3. Lai Haraoba rites

 

Lai-Haraoba Rites

    Humans and trees have had a deep relationship throughout time. All of us depend on forests for our survival. All the activities we do directly or indirectly involve forests. Besides providing livelihood and habitat for humans and animals they also maintain climate, prevent soil erosion and most importantly they also absorbs harmful gases. So it is very important for us to protect and conserve them. 

Lai-Haraoba

    Since ancient times, forest conservation in Meetei society were very unique. We have a tradition of maintaining and conserving our sacred forests, groves and trees. Each locality celebrates a festival called Lai-Haraoba which means ‘merry making of God’. It is observed in the honor of Umang Lai. Umang Lai are the sacred tress preserved for the local forest deities. The time and duration of celebrating this festival depends from locality to locality but it generally falls during spring to summer season. It is said that this festival was first celebrated in Koubru Ching (Koubru Hill) located in the North-west of Kangleipak. Meetei people also believe that we came down from Koubru hill and settled in the valleys later. This festival is celebrated in regards to the creation of the universe and recollection of the evolution of all creation. Sanamahi religion and Umang Lai are inseparable part of Meetei culture. The believers of this religion also worship and respect nature (water, air, fire, mother earth, sun, moon, etc.) and strongly believe that all of us in this universe directly or indirectly depend on nature.

    During this festival men and women perform traditional dances in front of the idols of Gods and Goddess, give offerings, and seek blessings. Maiba (priest) and Maibis (priestesses) perform the rituals and give Laipao (message from God and Goddesses). They also give tribute to mother nature in the form of folk songs. Some of the dances performed are Khamba-Thoibi jagoi(dance), Leima jagoi, Thougal jagoi and Hou jagoi (Tangkhul, Kabui, Mao, etc). Thang Jagoi which is a dance ritual that involves warding off of evil spirts by burning fire in four corners and dancing with a holy knife is performed by Maibis. This is a very important part of Lai-Haraoba. Then the fire is kept burning till the completion of another performance called Tangkhul-Nurabi. Although this is not a compulsory performance for every locality, for some it is a very important part of Lai-Haraoba. It is a dramatic performance showing the story of Lord Ningpok Ningthou and Goddess Panthoibi who is incarnated as a Tangkhul (a tribe of Kangleipak) girl. This mythical drama clearly shows the close relationship between the Chingmi (hill tribes) and the Tammi (valley people). 

      
     Unfortunately, the changes of time and evolution of modern  society has deteriorated  this beautiful sacred festival to an entertainment event and this has created a complete mess. Right costumes, folk songs, dance, rites, rituals, etc are disappearing nowadays. Many irresponsible people of our society are disturbing the scene of the Laibungs (area where the rituals are performed) during Lai-Haraoba. Drastic changes are observed in past years and it seems that the youth of this generation has almost forgotten the importance and sanctity of Lai-Haraoba. 

    The values of culture and tradition give directions in our life. They are made for the convenience and benefit of the people by our wise ancestors. To save Lai-Haraoba from the slow disappearance it is facing and to preserve it in it’s purest form we need to give awareness, teach and educate our youngsters about the importance and meaning of Lai-Haraoba. Costume and discipline should be strictly checked by Lai-Haraoba committee (formed by volunteers of Lai-Haraoba). We should also perform the rituals with devotion. If we feel connected with the Universal Creator, it makes us feel spiritual and helps us value humanity and further helps us to live a peaceful and harmony life. 

- Nongthombam Roni Chanu


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1. The forgotten sacred texts of Meetei

Image
  THE FORGOTTEN SACRED TEXTS OF MEETEI Who are Meetei ? Do we know our identity?        I won’t be wrong to say that most people will fail to answer this.      I am not against any religion. I respect the faith of all communities and I also regard the rights and traditions of all religion. However, when we talk about Meetei , it is very unfortunate that most of us Kangleicha suppress our own identity. We also perform a lot of our religious rituals and rites by using another language (i.e, Sanskrit) discarding our own Mother tongue. Cultural heritage provides a sense of unity and belonging within a group. It helps us to better understand previous generations and the history we come from. It also gives a sense of personal identity. Morals taught to us by our ancestors are priceless.      In my humble opinion it is important that we keep in tune with our roots and stay in touch with our culture and traditions. Thankfully our ancesto...
Read more

2. Scripts from bygone era

Image
  SCRIPTS FROM A BYGONE ERA           A script refers to a collection of characters used to write languages. A language is a method of communication. Language and script are culturally sensitive issues because it touches the core of social element as well as identity. A mother tongue develops a strong foundation for learning additional languages. It not only stimulates their confidence but also develop personal and cultural identity. If people are no longer able to represent themselves, they begin to lose a part of themselves.           Meetei Mayek is the script which was used by the Meeteis till the beginning of 18th century. It nearly became extinct during the reign of Ningthou Pamheiba (Garibniwaz) due to the destruction of all the sacred Meetei manuscripts. Following this, Bengali script was adopted and is still being used to this day. During the 1940’s and 50’s, Meetei scholars start a campaign to bring back the ...
Read more