The ancient legend of Wanglen Pungdingheiba and Sappa Chanu Silheibi 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) , ...

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

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

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 ...

kingdom of

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 ...

(early

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 ...

). It concerns the tragedic romantic adventures of ''Wanglen Pungdingheiba'' ( omp, Wanglen Pungtingheipa) for his ladylove ''Sappa Chanu Silheibi'' ( omp, Silheipi). Wanglen Pungdingheiba was a skilled craftsman known for making musical instrument pung. Lady Sappa Chanu Silheibi was a skilful weaving artisan. Both the lovers are equally noted for their talents and good looks, thereby becoming the matters of envy of many young men and women in the kingdom of

History

''Wanglen Pungdingheiba'' (also known as ''Wanglen Pungdinhanba'') and ''Sappa Chanu Silheibi'' (also known as ''Chakpa Yainu Phishaheibi'') were real 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 ''Iwang Puriklai Ura Khongyamba'' (533-574 AD) of

Tragedy

One day, Wanglen Pungdingheiba and Sappa Chanu Silheibi decided to compete each other for a challenge to complete preparing their respective talented

crafts A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

faster than each other. So, Wanglen Pungdingheiba was crafting a pung. And Sappa Chanu Silheibi was weaving a decorative

garment Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials ...

. In fact, Pungdingheiba completed his work first, thus getting faster than Sappa Chanu Silheibi. Getting curious about Silheibi's pace of work, Pungdingheiba decided to go and have a look for her. So, he went to the house of his sweetheart to see her efficiency. During his absence, in Pungdingheiba's house, one of his friends visited him. His friend didn't find him. While searching for him, his friend got to see the musical instrument crafted by Pungdingheiba. His friend was unaware of the ongoing contest between Pungdingheiba and Silheibi. Getting interested in the instrument, the friend started playing the pung for examining the qualities of the apparatus. While doing so, he played it with his full strength to produce the best sounds as much as he could. The loudest sounds produced by the instrument reached the house of Silheibi, who heard the music. During the competition, as the instrument was played to produce the loudest possible sounds, Silheibi assumed that Pungdingheiba is humiliating her. She fell embarrassed. Accepting the defeat and getting awkward at the actions of her lover (as she assumed wrongly) for a simple contest, she valued prestige more than love, thus committing suicide by thrusting a knife to herself. After a few moments, Pungdingheiba came to her place and found the blood bathed dead body of Sappa Chanu Silheibi, beside her

handloom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

. He found his existence in the world meaningless with the absence of his true heart. Getting shocked, he decided to follow the path of his lover in the similar way.

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* {{Authority control Epic cycles of incarnations Female suicides Love stories Marriage and religion Meitei folklore Meitei mythology Works about death Works about suicide

History

Tragedy

See also

Further reading

Notes

References

External links