) , deity_of = Forest God , member_of =

Umang Lai Umang Lai are the group of sacred groves preserved for the local forest deities (with the same title), worshipped by the Meitei people, the Pangal people and Meitei Christians, the predominant ethnic groups, since ancient times in the Himalayan ...

s , image = MONGPA_HANPA.jpg , alt = , caption = "Mongpa Hanpa", the Ancient Meitei ( Old Manipuri) name of God Mongba Hanba, written in archaic Meetei Mayek abugida , other_names = , hiro = , Old_Norse = , script_name = , script = , affiliation =

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 ...

) and

Meitei religion () , native_name_lang = mni , image = The Symbol of Sanamahi.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = The Symbol of Sanamahism (Source: Wakoklon Heelel Thilen Salai Amailon Pukok Puya) , ...

( Sanamahism) , cult_center = Mongba Hanba Umang (renamed as Mahabali Hanuman Thakur Temple Complex), Imphal East district,

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 ...

, abode = Mongba Hanba Umang , planet = , weapon = , battles = , artifacts = , animals = , symbol = , adherents = , height = , age = , tree = , day = , color = , number = , consort = , parents = , siblings = , offspring = , predecessor = , successor = , army = , mount = , texts = , gender = Male , Greek_equivalent = , Roman_equivalent = , Etruscan_equivalent = , Christian_equivalent = , Slavic_equivalent = , Hinduism_equivalent =

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

, Canaanite_equivalent = , equivalent1_type = , equivalent1 = , equivalent2_type = , equivalent2 = , region =

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 ...

(

Antique Manipur An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

) , ethnic_group =

Meitei ethnicity The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

, festivals =

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba is a festival associated with the Meitei people celebrated to please the Umang Lai, the traditional deities of Sanamahism. Translated, Lai Haraoba means ''merry making of the Gods'' in Meiteilon. In this festival, the people worship ...

Mongba Hanba ( omp, Mongpa Hanpa) is a forest god in

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. He is mainly worshipped in a sacred forest named ''Mongba Hanba Umang'' in the banks of the

Imphal River The Imphal River ( mni, Imphal Turel), also known as the Turel Achouba, is a major river in Manipur state, northeastern India which originates in Kangpokpi district to the north of Kangpokpi district headquarters Kangpokpi. It is a tributary of ...

History

On Saturday, the 16th day of the Meitei lunar month of "Inga" of 1651

Saka Year The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...

(1729 AD), a stone was brought from a marketplace in Langmaiching to Mongba Hanba's place. That stone was to make a statue of Hindu God

. Nine

s were brought and gathered at the Mongba Hanba's place. All these were buried in the place during the reign of King Garib Niwaj Pamheiba. So, the cult of God Mongba Hanba was replaced by that of Hindu god

during the reign of King Garib Niwaj Pamheiba. On 6 June 1979, an association was formed for saving Mongba Hanba Umang. It struggled for controlling the Laipham (English: Sacred place) for worshipping the traditional deity. There have been repeated attempts to revive the pantheon of the deity. However, there is still opposition from the religious body of the Mahabali Temple of Hindu God

. During May 2015, an organization named ''Mongba Hanba Umang Laipham Kanba Lup'' appealed not to stop them from constructing a place of worship for God Mongba Hanba. The organization claimed that it had not stopped devotees of God Mahabali (

) for the last 36 years. The organization expected the same thing from the Hindu bodies not to stop them from establishing a place of worship for God Mongba Hanba in the complex.

Worship

According to religious custom, Tampak Maiba was to worship God Mongba Hanba ( omp, Mongpa Hanpa). The atmosphere of blood sacrifice is said to be associated with the shrine of the deity.

References

External links

* * Shimray, A. S. W. (2001). History of the Tangkhul Nagas. Akansha Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-87606-04-8. {{Sanamahi1 Abundance deities Abundance gods Earth deities Earth gods Fortune deities Fortune gods Health deities Health gods Magic deities Magic gods Maintenance deities Maintenance gods Meitei gods and goddesses Names of God in Sanamahism Nature deities Nature gods Ningthou Peace deities Peace gods Time and fate deities Time and fate gods Tree deities Tree gods Tutelary deities Tutelary gods Wisdom deities Wisdom gods