an ancient indigenous religion, rich in mythology and colorful in ritual. The Sanamahi worship is concentrated around the Sun God/Sanamahi. Early Manipuris were the devotees of a Supreme deity "Lainingthou Soralel" following the footprint of their Godly ancestors. That particular kind of ancestor worship and animism, with the central focus of worship on Umang Lai – that is, ethnic governing deities worshipped insacred groves. Some of the gods(Lais) Manipuris worship are Atiya Sidaba, Pakhangba,Sanamahi, Leimaren, Oknarel, Panganba, Thangjing, Marjing, Wangbaren, Koubru. The religious life of the people, even when they adopted non-mainstream Hinduism, retained many characteristics inherited from their prehistoric ancestors. The essentials of this religion remain recognizable to the present day. Hinduism has an ancient presence in Manipur,[11] but did not win widespread adoption until relative recent history. It was in the 15th century that a particular form of Vaisnavism was adopted and spread under the reign of King Kyamba through to King Khagemba in the 19th century. Towards the end of the 19th century and at the advent of the 20th century, a great force of Gaudiya Vaishnavism came and spread in Manipur. Over the last couple of decades there has been a revival of Sanamahi religion and this was evident in the significant growth of the "non-mainstream" religion category in the 2001 census which amounted to 17% of the population. Due to the revival of demographic profile of the state, Sanamahism will now be included in the next Government of India population census in 2011.[12]According to the 2001 census Hinduism is identified with 47% of the population.
[edit]Christianity
Main article: Christianity in Manipur
Christianity in Manipur started to spread in the 19th century onwards by missionaries. The 20th century saw the establishment of a few Christian schools which then introduced Western-type education in this remote part of the world. Some of the finest schools in Manipur are Little Flower School in Imphal, Don Bosco High School in Imphal, St. Joseph's Convent, Nirmalabas High School
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. These schools have produced achievers in various professions such as medicine, engineering, and other branches of science. A sizeable Meitei population have joined Christianity. Christianity constitutes 34% of the population.
Islam
Muslims numbering 190,939 form about 8.32% of the state population as per 2001 census. Influence of religious preceptors- Shaikh Shah Jalal Yemeni who came to Sylhet in 1303 AD and Azan Fakir Baghdadi in 1690 AD in Assam is also felt among Manipuri Muslims. There are Arab, Turani, Bengali and Mughal or Chaghtai Turk sections among Manipuri Muslims.
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[edit]Culture
[edit]Kapil ois cm of Manipur
Main article: Manipuri dance
Theatre and society in Manipur are intimately linked, as in many parts of the world. Manipuris are a culturally enthusiastic people. Cultural spirit has never been allowed to be blown out despite the area's remoteness from the outside world. This is why it still thrives in the Manipur valley.
Theatre has always been part of the Laiharaoba festivals since time immemorial. Theatre in Manipur today can be broadly divided, based on the texts, into religious and secular. The former is the adaptation of religious epics or some episodes from them, performed mainly in the sacred sphere such as temples. Within this Gauralila (the story of the childhood days ofCaitanya Mahaprabhu), Sanjenba (an episode from the play between Krishna and his cows and his Gopis), and Udukhol (an episode from Krishna's childhood days) can be incorporated. They are seasonal performances commanding spiritual devotions among the audience.
Secular theatre is mostly confined to themes that are not religious and is performed in the secular or profane spheres. Within these are Shumang lila and Phampak lila (stage drama). Though the religious genre is loved profoundly by the audience, the torch of theatre is being held aloft by the secular ones. Among the latter also Shumang lila commands a very wide rustic popularity among the audience though the stage drama still does not lack its serene and dignified position mostly because of its community-based themes and styles. Etymologically Shumang lila is the combination of "Shumang" (courtyard) and "Lila" (play or performance). It is performed in an area of 13/13 ft in the centre of any open space, in a very simple style without a raised stage or any set design or heavy props such as curtains, background scenery, visual effects, etc. It uses only one table and two chairs, kept on one side of the performance space. Its claim to be the theatre of the masses is underlined by the way it is performed in the middle of an audience that surrounds it, leaving only one passage as both entrance and exit.
Shumang lila is performed by a touring band of 12-13 professional artists on invitation basis. These troupes may be exclusively female (Nupi Shumang Lila) or exclusively male (Nupa Shumang lila). Though the male characters are played by the female artists in the case of the former, what is most intriguing is the acting of the female roles by the male artists or nupishabis (male actresses). They are feminine in their looks, bodily gestures and facial expressions guised in masculine souls.
Historically the seed of Shumang lila was sown in Phagee lila (farce), performed during the reign of Ningthourel Chandrakirti (1850–1886), though traces of it were already present in the episode of Tangkhul-Nurabi Loutaba of Laiharaoba festival. Then it was succeeded by such plays as Ramlila, Sabha parba, Kabul lila, etc. But the real Shumang lila with various rasas (sentiments) was ushered in with the epic play Harishchandra (1918). Then it was followed by others such as Meiraba charan, Thok lila, etc. One of the most successful of this era was Moirang parba, an epic play based on the legendary lovers Khamba and Thoibi of Moirang.
On the other hand, the world of Phampak lila (stage drama) performed in the proscenium theatre is similar, in form, to the Western theatrical model and Indian Natyasastra model though its contents are indigenous. The so-called modern theatre descended on Manipuri theatre culture with the performance of Pravas Milan (1902) under the enthusiastic patronage of Sir Churchand Maharaj (1891–1941). The pace of theatrical movement was geared up with the institution of various groups such as Manipur Dramatic Union (MDU) (1930), Arian Theatre (1935), Chitrangada Natya Mandir (1936), Society Theatre (1937), Rupmahal (1942), Cosmopolitan Dramatic Union (1968), and the Chorus Repertory Theatre of Ratan Thiyam (1976). These groups started experimenting with various types of plays apart from historical and pauranic ones. Today Manipuri theatre is well respected because of various excellent productions shown in various parts of the country and abroad. Manipuri plays, both Shumang lila and stage lila, have been a regular feature in the annual festival of theNational School of Drama, New Delhi.
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