State’s mega annual event, Manipur Sangai Festival is organized by the Tourism Department, Government of Manipur with a view to showcase and promote the best of Manipur’s arts & culture, adventure sports, indigenous cuisines, handloom & handicrafts, fine arts, indigenous games & music and various other niche products to many foreign and domestic tourists and revelers. For this year too, the festival is slated to be held from 21st to 30th of November at Hapta Kangjeibung, Imphal with pomp and gaiety.
Unlike the previous years, the state government is all set to make the festival more attractive and provide a different taste of the state’s mega festival to the tourists and festival revelers by depicting “Traditional Heritage park” where 15 traditional thatched huts of different indigenous tribal communities settled coherently in the state since time immemorial are created at the Manipur Sangai festival main venue “Hapta Kangjeibung”, Imphal.
The festival will display the traditional thatched huts including Meitei Yumjao, Meitei Awang Sanggoi, Maring, Zemei, Kabui, Liangmei, Paomei, Tangkhul, Mao, Chiru, Maram, Kom and sub-tribes of Kuki-Chin-Mizo.This is a new initiative of the government to showcase and promote integrity among various communities.
The mesmerizing traditional huts are mainly designed by Moirangthem Kula and Yumnam Gyaneshore of Tribal Museum and Research Centre under the tourism department.
Designer Sarangthem Kula from Wangkhei Ningthem Pukhri Mamang is a retired employee of Manipur State Museum. He is Advisor to Tribal Museum and Research Centre while Yumnam Gyaneshore of Sagolband Bijoy govinda is the founder cum director of Tribal Museum and Research Centre.
In an interaction with Manipur Times, Yumnam Gyaneshore, founder cum director of Tribal Museum and Research Centre said that the traditional huts constructed at the Sangai festival venue aims at showcasing and promoting the traditional and cultural values of the different indigenous communities in the state.
He said state government entrusted the task of constructing the huts to Tribal Museum and Research Centre. Construction work of the traditional huts began from October 21 with around 21 workers from Waikhong area. “It was a hectic and hard pressed task as we were compelled to complete the huts within a month time before the festival begins. Non Availability of housing materials like thatch for covering the roof in time was a main headache to us in completing the work. Since paddy harvesting works have begun, it is very hard to find thatch and no one is willing to go in the hills and procure the thatch. However, after searching every nook and corner of the state the material have been finally collected after paying heavy price.Despite all hindrances, we have now accomplished our task assigned by the government”, he added.
The construction of the traditional huts of ethnic tribal communities was carried out after consulting various experts, proper photographic evidence and documentation.
The courtyard of “Meitei Yumjao” is adorned with Mera Thaomei (lamp lit in autumn) which occupies an important place in the State’s social configuration highlighting the unity between Meitei in the valley and Tribal people in the hills.
For more updates on Manipur Sangai Festival 2015, please foloow
https://manipurtimes.com/category/festival/manipur-sangai-festival/
and
Manipur Sangai Festival Official FB page at Manipur Sangai Festival
