SOME SIMILAR CHINESE & INDIAN (Manipuri) FESTIVALS

SOME SIMILAR CHINESE & INDIAN (Manipuri) FESTIVALS

Manipur was an independent kingdom from a very early period, with “Kangla” as the capital, till it was integrated into the Indian union on Saturday, 15^th October 1949. This erstwhile independent nation was first a Part C state, and then a union territory, till it finally attained full-fledged statehood under the dominion of India on Friday, 21^st January 1972.

Manipur was more linked to South China and South-East Asian countries. There is a close cultural affinity of the Manipuris starting from household life and the individuals’ temperament to a community way of life and national ethos with the descendants of the Hoang Ho and the Funan civilization. Cultural congruence and parallelism between and among the South East Asians are remarkable despite variations in language and other aspects. The early Chinese and the Meiteis have many common social traditions like digging tunnels surrounding the house, boat race, copying of scriptures, and the 20 days compulsory military service which the Meitei call ‘Lallup Kaba’ among others. Manipur is one of the routes between South-Asia and South-East Asia and Central-Asia.

Chinese trade and civilization were transported to Manipur. Inter alias this was the introduction of silk and silkworm rearing, brick making, gun powder production etc. The trade between Manipur and Yunan province of China is recorded in the chronicle of Manipur at circa 1630 AD. The trade continued as late as 1813 A.D .

There are also similar words between Meiteilon and the Chinese language,. The expression for pain is “Eiyo”, the father is “paba/baba/ipa”, the name is “ming”, brick is “Chek” and paper means “Che” in both languages. Several words are common and we need to research for more to unearth the glorious history of China and Manipur.

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival & Manipuri Hiyang Thanaba:

The Dragon Boat Festival is a lunar holiday, occurring on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is a significant holiday celebrated in China and the one with the longest history. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated by boat races in the shape of dragons. Competing teams row their boats forward to a drumbeat racing to reach the finish end first. The boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival are traditional customs to attempts to rescue the patriotic poet Chu Yuan. Chu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese citizens now throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating tzungtzu and rice dumplings. The celebration is a time for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year. It is done so by different practices such as hanging healthy herbs on the front door, drinking nutritious concoctions, and displaying portraits of evil's nemesis, Chung Kuei. If one manages to stand an egg on its end at exactly 12:00 noon, the following year will be a lucky one.

The Hiyang Thanaba festival is observed on the 11th day of Meitei lunar month (Langban), accompanied by an exciting contest of ‘Hiyang Tanaba’ (Boat race) in traditional attires, which is the main highlight of the festival. The boats are operated by rowers and each boat has a leader or captain known as ‘Tengmai Leppa’.The boats called Hiyang Hiren is regarded to be invested with spiritual powers and the game is associated with religious rites. The Meiteis believe that worship of the Hiyang Hiren will negate evil omens. The rowers don traditional dresses and headgears. The game is also conducted during the times of natural calamity.

Chinese New Year & Meitei New Year Day (Sajibu Cheiraoba)

The first day of the first lunar month is regarded as the New Year of the Chinese – the Spring Festival. It is the most important and ceremonious traditional festival in China. During the Spring Festival, every family is busy cleaning house in the hope of getting rid of defilement and preventing diseases. Also, they need to paste door-god, spring festival couplets, and the reversed Chinese character "福" (means blessing), and hang flags in the hope of praying for auspiciousness in the New Year. On the New Year's Eve, every family enjoys a grand dinner, shoots off firecrackers, plays dragon dance and lion dance, and stays up late or all night. People will pay a New Year call to one another from the first day, and it is not until the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, namely, the Lantern Festival, that the Spring Festival is ended.

On the New Year's Eve, people work far away from home will manage to come back, regardless of long-distance travel, so the "Grand Dinner on New Year's Eve" is also called "Family Reunion Dinner". Whatever the financial condition is, every family will make dinner the most sumptuous and ceremonious one in the year. Hostesses will fetch out foodstuffs prepared in early time and all family members will sit together and make dumplings in jollification. At twelve o'clock, when a new year drives off the old, every family will shoot off firecrackers to greet new days and send off old ones. Following the New Year's Eve is the first day of the Spring Festival, a day for paying a New Year call (bainian), during which people will be busy in giving best wishes to one another by saying such auspicious phrases as "Happy New Year" and "May you be prosperous", etc. In New Year's days, elders will put some money in a red pocket (yasuiqian) and give it to children as a gift. It is believed that on New Year's Day attention should be paid to ensure not to break up anything, or else one will miss good fortunes in the whole year and that sweeping the floor will sweep off wealth and drive away good luck.

Traditional food prepared for the Spring Festival varies with customs in different regions. However, those with auspicious names, meanings or shapes are favoured, such as "New Year Cake" (niangao in Chinese, means "higher year", suggesting better fortune in the new year, and has the shape of gold and silver blocks), dumplings, the shape of which is similar to ingots, suggesting bringing in wealth and treasure, as well as fish symbolizing amassing fortunes.

There are many legends about the Spring Festival in Chinese culture. In folk culture, it is also called “guonian” (meaning “passing a year”). It is said that the “nian” (year) was a strong monster which was fierce and cruel and ate one kind of animal including human being a day. Human beings were scared about it and had to hide in the evening when the “nian” came out. Later, people found that “nian” was very scared about the red colour and fireworks. So after that, people use red colour and fireworks or firecrackers to drive away “nian”. As a result, the custom of using red colour and setting off fireworks remains.

Sajibu Cheiraoba (Meitei New Year Day):

"Sajibu Cheiraoba" is the new year of the Meiteis of Manipur. The day before the ceremony, houses are cleaned and new cooking pots used to replace the old ones when the Meiteis used earthen posts for cooking purposes. Like other peoples of the civilized world, the Meiteis also observed the New Year with pomp and grandeur accompanied by a number of rituals in succession in the month of Sajibu (March-April). The local name of the festival is Sajibu Cheiraoba, which is held on the Ist day (Lunar) of the month of Sajibu. The Sajibu Cheiraoba is a traditional festival celebrated on the first day of Sajibu month (the equivalent of April) every year. But the counting of the year and observance of New Year was in vogue from time immemorial, right from the time of one Mariya Phambalcha (BC).

Sajibu and Cheiraoba are two different words implying two different meanings:- "Sajibu" indicating the first season out of six seasons to make a year and "Cheiraoba" indicating the end of the year and beginning of a new year according to Meitei calendar. 

A family which is the smallest unit of society holds the central position in the celebration to bring peace, harmony and prosperity for the family. It touches on all aspects of life with its essence be it the body-mind, spiritual, social and emotional desires. 

Preliminary works for the celebration are done well ahead of the day of the festival. Such as the cleaning of the house and furniture even utensils of the kitchen and shopping for purchases of new clothes for parents, brother and sisters etc. 

The ceremonial part starts early in the morning. The women of every house prepare Athelpot containing fine whole rice, raw vegetables of different kinds, fruits and flowers of the new season. Athelpot is meant for offering to Lainingthou Sanamahi and Leimarel Ima Sidabi at the altars placed on southwestern corner and middle north corner of the house respectively. 

Prayers are made by all the members of the family. After it the offered foodstuffs such as rice and vegetables etc. will be cooked and made different varieties of dishes by female members of the family. Then the cooked food will be placed on nicely round-cut plantain leaves and offer to Emoinu Ima at the fireplace of home and the same food will also be offered at the gate of the house to the god spirits known as Hanu-Kokchao and Hanu Leikham with a prayer not to disturb the happiness and to defend the family from sorrows and difficulties during the whole coming year. 

After finishing these offerings all the members of the family will dine together in a pleasing mood and making jokes merrily to each other. Varieties of foods are also shared with the neighbours to get different tastes of different families. Everyone in each and every family enjoys taking the choicest food. 

At evening people of both genders male and female, young and old and children put on the fine dress and climb nearby hills where they worship the gods and goddesses of the locality, sometimes Siva-Durga, Panthoibi etc. Younger people mainly married women go to their parents in the evening and offer new clothes to their parents, brothers and sisters and seek their blessings. Thus they revere their elders with love and respect. This is a social event with a motive of love and unity. 

Significance of Sajibu Cheiraoba:

It is believed that on the first day of Sajibu month (April) the cosmic Universal God -Sidaba Lainingthou Sanamahi (Immortal Almighty) stays sitting on the altar of the house (south-west corner) waiting for the offerings from his devotees. This day is a rare and most sacred day of the year for on this day the honest devotees of Lainingthou Sanamahi of seven yeksalais (clans) of Kangleipak do offer different varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers of the new season to Sanamahi, Laimaren Ima and Imoinu Ima and other spirits of the land and pray for the welfare of the coming year and seek the grace of Almighty God. 

Thus every house arranges grand feast that is shared with their neighbours. During this month all seeds were sown in the previous month of Lamda, (March) sprouted buds of the seedlings are coming out to yield natural shape and colour. Analogically seeds of nine kinds of species say human beings, animals, fishes, insects, mosquitoes, trees, bamboos, pulses and plants have sprouted and shown their heads like horns of saji(deer) as designed by Almighty God as saji (deer) changes its horn. That is why the great significance of the first day of Sajibu month that people can enjoy life to the full as nature expresses herself with calm weather and plenty. 

In the late evening, about the time of dusk of the New Year, the king's priestess (Maibi) propitiated the evil spirits called Saroi. They were the most feared evil spirits among the Meeteis. As stated above, there are sixty-one such spirits. To appease or placate them, some share of food which comprises rice, vegetables, fruits, coin, etc, were offered at the outskirts of the capital and they are begged not to give any harm and destruction with due rites. The ritual is known as Saroi Khangba, i.e, to give the share of the Sarois (Goblins).

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, usually in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 25), it had become a festival with great significance.

This day's important activity is watching lanterns. Throughout the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), Buddhism flourished in China. One emperor heard that Buddhist monks would watch sarira, or remains from the cremation of Buddha's body, and light lanterns to worship Buddha on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, so he ordered to light lanterns in the imperial palace and temples to show respect to Buddha on this day. Later, the Buddhist rite developed into a grand festival among common people and its influence expanded from the Central Plains to the whole of China. 

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.


Chinese Lantern Festival

Indian Diwali Festival

Diwali is perhaps the most well-known of the Indian festival. It is celebrated throughout India, including Manipur, as well as in Indian communities throughout the diaspora. It usually takes place eighteen days after Dusshera. It is colloquially known as the "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, verandahs, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls. In urban areas, especially, candles are substituted for diyas; and among the nouveau riche, neon lights are made to substitute for candles. The celebration of the festival is invariably accompanied by the exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country. In north India, Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming that is his return to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king; in Gujarat, the festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; and in Bengal, it is associated with the goddess Kali. Everywhere, it signifies the renewal of life, and accordingly, it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival; similarly, it heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season. 

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