Miss Meetei Chanu or Miss Meitei Chanu is an international annual beauty pageant that is run by the

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

based ''

Lainingthou Sanamahi Sana Pung The Lainingthou Sanna Mahee Sanna Pung, Kangleipak, also known as the Lainingthou Sanamahi Sanapung (LSSP), is a non-governmental organization of the followers of the Sanamahism (traditional Meitei religion), dedicated to God Lainingthou Sanam ...

'' (LSSP). The event aims to make

Meitei women Women have significant roles in different elements of Meitei culture, including Meitei dances, Meitei festivals, Meitei folklore, Meitei folktales, Meitei literature, Meitei mythology, Meitei religion, etc. Women as goddesses Besides natural ...

understand the culture and tradition of

Sanamahism Sanamahism , also known as Meiteism , or Lainingthouism is an ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, in Northeast India. It is a polytheistic religion and is named after Lainingthou Sanamahi, one of the most important deities of ...

(

Meitei religion Sanamahism , also known as Meiteism , or Lainingthouism is an ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, in Northeast India. It is a polytheistic religion and is named after Lainingthou Sanamahi, one of the most important deities of ...

). It is one of the most watched beauty pageants in

North East India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...

. It co-exists with

Miss Manipur Miss Manipur or Miss Manipur Queen is an annual beauty pageant that is run by the Manipur based ''Miss Manipur Committee (MMC)''. It is one of the most watched beauty pageants in North East India. It co-exists with Femina Miss India Manipur, M ...

, Femina Miss India Manipur and

Miss Kangleipak Miss Kangleipak (Women's Best Physique) is an annual female bodybuilding competition of Kangleipak (Manipur). It co-exists with Miss Manipur, Femina Miss India Manipur and Meetei Chanu. Founded in the year 2012 by the "Manipur Amateur Body Bui ...

Background

The Miss Meetei Chanu beauty pageant was first held in 2016. It was organised by the ''

'' (LSSP), a socio-religious group, based in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The event is organised under the guidance of

Leishemba Sanajaoba Leishemba Sanajaoba is the current member of the former royal family of the princely state of Manipur in India, and a politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party from Manipur. In 2020, he was elected as the member of Rajya Sabha from Ma ...

(), His Highness, the present titular king of

. Besides being a

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

, the event also includes cultural activities like cooking dishes, cleaning courtyards and serving elders in traditional ways. Many elements of the

Meitei culture The culture of Meitei civilization evolved over thousands of years in what is now northeastern India and surrounding regions, beginning in Ancient Kangleipak, continuing most notably into Medieval Kangleipak, while influencing the neighboring sta ...

are included in the contest. The contestants are to prepare indigenous dishes in traditional way. The cooking utensils are earthen ones, following the old practices. Other than this, cleaning of courtyard and service to the old people are also the parts of the event.

Special awards

Besides the overall top 3 awards, the following are the special awards.

Challenge events

The contest has both non-costume based as well as costume based events. Generally, the costume based events are performed later.

Non-costume based events

The non-costume based events include the following rounds.

Costume-based events

The costume based events include three rounds.

Foreign delegates

In 2019, one delegate from

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and one from

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

participated in the 4th Miss Meetei Chanu beauty pageant in

Bangladeshi delegate

Leiphrakpam Suchona Chanu () from Bangladesh auditioned for the pageant, along with 50 aspirants. L Suchona hails from a family of social and cultural activist parents, L Ibungohal Shyamal and L (O) Kunjarani Leima. Native to Bhanughas Tetai Gaon, Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh, she is an undergraduate student at

Leading University Leading University (), commonly known as LU, is a private university of Bangladesh. It was founded in 2001. The LU campus is located in Ragib Nagar, Kamal Bazar, South Surma, Sylhet. History Leading University was founded in 2001 by industriali ...

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

. In her maiden visit to Manipur, L Suchona was taking part in the beauty pageant remembering the love for her roots of culture. Along with her, her father is promoting

in the sovereign nation of Bangladesh. She said to the public, regarding her participation in the event as follows: Notably, she won the main title of the pageant, making herself the first Bangladeshi to win the title from India.

Delegates from Assam

Longjam Rabina Chanu (), from Bhatigram, Jaribon, Assam, participated the pageant in 2019. She is daughter of Rajkumar and Muhini Leima. She is pursuing

BCom A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bach ...

Cachar College Cachar College is a co-educational institution established in 1960 at Silchar, India. It offers Intermediate (10+2 level) and First Degree Level (10+2+3 level) courses in Arts, Commerce and Science. The college is recognized by the UGC under Se ...

. She thanked the organiser Lainingthou Sanna Mahee Sanna Pung, Kangleipak (LSSP) for giving her the opportunity to represent as a Manipuri woman in the pageant. She expressed her gratitude for having ''"an opportunity to learn new things"''.

Recent titleholders

References

External links

* * * {{Cite web , title=মীতৈ চনু , url=https://enaat.net/tag/মীতৈ-চনু/ , access-date=2022-06-14 , website=Enaat , language=mni Beauty pageants in Manipur Beauty pageants in India Meitei culture Meitei folklore in popular culture Sanamahism Women in Meitei culture