Manipur is one of seven sisterly hill states in the NorthEast of India. This province shares the international borders with Burma.
The state of Manipur shares its domestic border with Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram in the region.
People of Manipuri belong to Meitei Tribe, some people come as descendants of Kukis tribe in the south and Nagas tribe in the north.
Manipur was formerly known as KANGLEIPAK that ranslates to “Dry Land”.
The Meitei architecture is best known for its temples (Laishang, Kiyong, Thellon), found all over the hilly lands of Manipur).
Some other architectural forms are the Grand Gates (Hojang), Traditional houses of the region (Yumjao), Public houses of the state (Sanglen) and Official buildings (Loishang).
The traditional houses are designed with light weight material and mud,
The house tops are joined with bamboo splits, top are thatched and made of bamboo wood in form of columns. They use no iron or nails while making these traditional houses.
Demographic Location
The State of Manipur is located in the Eastern Himalyan range in the northeast part of India.
Manipur is surrounded by Nagaland in the North, Meghalaya in the South and Assam in the East. This state enjoys the international borders with Burma (Myanmar) on the East.
Logtak Lake covers a large area of about 40 square miles (100 square km). The lake is is the primary source of the Manipur River.
The river flows through the valleys towards the south into Myanmar, where it joins a tributary river of Chindwin, the Myittha River.
The range of hills running across north to south is connected by spurs and ridges.
There are several ranges connecting the hilly terrain. The prominent ranges and plateau are as follows:
The Naga Hills in the north
The East Manipur Hills along the eastern Myanmar border
The Mizo and Chin hills in the south
The West Manipur Hills in the west.
The peaks rise in the north rise upto and above 9,500 feet above sea level.
Surma River named Barak River in Manipur, erodes landscape to create a narrow steep-sided valley through the West Manipur Hills before it joins the Megha River in Bangladesh.
Season and Climate
The climate of Manipur is moderate and pleasant feel like similar to any other hill state in the region.
The climate is dependent on the elevation of the area. The higher altitude have lower temperature compared to low lying areas.
Rainfall is heavy to very heavy all over the state as the mountains block the path of the inward moving mosit air from the Bay of Bengal sea.
There are five seasons in the state:
Summer (May-June)
Rainy (Monsoon) (July-Sept)
Autumn (Oct. -Nov)
Cold winter (Dec. -Feb)
Spring (March-April).
Culture and Education
A Major portion of the population of the state come from the Tribal community of Meiti Tribal Community.
They are mostly found near the plains of Imphal. Bishnupur, Senapati and Thoubal districts. Many of them are strong followers of Vaishnav religion, an offshoot of Hindu religion.
The Meiti tribal community speak in Meiteilon also referred to Manipuri language.
Some other prominent tribes who have made their presence noted in the state of Manipur are Naga tribals and Kuki tribal Community.
They live in the hilly region of Manipur and are divided into twenty-nine sub tribal community. Some of major sub-tribes are as follows :
Kabui, Mao and Tangkhul under the Naga tribal group and
Paite, Kom, Hmar, Vaiphei, Thadou, Gante and Zou belonging to the Kuki tribal group.
In all these tribal communities have 29 tribal spoken dialects. Some of them are Thadou-Kuki, Tangkhul, Hmar, Paite, Mao, Rongmei dialect and Kom dialect.
The people in the state enjoy constitutional liberty of following Christianity, Buddhism and Sikhism.Being tribal community dominant the people of Manipur enjoy celebrating popular festivals.
Some of the major festivals of manipur are as follows:
Lai-Haraoba, Yaoshang(Dol Jatra),
Ratha Jatra,
Ramjan Id,
KUT ( Festival of Kuki-Chin-Mizo),
Gang-Ngai ( Festival of Kabui Nagas),
Chumpha (Festival of Tangkhul Nagas),
Christmas ( Festival of Christians),
Cheiraoba ( The Manipur NewYear),
Heikru Hidongba,
Ningol Chakouba (The social festival of Manipuris),
Lui_Ngai_Ni
the festival of Kwak Jatra.
Average Literacy rate in Manipur is quite low. The Higher education is as low as the primary and elemntary education in Manipur.
The main reason for low turn out of education is physical terrain of the hills, state of poverty, lack of trained teachers and trainers, lack of facility and challenges in communication.
The people here speak manipuri and English language. They can also converse in Hindi and other dominant regional language like Bengali.
There are six local languages that the people of manipur speak which are also used in schools and colleges for teaching pupils,
Tangkhul
Kuki
Lusai
Hmar
Paite
Thadou
Manipuri cherishes its own script and is well known as the Meitei Mayek amongst the communities around.
Manipur has been crowned "The Jewel of India" for the natural gift and authentic tribal culture.
Manipur is the birthplace of the sport of Polo and a classical dance form, the Ras Lila performed with the theme of love-inspired dance drama of Radha-Krishna called Raas Leela.
Famous Spots
Imphal, the capital of Manipur, is renowned for its splendid scenic beauty located at the center of the Manipur valley.
The city is surrounded by plains and hilly dense forests and widespread grasslands.
Ukhrul, is a beautiful city with mesmerizing beautiful deep green valleys, lofty hills, great waterfalls and streams.
Bishnupur, is city known for both the beautiful natural surroundings and temples of worship that reflects rich culture of the land with its magnificient architectural excellence.
Thoubal city is located on the hills perfect for trekking and hiking. This place is blessed by lush greenlands with fruit plantations, beautiful rivers and lakes
Chandel is the pathway to Myanmar. The land here is rich in flora and fauna and destination to a wide range of birds and animals.
Senapati is one of those wonders on the face of the earth that has been favored by hills, streams, gorges and rivers dressed by dense forests and range of plants and animals.
AquaLife, Flora and Fauna
Manipur is enriched by various type of forest cover. These forest cover types are as follows:
Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest
Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests
Sub-Tropical Pine Forest
Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest
Montane Wet Temperate Forest
Sub-alpine Forest.
There are 41 primitive flowering plants under 11 families and 75 species of endemic plants found in Manipur.
Manipur is part of the rice bowl of India (269 varieties), maize and coix etc. There are several cultivated wild plants.
Teak, Pine, Oak, Uningthou, Leihao, Bamboo and Cane are forest trees growing in plenty in Manipur.
