Festivals of Manipur

Manipur is a land of festivities, merriment and mirth all year round. A year in Manipur presents a cycle of festivals. Hardly a month passes without a festival or two being celebrated. To the Manipuri’s, festivals are symbols of their cultural, social and religious aspirations.

CHEIRAOBA

Celebrated in the month of March-April, Cheiraoba marks the New Year for the Meitei populace of Manipur. Homes are cleaned, people get new clothes, exchange gifts, and make merry at gatherings throughout the state. Pujas are held and the regional goddess Sanamahi is propitiated for the prosperity and well-being of the community. A unique ritual involves people clambering up to hilltops in the belief that it inspires them to elevate their standing in their everyday world.

LAOSANG

This is Manipur’s biggest festival and is somewhat akin to the Hindu festival of Holi. Hectic celebrations take place during the full moon in the month of Phalgun or February/March. Visitors at the five-day festival get to witness Thabal Chongba (moonlight dance) held at night, an old folk tradition specially connected to this festival.

KANG/ RATHA YATRA

Masses of Vaishnav Meitei tribesmen come together to participate in the celebrations of the annual Kang Chingba or Chariot (Ratha) Festival held in the month of June/July. The 10-day festivities in the Imphal Valley are marked by centuries of rituals to propitiate the primary deity, Lord Jagannath. The chariot, carrying the Lord during the grand street procession, is drawn by hundreds of devotees from the Shree Shree Govindaji Temple.

LUI-NGAI NI
Held annually by the Naga tribesmen residing in Manipur as well, this festival is held on 15^th February, heralding the start of the sowing season. Great crowds gather to enjoy the jollity, feasting, music, dance, and thanksgiving rituals. It’s one of the most important social events held to create deeper bonds within the community.

HEIKRU HIDONGBA

The joyful festival features exciting boat races in long boats on the 11th day of the month of Langbal (September) in Imphal. Purification rituals of the boats are carried out a day before the race.

NINGOL CHAK KOUBA

Celebrated on the second day of the new moon in the month of Hiyangei (November) according to the Manipur Calendar, the Meiti community cherishes this annual festival. What is special about it is that parents arrange lavish feasts for their married daughters and pamper them.

GAN-NGAI
Celebrated by the Kabui Nagas of Manipur, the festivities are held to pay homage to their ancestors. The festival is marked by ancient religious rites, traditional music and dance, and family gatherings in people’s homes.

KUT

The festival, which also goes by the name of Chavang Kut, is important for the Kuki-Chin-Mizo ethnic groups of Manipur. The grand fiesta, which marks the close of the harvest season, is attended by prayers of thanksgiving to the deities, presided over by the village priests.

CHUMPHA

Manipur’s Tangkhul Nagas host a seven-day post-harvest festival in the month of December. Prayers of thanksgiving and purification rituals mark the spiritual side of the event. On a lighter note, the last three days are devoted to feasting and merrymaking at social gatherings.