, Mythology =

Meitei mythology Meitei mythology or Manipuri mythology ( mni, Meitei Mi Lai Tingi Wari) is a collection of myths, belonging to the religious and cultural traditions of the Meitei people, the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. It is associated with tradi ...

(

Manipuri mythology Meitei mythology or Manipuri mythology ( mni, Meitei Mi Lai Tingi Wari) is a collection of myths, belonging to the religious and cultural traditions of the Meitei people, the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. It is associated with tradi ...

) , Country =

Ancient Kangleipak The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and Briti ...

(historical)
(present) , Region =

Moirang Moirang is a town in the Indian state of Manipur. It is situated approximately 45 km south of the state capital Imphal. It has an area of 269 km2 with a population of 62,187 in 67 villages. It is best known for the being the place of o ...

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 ...

, Origin_Date = During the reign of King Iwang Puriklai Sana Lakhwa (185-236) , Published_In = , Related =

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 ...

(

Manipuri folklore Meitei folklore is the folklore and mythology of the Meitei people of Manipur, India. Such folklore is traditionally passed from generation to generation. Currently, the government of Manipur is planning to preserve the folklore of the Meitei p ...

Meitei literature , image = Numit Kappa.jpg , imagesize = , caption = The Numit Kappa, a Classical Meitei epic text written during the 1st century, based on ancient Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) , alt ...

(

Manipuri literature , image = Numit Kappa.jpg , imagesize = , caption = The Numit Kappa, a Classical Meitei epic text written during the 1st century, based on ancient Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) , alt ...

) The ancient legend of Khuyol Haoba and Yaithing Konu ( mni, Haoba-Konu) is one of the

epic cycles of incarnations ) * Moirang Shaion ( omp, Moilang Shaion) * Moirang Sayon ( omp, Moilang Sayon) * Moirang Shayon ( omp, Moilang Shayon) , Mythology = Meitei mythology (Manipuri mythology) , Country = * Ancient Kangleipak (historical) * (present) , ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

, that is originated from

kingdom of

(early

). It concerns the fateful love of ''Khuyol Haoba'' ( omp, Khuyol Haopa), an orphan man, for the beautiful ''Yaithing Konu''. Khuyol Haoba was the son of late ''Khundouremba'' ( omp, Khuntoulempa), a court official of

. Yaithing Konu was the daughter of ''Luwang Huiningsumba'' ( omp, Luwang Huiningsumpa), an influential nobleman of

History

Khuyol Haoba and Yaithing Konu were historical figures who lived during the reign of

Moilang Moilang or Moirang (modern term) is one of the seven clans of the Meitei people. Moirang consists of many several Yumnaks which are native peoples of ancient Kangleipak (now Manipur), one of the states of India. See also *Mangang *Luwang * Khu ...

King ''Sana Lakhwa'' (185-236) in

kingdom, as stated in the text named the ''Kanglei Lamthon Puya''. The story was later crafted into a legendary account by adding mythological elements such as the divine intervention of God

Thangching Thangching or Thangjing is a primordial deity in Meitei mythology and religion of Ancient Kangleipak (Antique Manipur). He is the ruling deity of the Moirang dynasty of Ancient Moirang. He rules supreme on the banks of the landlocked sea, ...

who wished Yaithing Konu to seek help from Khuyol Haoba, thereby making the two fell in love with each other.

Plot

Childhood of Khuyol Haoba

Orphan young ''Khuyol Haoba'' was brought up by his elder sister. His late father ''Khundouremba'' used to hold the court office to look after the royal religious rites and rituals, to take care of a rare sacred

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

species called Tesa, to remove the creepers of the Tayan (also spelled as "Tayal") species and to burnish the divine metal mask. After the demise of Khundouremba, God

(

Thangjing Thangching or Thangjing is a primordial deity in Meitei mythology and religion of Ancient Kangleipak (Antique Manipur). He is the ruling deity of the Moirang dynasty of Ancient Moirang. He rules supreme on the banks of the landlocked sea, Lo ...

) made the king, the friends and the relatives of Khundouremba to be heedless of the two children, Khuyol Haoba and his elder sister. Hence, the two children live in a poor way of life.

Escaping from the oracular conspiracy

As time passed, Khuyol Haoba grew up into a handsome lad. However, he used to hide among the

phumdi ) , native_name_lang = Meitei , other_name = phum phum‑thi , nickname = , settlement_type = Phumdis , image_skyline = Loktak Lake Another view.jpg , image_alt = , i ...

s of the

Loktak lake , image = , caption = Different scenes of the Loktak lake of Manipur , alt = View of Loktak Lake and Phumdis , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Manipur , coords ...

to save himself from the

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

as demanded by the presiding deity of

in accordance to an

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

. In reality, the prophecy of the oracle was a barbaric brutal conspiracy devised by a nobleman named ''Thangarakpa'' ( omp, Thangkalakpa), who was jealous of the late Khundouremba, and so, he wanted to eliminate the latter's young son Khuyol Haoba. Thangarakpa took the opportunity in the occurrence of

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

, and bribed a fake god-man to declare that only the offering of an orphan man could please God

(

) to diminish the sufferings of the people.

Meeting with Lady Yaithing Konu

During one of his hiding occasions, Khuyol Haoba met Lady Yaithing Konu. All the unmarried ladies of

came together at the

Loktak lake , image = , caption = Different scenes of the Loktak lake of Manipur , alt = View of Loktak Lake and Phumdis , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Manipur , coords ...

for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

as a part of the celebration of a festive occasion. On that particular day, no men were allowed to enter the waters of the

Loktak , image = , caption = Different scenes of the Loktak lake of Manipur , alt = View of Loktak Lake and Phumdis , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Manipur , coords ...

. En passant, Lady Yaithing Konu's wooden frame of

fishing net A fishing net is a net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively thin ...

get broken. As it could be fixed only by men and as no man was available around, Konu was upset. In the meantime, Khuyol Haoba, who was hiding around the lake, came to her help for fixing the net's frame. The two fell in love at the first sight. As time passed on, fortunately, the king of

got to know about Khuyol Haoba's identity and reinstated him to his late father's official position. The two lovers had enjoyed their life of love for some time. They submitted themselves to each other though not married to each other.

Firestorm as the action and wedding as the reaction

Once Huiningsumba (Yaithing Konu's father), went out for a hunt in the woods, as per the royal orders. Unable to find any prey, he burned the bushes of the forest to drive out the hiding animals. Within a few moments, the

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

turned into a big

firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

and spread fastly to the neighbouring kingdom of the Khumans, burning the resident and the barn of a fierce Khuman warrior named ''Kaoba Hingamba''. Witnessing the incident, Kaoba Hingamba's fury knew no bounds. He captured Huiningsumba and his men and demanded the captive's daughter as the ransom. Reluctant but having no other way, Huiningsumba agreed. Thus, Yaithing Konu and Kaoba Hingamba got married. During the wedding, Yaithing Konu was already conceived with Khuyol Haoba's child, for three months. She was distressed.

Continuation of the love affairs

Yaithing Konu's marriage to Kaoba Hingamba did not end her connection with Khuyol Haoba. Khuyol Haoba used to visit Yaithing Konu, impersonating himself as a man from the hills, working for Kaoba Hingamba. They continued their romantic affairs even at the house of Kaoba Hingamba. Very soon, the relationship was noticed by Kaoba Hingamba, who kicked Yaithing Konu out of his house. The husband's dismissal of his wife turned into a fortune to the latter. Thus, Yaithing Konu and Khuyol Haoba got united and lived happily ever after.

In contemporary art and culture

; Yaithing Konu : It is a

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 pa ...

novel by Hijam Anganghal (1892-1943). ; Yaithing Konu (1948–49): Rupmahal Theatre's drama titled ''Yaithing Konu'' (1949), directed by Meitram Bira (1916–78), was an adaptation of Hijam Anganghal's eponymous work. ; Haoba Konu (1986) : It is a

work written by Heisnam Mangoljao. ; Haoba Konu (2014) : It is a

folk drama Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mummers Play and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices ...

, written and directed by B. Jugolchandra Sharma, produced by the "Manipur Dramatic Union" (MDU) and sponsored by the

Ministry of Culture (India) The Ministry of Culture is the Indian government ministry charged with preservation and promotion of art and culture of India. G. Kishan Reddy is the current Minister of Culture. Recently the government has established the National Mission on ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Epic cycles of incarnations Extramarital relationships Love stories Marriage and religion Meitei folklore Meitei mythology Temporary marriages Works about violence