In Meetei society, the sagei or family name is known as ''Yumnak'' in

Meetei 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 ...

. Pronounced "yoom-naak". Ethnic ''yumnaks'' are used in the Meetei /Meitei community including the Meitei Pangal and Meitei Bamon (

Manipuri Brahmin Manipuri Brahmins ( mni, Manipuri Bamon) or Meitei Brahmins ( mni, Meitei Bamon) are the Brahmins who speak the Meitei ( Manipuri) language as their native tongue and mainly reside in the valley areas of Manipur. They constitute 4.5% of Man ...

). The Meitei community lie largely in the Northeast

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 ...

, mainly in

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 ...

, Next in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

and a few in

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

Meghalaya Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of Assam: (a) the United Khasi Hills and J ...

. Some live in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Myanmar 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 ...

Historical background

In Meetei society, all the ''yumnak'' belong to only one of the Salai Taret except the ''Yumnak'' of the ''Meitei Bamon (

)'' including

Kshetrimayum Kshetrimayum (shortly known as Kshetri) is a Meitei ethnic family name (surname). It is a Meitei yumnak. It’s literal meaning is “House of Kshatriya”. This surname was given to the descendants of Hindu Kshatriyas, coming from outside Manipur ...

. There are seven major Salais or Yek Salais or Salai Taret, namely : #

Mangang Mangang is one of the seven clans of Meetei, which is among the Yek or Salai of Hao people of Manipur. It consists of several Yumnaks which are native peoples of ancient Kangleipak (now Manipur), one of the states of India India, of ...

Luwang Luwang is one of the seven clans of the Meitei people. Luwang consists of several Yumnaks which are native peoples of ancient Kangleipak (now Manipur), one of the States of India. Origin Luwang was the son of Iputhou Pakhangba also known as K ...

# Khuman # Angom #

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 ...

# Kha Nganba # Sarang Leishangthem (Chenglei). Yumnaks are the sub-clans of these seven major '' Salai'', formed by the collection of different Yumnaks. Yumnaks inhabited specific areas and formed collectives. Later, these family members migrated to different areas, dispersing their Yumnaks.

Unique Naming System

From ancient immemorial time, based on Meitei custom, naming system differs between males and females. Commonly, in both the genders the person's ''Yumnak'' is used as a prefix to their name. Keeping their respective names in the middle. The suffix name part is the one differing from males to females. In females, the suffix name part is made either by the gender identification or marital status identification like "Chanu". After getting married, the females changed their suffix part to "Leima", adding the term "Ningol" just after her paternal surname and by adding "Ongbi" after her husband's surname completes her full name. Examples : A female Meitei having the name ''Leishna'' with ''Khaidem'' as her paternal ''Yumnak'' will have her full name, before getting married, as per the Meitei custom as, * Khaidem Leishna Chanu After getting married, assuming, she married ''Narumbam Sanathoi Angomcha'', noting that ''Narumbam'' is her husband's surname, ''Sanathoi'' is her husband's name and Angom is her husband's Salai/Clan name. Then, her full name as per the Meitei custom will be changed as, * Khaidem Ningol Narumbam Ongbi Leishna Leima NOTE : The females don't carry their Salai/Clan name because the Salai/Clan system is a

patrilineality Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

one. In males, the suffix is made either by the name of their respective ''Salai'' or gender identification like "Meitei/Meetei" for males. And sometimes by adding "cha" to their respective ''Salai'' or Clan name. "Cha" meaning "child". Examples: A male Meitei having the name ''Ahenba'' with 'sougrakpam'' as ''Yumnak,'' and noting that 'sougrakpam'' surname belongs to ''Mangang'' clan, will have his full name as per the Meitei custom as, *Sougrakpam Ahenba Mangang or *Sougrankpam Ahenba Meitei or *Sougrakpam Ahenba Meetei or *Sougrakpam Ahenba Mangangcha Through these Yumnaks, the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

of Meitei can be traced.

Historical background

Unique Naming System

See also

References

Further reading