Keibu Keioiba, also known as Kabui Keioiba ( en, Tiger Head), is a 2009

Meitei language Meitei (), also known as Manipuri (, ), is a Tibeto-Burman language of north-eastern India. It is spoken by around 1.8 million people, predominantly in the state of Manipur, but also by smaller communities in the rest of the country and in p ...

Indian Manipuri animation feature film, directed by Bhumenjoy Konsam. It is the first Manipuri animation film, based on the

Meitei folklore Meitei folklore is the folklore and mythology of the Meitei people of 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 n ...

. It was screened in the 11th

Mumbai International Film Festival The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It ...

(MIFF) in 2010, under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The ideology of producing the story of

Keibu Keioiba Keibu Keioiba, also known as Kabui Keioiba, is a mythical creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a human in the Meitei mythology and folklore of Manipur. He is often described as half man and half tiger. Legend says he was once a sk ...

in the animated cinema was for the preservation of the nearly extinct Meitei folktales of

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 ...

Plot

A priest named ''Salang Maiba'' was very proud of his own talents. One night, he asked his wife to cover his body with his cloth when he turned into a ferocious tiger so that he could be transfigured back to his human form. Using his magic, Salang Maiba turned himself into the fearful wild beast. Horrified by the scene, his wife ran into the house and closed the door. He asked her to come out and do what he had asked her to do but she didn't came out. As time passed, the sun was about to rise up. As there was no means to get back to his human form, being in a tiger's form, he felt unsafe to live among the human settlements. So, he departed his home and the human society to live alone in the woods. In the forests, he spent a life, like a pure wild animal, living in a cave, hunting animals for prey and consuming them raw. Now, he became the

(half man, half tiger). One day, in a stormy night, Keibu Keioiba sneaked into a village, to get some foods. He saw a lonely old woman in a dilapidated house. He tried to devour her but she suggested him to eat the flesh of a beautiful young lady named '' Thabaton'', living next to her house, who's also living alone as her seven elder brothers had gone for some work a few months ago and were not likely to return home for some time. The old woman told him the secret code words (which she had heard when one of the brothers told Thabaton) to open the door of Thabaton's house. Doing as suggested, he succeeded in opening the door and kidnapped Thabaton. He took her to his cave in the middle of the forest. Upon finding out that Thabaton was a beautiful maiden, the

lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It c ...

of Keibu Keioiba superseded his

hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...

. Keibu Keioiba made Thabaton his wife. Thabaton had no other way but to stay with him. They lived together in the cave. He brought preys from his hunt and Thabaton cooked meals from them. On the other hand, when the seven brothers returned home, they were shocked to find their lovely sister missing. The old woman from the neighboring house told the brothers that

had kidnapped their sister. Getting furious, the seven brothers came in search for Thabaton. After many weeks, they finally found her in the cave. They met her when Keibu Keioiba went away from the cave for his normal daily hunt. The brothers gave Thabaton a hollow bamboo

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

(bamboo pipe) and told her their plans for escape. The brothers went to hide in a distant place when Keibu Keioiba returned to his cave. As per the plan, Thabaton asked Keioiba Keioiba to fetch water from the stream using the bamboo

(bamboo pipe). Keibu Keioiba took the bamboo pipe from his sweetheart, unaware of the fact that the bamboo pitcher was actually hollow. He fetched some water and got back towards home. On the way, the pitcher got empty as all the water were gone. He went back to fetch some water and the same thing happened on his way back to home. He fetched again and again and everytime, the pitcher got empty. On the other side, the seven brothers burned down the settlement of the beast and ran away with their sister Thabaton back to their house for safety. A

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

saw everything that was happening in both sides. The crow flew to the beast and informed him about what had happened to his home. Getting furious, Keibu Keioiba ran to his habitat and found out exactly what the crow had told him happened. Thabaton was then safe at her house, protected by her brothers. But the brothers prepared for a combat to defeat the beast. Keibu Keioiba came to meet the brothers face to face. They had a fierce battle until the beast was finally wounded badly. Keibu Keioiba almost escaped from the human beings when he was about to be killed.

Cast

Artists Bishwamittra, Kalpana, and Joseph played the voice roles of the characters,

, Thabaton and the ''thief (as well as the crow)'' respectively.

Reception

2010s

In the year 2010, Keibu Keioiba (Tiger Head) was screened in the 11th

, organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It was also screened in the ''2nd Manipur International Documentary, Short and Animation Film Festival, 2010'', organised by the '' Films Division, Mumbai'', in collaboration with the ''Manipur Film Development Corporation (MFDC)'', in the ''2nd Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival in 2014''.

2020s

Keibu Keioiba (Tiger Head) was screened in the half a month long ''"Festival of Cinemas of Manipur"'' event during April 2022.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Keibu Keioiba 2000s fantasy adventure films 2000s monster movies 2009 films 2009 animated films Animated films about friendship Films about shapeshifting Films about witchcraft Films adapted into comics Films adapted into plays Films based on classical mythology Films set in the Middle Ages Indian animated films Indian children's films Indian mythology in popular culture Meitei folklore Meitei folklore in popular culture Meitei-language films Meitei mythology Meitei mythology in popular culture