The name of this land, now called Manipur, was Kangleipak up to 2nd half of the 18th century A.D., up to the time of king Bhagyachandra Jai Singh. This requires no much introductions.
Now the question before the people of this land is that : who named this land Kangleipak? At what time?
Regarding the answer of the first part question is very clear and certain. Regarding the time of naming of this land Kangleipak may have some + years, but may be not doubtful.
The present indigenous people called the Meetei are the descendants of a group of people called the Lai People. This Lai People were the first inhabitants of the Koubru mountain ranges. There are certain evidences in the scriptures called the Puya by the Meetei Race.
In a traditional unwritten song:
Awang Koubru Asuppa,
Leima-Lai Khunda Ahanba,
Nongthrei Ma-u Lingliba,
Irik Mapan Thariba,
………….. Lainingthou !
In this traditional song, the second line ‘Leima – Lai Khunda Ahanba’ is certainly a historical part of this seemingly an invocational song to the God-creator, the Father of all creations on the Earth.
At page 45 of the Puya, Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Ama-Ilon Pukok, it is written: “Ipung Loiki Yathangna Oikhipa Malemna Laiyamsingna Halaole; Yaphapaki Matikpu Laiyamsingna Penchale; Asum touna loipi chingki chingtonta mapham mapham yengtuna tuka waka patuna; Nungai thoina Pankhale, Wakon pungpu sakhale.”
This clear statement of the Puya, along with our present traditional song given above is clear indication that a group of peoples called the Lai inhabited the Koubru (Koupalu in the Puya) mountain ranges many many thousand years ago.
As corroborative evidences of these scriptural and traditional evidences, we have upto this day, one Lai Pukhri Achouba, Seven Lai Pukhri Macha, Imoinu Pukhri etc. (Pukhri is a word came with Hinduism in 18th century, up to 18th century Lai Ikom or Ikon, Imoinu Ikom etc. were called). In the Koubru mountain ranges, we have still Lai Khun, a village peopled by the Lai, Lailouching (Lairouching), a hill cultivated by the Lai people.
A further corrobotative evidence is that present Meetei indigenous people every year in March, April came in groups to the top of Koubru mountains to offer prayers and their gratitude to their God-creator, Lainingthou and to see their first habitation areas on the Earth. The indigenous Meetei Race do not forget their first habitation on the Koubru mountains up to this day.
The group of people called the Lai settled many many thousand years on the Koubru mountain ranges. The Lai People, on the Koubru mountain ranges, developed a settled civil society in the status of a civil society as we know to day in the 21st century A.D. The present world famed Lai Haraoba Dance of the Meetei Race was first started on the Koubru mountain ranges and secondly, performed the Lai Haraoba on the Nongmaiching Hill (please see page 3, Silver Jubilee Souvenir , J.N. Dance Academy, 1999).
After several thousand years’ settlement on the Koubru mountain ranges, a small group of the Lai people came down to the valley of Kangleipak, now called the Imphal valley. Please examine the following Xerox copy of the Puya page 53 of the Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Ama-Ilon Pukok for your complete understanding of the fact :
Please see the actual words of the Puya in the English alphabets : “Lainingthouti Pangkalpana Huttang-nga Saion Toutuna chingpu huttoktuna Chingnunghut Haina Koukhipa mapham Atuta Laicha Isingpu chithok-khipana, Kangpa Halle Haituna Kangla Thenpung Haina Koukhale; Kangla Thenpung Maphamta Laiyamsingna lepnapa maphamta kayatlon yengtuna Im sale, Mapham Atupu Kangla Impham Koukhale; Kangla Impham Maphamta Leilon Nonglon Kayat 14 ki Laipham Semkhale; Semkhalapa Maphamta Laiyamsingna Panpa Maphamne Haituna Laipham Haina koukhale; Laipham Koupa Maphamna Leipa Leipakpu KANGLEIPAK haina koukhale.” Translation is from the 3rd line of the Xerox, the word ‘koukhale’, the last word of the transcription is in the page 54 (not in the Xerox).
Free English translation of the above Puya page, transcribed, is the following :
“Lainingthou Pangkalpa incarnating as Huttang-nga made a hole through the mountains, and drained (the valley) at Chingnunghut, the place that dried up first has been called Kangla Thenpung. As decided by the Laiyam, at Kangla Thenpung, selecting proper situation, dwelling places had been constructed. The place had been named Kangla Impham (Kangla residential area). Divine places, examining 14 Leilon Nonglon, had been made at Kangla Impham. The places so made, being the dwelling places of the Laiyam with their temples, had been called Laipham. The land (country), where Laipham situated, had been called Kangleipak.”
From this very clear and unambiguous statement of the Puya, we may straight infer that the first inhabitants of Kangla, the present Kangla, are the Lai People coming down from the Koubru Mountain ranges. After some thousand years, most probably, after occupation of the Imphal valley by the Lai People, Ipu Athoupa Konchin Tukthapa Pakhangpa established the Monarchy, capital at present Kangla. Konchin Tukthapa Pakhangpa married 7 Lai Nura (7 Lai ladies) and gave birth to 7 Salais and the descendants of the 7 Salais are the present Meetei Race. The Meetei genealogy is started only since Ipu Athoupa Konchin Tukthapa Pakhangpa. This is a common home tradition and history. We require no much introduction.
The name ‘Meetei’ is only some thousand years old, given to a small group of the Lai People. Before becoming the Meetei, the forefathers and foremothers of the Meetei are the Lai People, inhabiting the Koubru mountain ranges for thousands and thousands years and then a small group to the Imphal valley. The name Kangleipak was named by the Lai People, before the name ‘Meetei’ was born. At page 54 of the Puya mentioned above “Kangleipak koupa maphamta Lainingthou Sitapa Salailel ki huksang kayatki nungpung wakhanna tatuna thok-khipa Lailup 7 mapu Pakhangpana Pannatuna …… Mangang mingthon phangcheiye, ……..” From this we know Kangleipak was named by the Lai People before Konchin Tukthapa become Monarch of Kangleipak and gave birth to 7 salais.
The Kabui people claim their first habitation area on the Earth is Koubru. They claim ‘Koubru’ is their word. The ‘Kanglei’ is their word, having almost the same meaning with the Meetei word ‘Kangla’. The writer never dispute such assertions. Rather their claims prove the Ethnic Homogeneity with the Meetei People.
Please see some corroborative evidences that the Lai people inhabited the Imphal valley starting from Kangla. There is a Lai Pukhri at Kangla not connected with Hinduism. This is the Lai Ikom, dug by the Lai people when they first came down from the Koubru mountain ranges. In the Puya on the bank of the ‘Nungseng’ (Not written as Nungseng Ikon or Ikom, only Nungseng is written in the Puya), the Salai Leisangthem, the 7th son of Ipu Athoupa Konchin Tukthapa Pakhangpa once settled, is written.
Of course, all hill communities of Kangleipak might not have any tradition that they are descendants of a people called the Lai people. But the writer is very certain that both the hill and plain peoples have many oral unwritten traditions that they are brothers and sisters of the same family, ancestors. As a corrobative evidence of this common tradition of the unity of origin of the hill and plain peoples, we have now very scientific evidence that all Naga group populations of Kangleipak have ethnic homogeneity with the Meetei of the valley. To show some scientific findings, please see the following :
“The Kabui follow the valley populations while Tangkhul present A>O>B. This pattern is however not observed with any other Naga groups from Nagaland. All Naga groups follow the pattern of the Meetei” page 43, the Meetei and the Bishnupriya.
“The close similarity in ABO blood group between the Tangkhul Nagas and the Meeteis is again confirmed indicating the ethnic homogeneity between these two groups. This was observed in other various general markers.” Page 43, the Meetei and the Bishnupriya.
In such circumstances of the relation of the hill and plain peoples, traditionally and scientifically, the writer cannot imagine any otherwise relations between the hill and plain peoples of Kangleipak. The name Kangleipak is not a name given to the land by the plain dweller Meetei, but by the Lai people certainly to be the ancestors of the hill and plain peoples. The writer earnestly feel the name Kangleipak was a name of the undivided hill and plain peoples upto only yesterday, the 2nd half of the 18th century A.D., up to the time of king Bhagyachandra Jai Singh.
One very important point to be remembered is that the Meetei language became a literary language since 2000 B.C. as known upto this day.
Question before the indigenous peoples of Kangleipak now : At what time, the name Kangleipak was given to this beloved Land of the hill and plain peoples by the Lai People ?
So far up to only yesterday, we were groping in the dark, as no scientific excavation of any historical place of Kangleipak and dating of any find therefrom were done by the Government of Manipur, though we have seen a costly excavation of “Murari/Morari Lampak or Lawn/ground of dead, the graveyard” of Khangabok and the finds were dated by C-14 dating method. Hip Hip Hooray for the Government of Manipur from the writer for the scientific excavation of a known place of Mayang habitation in recent history.
Now thank to God, we have a report on the “Proceedings of National Conference on Luminescence and its Application (NCLA-2009), (February 19-21, 2009)” held in Calcutta organized by 1. Luminescence Society of India 2. Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science 3. Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, on the excavation of the Imphal Kangla by Mr. Nanjest and his group of scientists.
Please see the Xerox of the report on the Imphal Kangla excavation :
In the Xerox above, please find K-11-15 under col. Layer; 9.8-11 under col. Depth in (feet); silty clay/sand under col. Lithology; wood xylem, potshard under col. Archaeo-sediments; pluvial with mass wasting under col. Climatic inference; and 19.3+2.1 under col. OSL/TL date (in ka). This table of the report is a complete scientific data on Imphal Kangla with reference to rocks, Archaeo-sediments of cultural significance, climatic inferences from rocks found and age of human habitation inferred from the finds from the excavation. The excavation site was near the crossing of roads from Kangla west gate and south to north AOC gates, to the west of the road, south to north AOC gate. When the digging reaches 11-15 layer at 9.8-11 feet, potshard, that is, broken pieces of pottery used by human beings as plates, cooking utensils etc. were found. When further digging at 11-16.5 feet, no potshard etc. that can infer human habitation was found. The cultural finds from the Imphal Kangla excavation are dated by OSL/TL (Optically stimulated Luminescence/Thermo luminescence) method of scientific dating of rocks etc. as 19.3+2.1 years in thousand BP, that is Imphal Kangla had been inhabited by human beings in 19300+2100 years before present, inferred from the scientific dating of the cultural finds from the Imphal Kangla excavation.
The findings on the Imphal Kangla by the NCLA of the rocks etc. from the Imphal Kangla excavation is very significant and its impact on the cultural level of the indigenous people of Kangleipak will be immense.
Some important inferences may be seen. Our scripture, the Puya is very categorical that the first human beings inhabited present Imphal Kangla was the Lai People, who were the ancestors of the Meetei Race. From this OSL/TL dating of Imphal Kangla rocks, etc. it is scientifically proved now that the Lai People, coming down from the Koubru mountain ranges, inhabited Imphal Kangla, Kangla Impham in the Puya, around 20,000 years before present or 200 centuries before present, at around 18,000 years BC or 180 centuries B.C. It may further be inferred that Imphal valley might be dried up, after the water had been drained through Chingnunghut at about 17,000 years BP making it suitable for human habitation. This further may mean, naming of this land Kangleipak by the Lai People, the ancestors of the present hill and plain peoples may be some times around 150 century B.C.
The scientific dating of human habitation at Kangla Impham (Imphal Kangla) at around 20,000 years before present, or 18,000 years B.C. or 180 centuries B.C. may further indicate that our present calculation that our first Monarchy was established around 2000 years B.C. may become wrong and it may be much earlier in the light of this scientific finding. Kangleipak may become one of the earliest Monarchies on the Earth.
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