Meitei Chanu ( mni, /mə́i.təi cə.nu/, lit. "Meitei woman") 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 ...

poem by Lamabam Kamal. It was first published in a magazine, with the same name, called Meitei Chanu (magazine) in the year 1924. It was republished in the author's book of his collection of poems called "Lei Pareng" in the year 1929. Its central theme is the reconfiguration of the identity of the Meitei people. The poem bountifully reflects the poet's love of his motherland and its heritage.

Analysis

The text of the poem shows the

feminization Feminization most commonly refers to: * Feminization (biology), the hormonally induced development of female sexual characteristics * Feminization (activity), a sexual or lifestyle practice where a person assumes a female role * Feminization (soci ...

of the language and its literature. The opening stanza of the poem remarkably implies that the idea of a literary tradition is embodied in the form of a temple that remains empty without a goddess for a very long time. This is a metaphor for an important transformation in history as Mother mni, ꯏꯃꯥ, /í.ma/) or the Meitei Lady ( mni, ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯆꯅꯨ, /mə́i.təi cə.nu/) re-occupies the temple. She is able to return to her temple due to western education, imitation, and feminization of language and literature. The poet emphasises original and the vernacular inspiration and poetic elements to construct the temple of ''Meitei Chanu'', countering a common belief that the

is insufficient for literary expression. He also imagines a pan- Meitei consciousness expressed through the temple's construction that could end the sickly ( mni, ꯁꯤꯔꯨꯝ ꯅꯥꯔꯨꯝ, /si.rum nā.rum/) Meiteis. Meitei unity is necessary to rebuild the temple . According to the author, the temple should be made up of flowers and its purpose should be to spread across the world and to bloom in the universities. He says that all Meiteis should consider themselves as the children of ''Meitei Chanu'' so that the garland of flowers ( mni, ꯂꯩ ꯄꯔꯦꯡ, /ləi pə.reŋ/, symbolising "unity") remains strong. Nearness ( mni, ꯑꯅꯛꯄ, /ə.nək.pə/,) becomes the central point of the Meitei world, thereby softly referring to Imphal as the cosmic holy place to the Meitei ethnicity.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * {{Cite book , last= , first= , url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.267463/page/n9/mode/2up , title=Lei Pareng Amasung Thainagee Leirang , date=1999 , publisher=Manipur State Kala Academy, Imphal , pages=9–11 , language=mni 1924 poems Meitei folklore in popular culture Meitei literature Women in Meitei culture