Mayang is a term used by the
Meiteis
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 ...
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 ...
to refer to non-Manipuri Indians, especially the speakers of
Hindustani language
Hindustani (; Devanagari: ,
*
*
*
* ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lang ...
and
Bengali people But historically the term has been used to denote the
Bishnupriya Manipuris
The Bishnupriyas, also known as the Bishnupriya Manipuris or Bishnupriya Meiteis, is an ethnic group found in the parts of Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Manipur and in northeastern Bangladesh. They speak the Bishnupriya Manipuri l ...
and Bengalis, who are considered by Meiteis to be outsiders in Manipur. The term was later casually used to denote 'foreigner' during the militancy in Manipur, which effectively translated to Indians from outside the state.
Indians in general and Bengalis in particular became the targets of attacks. According to journalist
Kishalay Bhattacharjee
Kishalay Bhattacharjee (born 1969) is an Indian, senior journalist, columnist and author.
He has written three books: Che in Paona Bazaar, Blood on my Hands and An Unfinished Revolution.
He is currently working as a Professor and Dean of the ...
, the term is synonymous to
Dkhar in
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 ...
.
Usage
The term is used for who are not from Manipuri. It is a term which means foreigner in Manipuri dialect.
Kwak Mayang
The Corvus splendens or Indian crow is known as Mayang Kwak in Meitei language. The Meiteis maintain that Indian crow originally was not native to Manipur. As it arrived from the west, it is known as Mayang Kwak, literally meaning 'foreign crow' or 'western crow'. Australian dancer
Louise Lightfoot has recorded in her memoir a popular game among the Meitei children called 'Kwak Mayang', literally meaning 'foreign crow'. The children cling behind each forming a moving line. The leader swerves the direction of the movement as if dodging attacks from the foreign crow that is attacking them from the front.
During her travel in Manipur, little boys used to jeer at her calling her Mayang and older boys used to laugh out at her harassment.
Mayang Hatlo
Militants raised the violent war cry of 'Mayang Hatlo!', literally meaning 'Foreigners go back!'.
As the movement gained momentum across the state, general Manipuris got involved in it. Young boys armed with knives and lathis terrorized the streets.
See also
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Dkhar
*
Bongal
*
Malaun
''Malaun'' ( bn, মালাউন) is a pejorative term for Bengali Hindus, most commonly used in Bangladesh. The word is derived from the Arabic "ملعون", meaning "accursed" or "deprived of God's Mercy", and in modern times, it is used as a ...
References
{{Ethnic slurs
Ethnic and religious slurs
Racism in India
Hate speech
Meitei language
Persecution of Bengali Hindus