Panam Ningthou ( mni, ꯄꯅꯝ ꯅꯤꯡꯊꯧ) is a God in

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 ...

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 the protector of crops, especially paddy from

hailstorm Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

and

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

. According to legends, He ignited fire for the first time by rubbing

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

s.Constantine, R. (1981). Manipur, Maid of the Mountains. Lancers. p. 43.Panchani, Chander Sheikhar (1987). Manipur, Religion, Culture, and Society. Konark Publishers. p. 73. ISBN 978-81-220-0047-4. He is one of the

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 ...

deities.

History

God Panam Ningthou has his major cult center in Andro village. The Andro village in

Imphal East district , native_name_lang = Meitei , other_name = omp, Nongpok Yumphal , nickname = , settlement_type = District of Manipur , image_skyline = Imphal War ...

of present day

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 ...

is an ancient village. People of this village worship fire that is kept burning from the time of Poireiton Khunthokpa (34 BC-18 BC). The fire is kept in the Chakpa Panam Ningthou Meihoupirol (lit. ''Panam Ningthou sacred burning fireplace''). According to R. Constantine, the fire burning in Andro is the oldest man-made fire in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It has been burning without break for centuries.

Description

According to Thomas Callan Hodson (T.C. Hodson), Panam Ningthou is a rain and weather God of the

Meitei people 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 ...

. He recorded his description in his monograph "The Meitheis" published in 1908.

Mythology

When it was one or two days before the

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

festival of God Lainingthou Panam Ningthou begins, the God came to his temple in the form of a ball of light. He came flying from the east. He landed at a part of the Nongmaiching Hill. Sometimes, some people of Andro claimed to see that ball of light, even at other times of the year. God Lainingthou Panam Ningthou has a wife named Leimaren Sanarik Chaning Khombi. Some people believed that she might be of Burmese origin, though it's not certain. So, the God went to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

( mni, Awa Leipak) to meet her from time to time.

Festival and worship

God Panam Ningthou is mainly worshipped by the people of Loi caste of

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 ...

. He has his major cult center in Andro village of

Imphal East district , native_name_lang = Meitei , other_name = omp, Nongpok Yumphal , nickname = , settlement_type = District of Manipur , image_skyline = Imphal War ...

. Shakespeare noted that the Loi people regarded God Panam Ningthou as a special deity of the Meitei king. He further noted that the King himself provided sacrificial animals to the God. Buffalo was one among the sacrificial animals used to be sacrificed during the

festival. Pigs were sacrificed when there was no

festival. Whenever there was any suspicion of danger to the Meitei king, the King would send a pig and a cock to be sacrificed to God Panam Ningthou of Andro. The Chakpa Haraoba (one of the 4 types of

festival) is annually celebrated in honor of God Panam Ningthou. The festive occasion falls in the Meitei lunar month of Lamta (''March-April interface month''). The festival starts from the first Sunday of the ''Lamta'' month. During the 9 day long festival, no outsiders of Andro are allowed to stay at the village. In modern times, notice is issued one month before the festival begins through mass media like television, newspaper and radio. The notice informs outsiders to leave the place as it is about to begin the festival. Natives of Andro may come to Andro before the festival starts. Once the festival begins, no one is allowed to either leave from or come to the village. People who have converted into another religion are not allowed to participate in the religious festival even if they are native of Andro. There are some Christian converts and Hindu converts in Andro. During the festival, people of ''Andro village'' wear black clothes as a custom. Besides Panam Ningthou, there are twelve other deities worshipped in Andro. During the

festivals of these deities, outsiders of Andro can witness the event. The festivals in their honor are done separately from that of Panam Ningthou. But the festival of Pureiromba can be done together with that of Panam Ningthou. At this too, outsiders can witness the event but the place of worship is different from the exclusive one of Panam Ningthou. During the Haraoba of Panam Ningthou, there is no shortage of meat and wine. Boys and girls play important role in the festival.

Temple

The Temple of Panam Ningthou is in

Andro, Imphal East Andro is a town and a nagar panchayat in Imphal East district in the state of Manipur, India. Andro is an earmarked Scheduled Caste village which has been developed to represent the cultural heritage and artful creativeness of the Manipuri tribe ...

. It is also the Loishang (English: Office) to the representatives of the ''pana''s (English: State Divisions). Sacred items are kept inside the temple. One house each for two ''Pana''s was constructed near the Loishang. Two dormitories for boys and girls are also built. The sanctum of God Lainingthou Panam Ningthou and Goddess Leimaren Sanarik Chaning Khombi are located in the right side corner and the left side corner respectively as one enters the room.

Association with other gods

According to the Thalon text, Panam Ningthou was one of the 5 gods of 5 different places of the Selloi Langmai Hill. The cults of these five gods were integrated into that of a single God with the name "Langmai Ningthou" (lit. ''King of the Langmais''). The personal names became the aliases or various forms of the God. With this, the tribal society of the Selloi Langmai people evolved into a chiefdom. This chiefdom later rose to the Angom clan.

Namesake

Panam Ningthou Semba

There is a real servant class named ''Panam Ningthou Semba''. It takes care of the articles (things) related to polo ( mni,

Sagol Kangjei Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

) for the Meitei royalty. There are seven grades of officers in this group. The grades are (1) Sellungba Ahal, (2) Sellungba Naha, (3) Pakhan-lakpa, (4) Naharakpa, (5) Yaphi Ahal, (6) Yaphi Naha and (7) Sennakhal.

Gallery

ANDRO INSCRIBED STONE.jpg, Meitei Stone inscription inside the Panam Ningthou Sacred Site about a royal decree A SACRED GROVE IN THE PANAM NINGTHOU SACRED SITE.jpg, A Sacred Grove in the Panam Ningthou Sacred Site Panam Ningthou Temple.jpg, A temple (rebuilt) inside the Panam Ningthou Sacred Site Two official buildings in the Panam Ningthou sacred site.jpg, Two official buildings (rebuilt) in the Panam Ningthou Sacred Site A MUSEUM IN PANAM NINGTHOU SACRED SITE.jpg, A Mini Museum in the Panam Ningthou Sacred Site

References

External links

INTERNET ARCHIVE, Panam Ningthou

E-PAO, Panam Ningthou
* * * * {{Sanamahi1 Abundance gods Agricultural gods Arts gods Crafts gods Creator gods Domestic and hearth gods Earth gods Fertility gods Fire gods Food gods Fortune gods Harvest gods Health gods Kings in Meitei mythology Life-death-rebirth gods Maintenance gods Meitei gods and goddesses Names of God in Sanamahism Nature gods Ningthou Peace gods Savior gods Time and fate deities Time and fate gods Tutelary gods