Vafiimai or Laü, also called Gaziphema is a Poumai Naga village located north of

Senapati Senapati (Sanskrit: सेनापति; ''sena-'' meaning "army", ''-pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of military commander or general of the army. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha ...

in Senapati district of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. It is bounded on the East by

Ukhrul district Ukhrul district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈuːkˌɹəl or ˈuːkˌɹʊl/) is an administrative district of the state of Manipur in India with its headquarters at Ukhrul, that is Hunphun. The district occupies the north-eastern corner of the state ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

on the North and West and covers an area of 46.48 km². According to the Census of India 2011, there are 806 household with a total population of 5518 persons, out of which 2846 are male while 2672 are female.

History

It is believed that the ancestors of Vafiimai originally came from Mao by hunting a phenomenal 7 branching horn

stag Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

. When they reached the present location of Laii, it was dusk and the hunters had to halt there for the night. With no food at hand, they ate the buds of a leafy plant Himalayan knotweed locally called vavu. Omens were good and 16 delegates from each clan of the 16 Mao villages were sent and a new settlement was set up.

Etymology

The term Vafiimai has its origin from the plant Himalayan knotweed which grows in abundant in the region. Literally, Va (Vavu) cientifically called Koenigia polystachyais the name of ''the plant'', Fii meaning ''place'', and Mai means ''people''. Hence, ''people from the land of Vavu''. The name Gaziphema has the same interpretation as the above in Nagaland. The name Laii which means ''God'' in Manipuri was given by a Meitei

Ningthou Ningthou was a title used for the King of Manipur. The Ningthou was used to refer to the King after the reign of Pakhangba and was a title used until King Pamheiba. The subsequent Sanskritization undertaken by Pamheiba and Shantidas Adhikari chang ...

after a failed attempt to raid the village.

Culture and religion

Like any other

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

village, the people of Gaziphema depends mainly on cultivation and livestock-rearing. Because of this labor-intensive cultivation, land is the most important form of property among them to date. However, with the changing times, many has adopted small businesses and other skilled professions. Several educated individuals and families migrated to various metropolitan cities due to government postings, education and corporate jobs leading to a huge diaspora populace. During the period of headhunting, the menfolks spent the majority of their time in warfare with hostile villages and taking heads. Since 1879, when the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

succeeded in annexing the Naga territory, the inter-village feuds have come to an end. With the introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in the region in the early twentieth century, many of them changed their faith to Christianity. Today, 99% of the population follows

. These Christians are of two major denominations:

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Location

Gaziphema village is located at 25.5004° N latitude and 94.3893° E longitude. It is situated at a height of 1791.5 m above sea level, and lies about 42 Kilometres from national highway 39 at Tadubi.

Literacy

As per the Census of India 2011, Gaziphema village has a very low literacy rate. In 2011, literacy rate was 30.43 % compared to 76.94 % of Manipur. Male literacy stands at 35.67 % while female literacy rate was 24.76 %.

World War II

During the Second World War, Gaziphema was a strategic location to the Allied soldiers. In 1944, when the invasion by the Japanese troops was imminent, the Assam Regiment was moved to

Jessami Jessami is a village in Ukhrul district, Manipur, India. Jessami is a border village in the extreme north of Manipur State and borders with Meluri, a border village of Nagaland State. Being nearer to Nagaland, the town used to get electricity fr ...

and

Kharasom Kharasom is a village located north of Ukhrul in Ukhrul district, Manipur state, India. The village is fully connected by National Highway 150, Imphal-Kohima road via Jessami. It is 85 km from the District headquarters and approximately 170& ...

via Gaziphema to delay the advance of the 31st Japanese division.

References

{{Reflist Villages in Senapati district