Introduction, review of literature, methodology and

organisation of the thesis have been detailed in

this chapter.
INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION
f
r ■ ''he Bishnupriya Manipuri is a prominent ethnic group of North-East

-A. India. They are concentrated in different parts of Assam, particularly

in Cachar district of Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Burma and in

Bangladesh. The Bishnupriya Manipuri living outside Manipur identify

themselves as Bishnupriya Manipuri, but the Meitei vehemently object to

the use of suffix ‘Manipuri’ to ‘Bishnupriya\ From anthropological point

of view the controversy between the Bishnupriya Manipuri and the Meitei

gives birth to a meritorious topic of research. This is the reason why the

researcher undertook the study of the Bishnupriya Manipuri. Moreover, no

work has yet been conducted by any researcher on this particular

community. This is another reason which generated keen interest of the

present researcher towards this community and to study this community.

The present work has been an attempt to study the social and economic life

of the Bishnupriya Manipuris in two villages of Cachar district of Assam.

This study was undertaken with two objectives in view: fir s t, to study the

social and economic life of the Bishnupriya Manipuris of Cachar district of

Assam and second, to study the changes, if any, in their traditional socio-
economic life brought about by influence of other factors. With these two

objectives in view the present researcher selected two villages of Cachar

l
INTRODUCTION

namely Bhakatpur and Singari. The former is a sub-urban village located at

a distance of 3 Km. from Silchar town, the Head Quarter of Caehar district,

while the latter is located far away at a distance of 9 Km. from Silchar

town. These two villages are ethnically and linguistically homogeneous

and, therefore, may be called Bishnupriya Manipuri villages. This was the

logic behind the selection of these two villages for the present study.

Though there are many other villages in Caehar nearly forty, inhabited by

the Bishnupriya Manipuris but most of these villages are mixed villages,

that is, populated by the Bishnupriya Manipuri alongwith other

communities. While studying the social and economic life of the

Bishnupriya Manipuris of Bhakatpur and Singari, the present researcher

lent her attention to find out differences if any, in respect of social and

economic life of the Bishnupriya Manipuris of these two villages and at the

same time she attempted to find out the causes of such differences.

R E ¥ l l - W O F ; : •

Literature on the social and cultural characteristics of the Bishnupriya

Manipuri is meagre and there is no authentic reference evidencing the

ethnic identity of this group of people. Therefore, much data of the present

study have been gathered from secondary published materials, interview of

knowledgeable Bishnupriya Manipuri and write-ups of public leaders and

scholars of this community. However, both European and Indian scholars

2
INTRODUCTION

have presented diverse views on this community with reference to their

origin, identity and socio-cultural characteristics.

It is to be noted that all valuable records of the Bishnupriya Manipuri and

Manipur had been destroyed during the reign of king Gharib Nowaz (1714

- 1754 AD) and, this is the reason why no written documents of this

community are available.

As regards destruction and distortion of History of Manipur R. M. Nath in

his book *The Background o f Assamese culture ’ narrated, “This scandal

made him (Gharib Nowaz) touchy and he ordered burning down all historical
records, old and new, in the country” (Nath, R, M. 1978:91).

The Assam Census Report keeps on record, “As already stated the schedule

of Manipuri Census were destroyed during the late rising and thus much valuable
information regarding the Manipuris and other tribes o f the state have been

lost”. (Assam Census Report, 1891:153).

Different writers cover up this ethnic group in their works with different

names. Some call them as Bishnupuriya or Bishnupriya or Manipuri

Bishnupriya. The others refer to it as Mayangs or Khalisa and so on.

‘Commenting on the nomenclature as stated above Late Jagat Mohan

Sinha, a renown social activist asserts that these titles are wrong in respect

of these people who are, for valid reasons, should be called Bishnupriya

Manipuri only’ (Sinha,B. 1999:40). This view was supported by K. P.

Sinha in his booklet *The Bishnupriya Manipuris’. He strongly refuted the

3
INTRODUCTION

term Mayang for the Bishnupriya Manipuri. E. T. Dalton in his

‘Ethnology o f Bengal’ (1872), G. A Grierson in his ‘Linguistic Survery

o f India’ (1891), and Padmanath Vidyavinode in his ‘Gait’s History o f

Assam’ (1908), frequently used the term Mayang for the Bishnupriya

Manipuri. Similarly, Dr. S. K. Chatterjee in his ‘Kirata - Jana Kirti ’

(1974) and Ch. Manihar Singh in his ‘A clarification on the

Bishnupriya in relation to the Manipuris ’ (1987) used the same term, i.e.

Mayang for Bishnupriya Manipuri.

Works of both Indian and European scholars bear testimonies to the

existence of the Bishnupriya Manipuri in Manipur in the 19th century and,

‘An account o f the valley o f Munipore’ by Major Me. Cullock (1849) is

one such dependable testimony to the existence of the Bishnupriya

Manipuri in Manipur during the 19th century. Me. Cullock states, “ They (the

Mayangs) amongst themselves speak their own language, which is a dialect o f

Hindu, but they all understand and most o f them can speak Muniporee” (Sinha,

B. 1999: 40)

Padmanath Vidyavinode in his *Gait’s History o f Assam \ quotes,

“There is , moreover, an Aryan dialect called Mayang still spoken in Manipur,

the head quarters o f which are two or three plain villages near

Vishnupur,......... the number o f people in Manipur speaking this dialect is at

present about 1000....” (Singha, K. D. 1984:8). E. T. Dalton advances

similar view. In his ‘Ethnology o f Bengal’ (1872:48-49) he states, “The

present population o f Manipur includes a tribe called Meiung who speak a

4
INTRODUCTION

language o f Sanskrit derivation” (Dalton, E. T. 1872: 48-49), Then again, the

Imperial Gazetteer o f India, Vol.-I, (1907) keeps on record, “Mayan, one

o f the languages spoken in the polyglot state o f Manipur, may, however, be

classed as a dialect o f this language (Assamese)”. G. A. Grierson in his

*Linguistic Survey o f India, Vol.-V, Part-I, (1903f observed, “A tribe

known as Mayang speaks a Mongrel form o f Assamese known by the same name.

They are also known as Bishmpriya Manipuri. The language possesses

characteristics o f both languages (Assamese and Bengali), but at the same time

differs widely from botH\ “G. A Grierson further observed, .............so in

Manipur inspite o f Devanagari Script which the Khala Chais might have been

using, the Meitheis, when they came into power introduced the new Manipuri

script............" (Singha, K. D. 1984: 12)

Dr. R. Brown in ‘Imperial Gazetteer o f India ’, 1908, Vol.-XVIII”, threw

some light about Bishnupriya Manipuri, wherein he quoted, “Although the

general facial characteristics o f the Manipurie (Manipuri) are o f Mongolian

type, there is great diversity o f feature among them, some o f them showing a

regularity approaching the Aryan type (Brown, R 1908: 126)

R. M. Nath, the author o f "The Background o f Assamese culture ’,

brought to focus some new information about the community. In his book

he recorded, “It is quite probable that Khala Chais were the first cultural race

5
INTRODUCTION

in possession o f the Manipur valley, and they were connected more with the

neighbouring kingdom o f Kamrupa than with other countries, and that is why

their language is more akin to Kamrupi. It is also very likely that in very early

times they were influenced by the Vishnu Cult - either from Kamrupa or other

parts o f India and they named their capital town Vishnupur. The Meitheis were

the later immigrants. They were more akin to the Chinese or the Thais, and their

language and habits are more Mongolian” (Nath, R. M. 1978: 86)

During the period between 1970 to 1974 R. K. Saha as a member of the

Anthropological Survery o f India , conducted an intensive anthropological

study on the six ethnic groups o f Manipur in 19 selected villages. However,

he limited his field work in four villages, namely Lairenkabi (A Meitei

village), Nachou (A Bishnupriya Manipuri village), Thoubal Khunou (A

Yaithibi village) and P hay eng (A Loi or Chakpa village). He also carried

out his pilot studies etc. in the village o f Andro, Shugnu,

Ngaikhongkhulen, Kakching, Chairel, Ithing, Wang Thangi, Ningel,

Sekmai, Urup, Thoubal, Moirang, Imphal, Bishnupur and Thing.

Mr. Saha in his, Valley Society o f Manipur recorded that ‘the village o f
‘

Nachou is dominated by the Bishnupriyas. The Meitei people o f this village

immigrated here in search o f cultivable land and finally settled down.

Ngaikhongkhulen is also a Bishnupriya village. However, there are some Meitei

households in a part o f this village. This area is known as Sepoy. They are

believed to have settled in this village as soldiers o f the king. The inhabitants o f

Nachou and Ngaikhongkhulen have registered their identity as Bishnupriya. The

village o f Chairel, Andro and Sekmai are dominated by the Loi or Chakpai, while

6
INTRO DUCTIO N

Pangan or Meitei Muslims settled in Urup. The inhabitants o f Lairankabi and

Wangkhei Thangjam Leikei are identified only as Meitei’ (Saha, R. K. 1975:

42-45). ‘Ethnic-wise village population data pertaining to the research works o f

R. K. Saha (Table No. 1, p-43 and Table No. 3, p-53 o f the above-mentioned

book) shows that the Bishnupriya Manipuris are the majority people among the

nineteen villages o f Manipur valley studied so far* (Sinha, B. 1999: 45)

There are different schools of thought about the origin of the Bishnupriya

Manipuri. Some Bishnupriya Manipuri scholars such as M. K. Sinha in his

book, ‘Manipurer Prachin Itihas’ (1962) described that king

Babhrubahana, son of Arjuna and Chitrangada, of the epic age of the

Mahabharata is the progenitor or the ancestor of the Bishnupriya

Manipuri.

U. C. Guha in his book, ‘Kacharer Itibritta ’ narrated that the ‘Bishnupriya

Manipuri are the Indo-Aryan people and the first cultured ruling race o f

Manipur’ (Guha, U. C. 1971: 23)

R. M. Nath has produced a scholarly treatise in his ‘Background o f

Assamese culture’ (1978) wherein he explained that the Bishnupriya

Manipuri are the descendents of a batch of troopers sent by the king of

Kamrup to Manipur on request of king Khongtekcha, and they mixing with

the Khalachais gave birth to a separate community called Bishnupriya

Manipuri. It is to be noted that the term Bishnupriya Manipuri was derived

7
INTRODUCTION

from the place ‘Bishnupuf where these people settled. Their language is

known as Bishnupriya Manipuri language.

According to B. C. Allen, “ the Bishnupriya Manipuri are said to be the

descendents of 120 Hindu families of different castes, who were brought into

valley by Gharib Nowaz in the later part o f 18th century” (Assam District

Gazette, Vol. 9, Part-1111907).

Prof. N. Tombi Singh, the author of ‘Manipur and the Mainstream ’

(1975) mentioned in his book that the Bishnupriya Manipuri are the

illegitimate issues of some Meitei king. K. P. Sinha in his book "The

Bishnupriya Manipuri? - their language, Literature and Culture’, x

quoted, "Some Meitei scholars believe that the Bishnupriya Manipuri are the

des eeryants o f those Meitei people who left Manipur and took shelter in Assam

and Tripura towards the beginning o f 19th century.' (Sinha, K. P. 1975: 3)

As regards the language of this community is concerned, Dr. K. P. Sinha

compiled a Dictionary of their language in which about 3000 Bishnupriya

Manipuri words have been compiled. According to Dr. K. P. Sinha,

“Bishnupriya Manipuri language is o f Indo-Aryan group and is akin to

Assamese and B e n g a l i (Sinha, K. P. 1975: 1) So far as the literature of

this community is concerned, the treasure of their literature is very poor.

Except some folksongs, short stories and Essays, there is no other rich

sources of literature.

8
INTRODUCTIO N

Written documents of the Bishnupriya Manipuri culture are very meager as

already mentioned earlier. Only one author namely K. P. Sinha dwelt upon

their culture in his book “The Bishnupriya Manipuri - their language,

literature and culture”. However his description about their culture is

very brief containing as much as eight pages.

MiratodLO€¥-;
The present work is the outcome of fieldwork, both intensive and extensive,

conducted phase-wise. To remain perfectly unbiased no definite

methodology was resorted to. Methodology, whatsoever followed in the

present work, evolved from the field study of the researcher. To dive deep

into the various perspectives pertaining to the present study, it was

considered sine quanon to be familiar with all aspects of the life of the

people. The aspects include, inter aha, the life of the people, their dialects,

regional variations, socio-economic status, religious and mythical aspects,

etc.

Knowledge of the language of the people is the imperative necessity in case

of carrying out any field study. The researcher devoted herself to learn

Bishnupriya Manipuri language and it took her a period of one year to learn

their language. This was the most important step to proceed with the

fieldwork. Learning the language of the community had an added

advantage for the researcher as she did not have to depend on any

interpreter or mediator in the procurement of information. In order to

9
INTRODUCTION

present a correct appraisal of different situations she recorded ad verbum

statements of the villagers. This was considered as an essential

requirement of any field study, particularly because ad verbum statements

bear the real sense and meaning whereas their translation into English fails

to do so.

As far as present study is concerned data have been collected by intensive

ethnographic study of two Bishnupriya Manipuri villages. In Cachar district

there are about forty villages which have a substantial Bishnupriya

Manipuri population. Some of these are inhabited by Bishnupriya Manipuri

only. The present investigator has classified these as ‘Bishnupriya

Manipuri villages ’ and cmixed villages', For the purpose of present study,

the need was to select typical Bishnupriya Manipuri villages. The selection

of the village was, however, not at random. Certain factors were taken into

account before the field work was taken up. The first principle was to

choose a village in which the Bishnupriya Manipuri had not changed their

mother tongue. To use mother tongue by any community has been an index

to show that it has retained its basic cultural contents. In this respect village

Bhakatpur and Singari of Cachar district of Assam fulfil this condition. Not

only the villagers speak Bishnupriya Manipuri language among themselves,

but even in dealing with any outsider they use their mother tongue as the

medium of communication. They know Bengali and Hindi, their boys and

girls learn it in schools. Only the old women are not familiar with it.

10
INTRODUCTIO N

The next criterion for the present field study was that the villages should

be ethnically homogeneous. In most of the villages of Caehar except

Bhakatpur and Singari, there is a coexistence of different communities.

Keeping in view the above mentioned two important criteria, the present

investigator selected two ‘Bishnupriya Manipuri villages’ namely

Bhakatpur and Singari situated in Caehar district of Assam. Data on the

socio-cultural and economic aspects of life of the Bishnupriya Manipuri

have been gathered from these villages, and for this purpose the present

investigator visited each household of both the villages, i.e., Bhakatpur and

Singari.

The data on life cycle and annual cycle were collected by personal as well

as group interview. In this type of interview, the interviewer exercises no

control, provides no direction and has no brief or pre-determined set of

questions to ask. The researcher merely engaged the informant in such way

that he or she voluntarily expressed his or her feelings.

Most of the villagers do not keep personal documents of their feelings,

modes, reactions etc. to their social milieu. So the author adopted case

study method to collect detailed information about the particular events

and to show the variation.

The researcher then drew genealogical tables because genealogical

knowledge plays an important role among people who can often trace back

several generations and identifies a large number of collaterals by names.

11
INTRODUCTION

Through this method, the present investigator could gather information

about their marital relationships, kinship system, kinship terminology as

well as their ancestors and descendents.

In the field the researcher directly observed whatever practicable. She

attended Bishnupriya Manipuri festivals and marriage ceremonies to

meticulously observe their behaviour during these occasions. It gave her an

opportunity to check on their narration and to note discrepancies, if any,

between narration and actual performance. Direct observation method

was also adopted to collect data on different economic activities of the

community such as agricultural activities, cottage industries, etc.

Schedule Survey method was adopted to collect data on demographic

features of the community. In all cases, for accuracy the researcher

collected information from several persons on the same topic. She also

collected information from other places with a view to cross-checking or

for noting variations, if any, on the same topic.

Without pretended modesty, the researcher admits that it will only be a

third person who will be in a position to judge how far she has succeeded in

being objective in presenting data on the Bishnupriya Manipuri with whom

the researcher has been living from her childhood and from whom she

received hospitality, frankness and love.

12
INTRODUCTIO N

KMM JL

This thesis has been organized in the following manner. The whole thesis

consists of nine chapters.

Chapter I titled ‘'Introduction to the topic ’ consists of introduction, Aims

and objectives of the present study, review of literature, methodology and
organisation of the thesis.

Chapter II deals with ‘A general account o f the Bishnupriya Manipuri’.

This has been made on the historical and mythological background of the

origin of the Bishnupriya Manipuri, their distribution and migration. There

are different schools of thought as well as different myths pertaining to

their origin. The researcher has tried to review the available evidences cited

by the Bishnupriya Manipuri as well as by the Meitei about their origin.

It is found that due to internal conflict among the princes of Manipur

coupled with repeated attacks by the Burmese, the Bishnupriya Manipuri

and the Meitei were compelled to migrate to Assam, and particularly in

Cachar district of this state. It is a fact that Manipur was conquered by the

British during the 18th century, and consequent upon the conquest of

Manipur by the British, people from this valley migrated to other places. It

is also equally correct to say that many people migrated to, mainly, Bengal,

driven by the urge of education.

13
OOLj
INTRODUCTION

As a consequence of the sequence of events leading to migration of the

Bishnupriya Manipuri, as mentioned above, the Bishnupriya Manipuri

inhabit quite a large number of areas outside Manipur.

In Chapter III titled 'A profile on two villages-Bhakatpur and SingarV,

the present researcher has undertaken the task of studying the general

aspects in the first phase; and salient demographic characteristics of these

two villages in the second phase. To study a community, its social and

economic life, a researcher must have a close look into the social and

domestic set up of the community in their place of habitation,

circumstances or factors that prompted the community to settle in the place

of their habitation, legends or stories connected to the nomenclature of the

place, maintenance and continuity of their life and livelihood within the

parameter of their distinct identity. These are the basic things that go into

the making of a distinct identity of a community, and all these basic things

should be closely investigated in order to have a correct socio-economic

picture of the community. With all these questions in view, the Chapter III

has been constituted.

The Chapter TV dwells upon the ‘domestic life ’. The domestic life and

social life are complementary to each other, and one is the reciprocal

manifestation of the other. Therefore, the study of domestic life of any

community is a prerequisite for studying the social life of that community.

A close look into the domestic life brings to light the elements or features

that make a community distinct from another community. ‘Domestic life’

14
INTRODUCTION

includes diverse elements such as Bishnupriya Manipuri house, its

construction and rituals connected with house construction, domestic

articles, dress and ornaments, food and drink, dance and music and daily

life.

Chapter V deals with ‘social l i f e It includes caste and clan system, family
and the house hold, kinship, inheritance and position of Bishnupriya

Manipuri women. The Socio-cultural traits projected in the Chapter V

qualify the Bishnupriya Manipuri as a distinct community beyond any

reasonable doubt.

Chapter VI makes a comprehensive study of ‘life cycle ’ that includes

events such as birth of a child, puberty, marriage, death, religious beliefs

and practices. In every community, all these events are preconditioned or

regulated by customs, longstanding conventions and religious beliefs.

Chapter V II presents a threadbare discussion on the *economic life ’ as

well as the occupational pattern, and the pattern of land ownership in two

villages. The questions that relate to the economy of the Bishnupriya

Manipuri villages are:

How do they acquire agricultural land?

What is the pattern o f distribution o f land among the inhabitants
o f these villages?
What is the technique o f agriculture and what are the
agricultural products?
What is their main source o f income and how do they earn their
livelihood? etc.

15
INTRODUCTIO N

The total works have been discussed and thereafter conclusion has been
drawn in Chapter VIII titled ‘Discussion and conclusion'.

Chapter IX consists of ‘Summary and suggestion fo r further studies'.

16