Many play significant roles in the different elements of

Meitei culture Meitei may refer to: *Meitei people, of Manipur, India **Meitei language **Meitei script **Meitei architecture *Denechandra Meitei (born 1994), Indian footballer *Loken Meitei (born 1997), Indian footballer *Ningombam Bupenda Meitei (born 1987), Ind ...

, including but not limited to

Meitei cuisine 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 ...

, Meitei festivals,

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 ...

Meitei folktales The Meitei folktales ( mni, Meitei Phunga Wari), also sometimes referred to as the Manipuri folktales, are the large collections of Folklore, folk stories developed from the Meitei culture since Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). Folktales a ...

, Meitei literature,

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 Meitei religion ( Sanamahism) of .

Plants used in rites and rituals

is used by the Meitei people for decorations during the

Sajibu Cheiraoba Sajibu Nongma Pānba, also called Meetei Cheiraoba or Sajibu Cheiraoba, is the lunar new year festival of the people who follow the religion of Sanamahism in the Indian state of Manipur. The name Sajibu Nongma Pānba derives from the Manipuri ...

(Meitei Lunar Near Year Day) celebrations. is also used by the Meitei people for decorations during the

(Meitei Lunar Near Year Day) celebrations. In

, Kombirei flower represents love, life and death. It is frequently mentioned in the

and folk songs. In honor of this flowering plant species, the

Government of Manipur The Government of Manipur ( mni, Manipur Leingak; /mə.ni.pur lə́i.ŋak/), also known as the State Government of Manipur, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Manipur and its 16 districts. ...

, organises the "Kombirei Festival" every year, in the aim to preserve and conserve the natural habitats of ethnic flowers like Kombirei.

Real plants mentioned in old texts

Cape jasmine description

Giving reference to Meitei King

Khagemba King Khagemba (Conqueror of the Chinese; 1597–1654), was a monarch from the Kingdom of Kangleipak. He also introduced a new form of polo and new apparel styles. Under his regime he focused on a new form of Manipur and built many markets in d ...

and the Manipur Kingdom, the beauty and grace of Lei Kabok flower, also called (,

cape jasmine ''Gardenia jasminoides'', commonly known as gardenia, is an evergreen flowering plant in the coffee family Rubiaceae. It is native to parts of South-East Asia. Wild plants range from 30 centimetres to 3 metres (about 1 to 10 feet) in height. Th ...

), is described by Meitei King

Charairongba ) , title = Ningthou , titletext = , more = , image = , image_size = , alt = , caption = , succession = , moretext = , reign ...

, in his book, the "Leiron", as follows:

Real plants mentioned in folklore

Colocasia/Taro plantation folktale

and

of , plants are mentioned. In the

Meitei folktale The Meitei folktales ( mni, Meitei Phunga Wari), also sometimes referred to as the Manipuri folktales, are the large collections of folk stories developed from the Meitei culture since Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). Folktales are calle ...

of the , an old aged lonely couple, who have no youths in their family, were deceived by some trickster monkeys, regarding the planting of the Colocasia/Taro plants in a very different unusual style of plantation. The old couple agreed to do the monkeys' advices, peeling off the best tubers of the plants, then boiling them in a pot until softened and after cooling them off, wrapping them in banana leaves and putting them inside the soils of the grounds. In the middle of the night, the monkeys secretly came into the farm and ate all the well cooked plants. After their eating, they (monkeys) planted some inedible giant wild plants in the place where the old couple had placed the cooked plant tubers. In the morning, the old couple were amazed to see the plants getting fully grown up just after one day of planting the tubers. They were unaware of the tricks of the monkeys. So, the old couple cooked and ate the inedible wild Taro plants. As a reaction of eating the wild plants, they suffered from the unbearable

tingling Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation of the skin (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness) with no apparent physical cause. Paresthesia may be transient or chronic, and may have any of dozens of possible underlying causes. Paresthesias ar ...

sensation in their throats.

Perspective of Mother nature

The "Hijan Hirao" ( omp, "Hichan Hilao"), an

ancient 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 ...

narrative poem, mentions that King Hongnem Luwang Ningthou Punshiba of Luwang dynasty once ordered his men for the cutting down a tree in the forest for crafting out a beautiful royal Hiyang Hiren. In accordance to the story, his servants found a big tree growing on the slope of a mountain and by the side of a river. They performed traditional customary rites and rituals before chopping off the tree on the following day. In the dead of the night, Mother nature started weeping in the fear of losing her dear child, the tree. The painful lamentations of mother nature is described in the poem as follows:

References

{{Authority control Meitei culture Meitei folklore Meitei mythology Plants in culture Sanamahism