Sanamahism (Meitei: ꯁꯅꯥꯃꯍꯤ ꯂꯥꯏꯅꯤꯡ, romanized: Sanamahi laining, lit. 'liquid gold religion'), also known as Meiteism (Meitei: ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯂꯥꯢꯅꯤꯡ, romanized: Meitei laining, lit. 'Meitei religion'), or Lainingthouism (Meitei: ꯂꯥꯢꯅꯤꯡꯊꯧ ꯂꯥꯢꯅꯤꯡ, romanized: Lainingthou laining) 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 the Meitei faith. Sanamahi is the eldest son of the supreme god Sidaba Mapu and the supreme goddess Leimarel Sidabi. Traditionally every Meitei household, irrespective of the religion, worships Sanamahi and Leimarel Sidabi. Sanamahism does not have a religious head but has a body, the Maru Loishang, that oversees the main religious activities and governs all affairs of the religion, including the conduct of priest and priestess. The Maru Loishang also acts as a court for religious disputes. There are three main departments under the Manu Loishang, namely, the Amaiba Loishang, the Pena Asheiba Loishang, and the Amaibi Loishang. These departments have existed since the reign of King Meidingu Hongnemyoi Khunjao Naothingkhong of Manipur in 662 CE. The followers of Sanamahism are known as Sanamahists. Amailon (ꯑꯃꯥꯏꯂꯣꯟ), also known as Amailol (ꯑꯃꯥꯏꯂꯣꯜ), is a liturgical variety of the Meitei language, spoken by the Maibis (priestesses) and the Nupa Maibis (transgender priests), ritual practitioners of the Sanamahi religious tradition in Manipur and other places of Meitei diaspora. It is used specifically in ceremonial and ritual contexts and has no daily spoken form.
Deities The deities in Sanamhism can be classified as principal deities, ancestral deities, or apokpa, regional deities called Lam Lai or Umang Lai, and the ancestral deities worshipped by particular Meitei clans (Yek Lai) and families (Saghei Lai). There are five main deities in Sanamahism:
Lainingthou Sanamahi, protector and guardian god of mankind. Sidaba Mapu, creator of the universe. Pakhangba, ruler of the universe and destroyer of evil. Leimarel Sidabi, Earth goddess. Imoinu Ahongbi, an incarnation of Leimarel, and a goddess of wealth and prosperity. Other important gods and goddesses include Panthoibi, Lainingthou Nongpok Ningthou, Lainingthou Koubru, Ibudhou Marjing, Thongalel, Wangbren, Eputhou Thangjing, Kounu, Nongshaba, Nongthang Leima, and Irai Leima. The Umang Lais are often regarded as aspects or incarnations of the main deities. The worship of Umang Lais and the ritual that this entails, referred to as the Umang Lai Haraoba, is one of the main religious festivals in Sanamahism. The Umang Lais are associated with sacred groves, also called Umang Lai. There are similarities between the Umang Lais and the Nat deities of Myanmar. All the deities are denoted by the universal term Lai which means "god" in Meithei. When referring to a male deity, the terms Lainingthou, Ebhudhou or Epa are used while the terms, Lairembi, Ebhendhou or Ema are used to refer to a female deity. Lairembi is mostly used for the Umang Lais.
Origin The first mentions are found in the Cheitharol Kumbaba, the Court Chronicles of the kings of Manipur, starting from the king Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, who traditionally ruled for more than a century, from 33 to 154 CE, though modern scholarship, including Sujit Mukherjee, give a range of 21 years, from 33 to 54 CE.
Revival The collective effort of the revival of Sanamahism is often referred to as the Sanamahi movement. The earliest accounts can be traced back to the formation of the Apokpa Marup by Laininghal Naoriya Phulo in 1930 at Cachar (present day Assam, India). The movement spread to the Manipur Valley by 1934. Although the movement did not gain momentum due to the Japanese invasion in the Second World War, plans were initially made to intensify the movement under the leadership of Takhellambam Bokul (Sanamahi Bokul). Phulo died in 1941. Three years after the death of Phulo in 1944, the movement finally started gaining momentum in Manipur. Resolutions were made to denounce Hinduism and to revive Sanamahism in Manipur. Mass campaign were held to popularise Sanamahi religion at various places in Manipur. On 14 May 1945, the popular Meitei Marup movement was formed. This marked the beginning of the revival of Sanamahism and the Meitei Mayek, original script of the Manipuri Language among other things. The term Sanamahism and Meitei Marup are often used interchangeably. The Brahma Sabha strongly opposed the movement and formally outcast 38 members of Meitei Marup. By the 1970s and 1980s, the Sanamahi Movement attracted more activists. Massive drives were held reclaiming shrines of deiteis and adverting Hindu practices or worship to ancient old traditions of Sanamahism. Notable movement was the seizure of the idols of Sanamahi and Leimarel Sidabi from Hindu Brahmins, which are now presently installed in the temple at First Manipur Rifles Ground, Imphal. On 16 February 1974, a mass conversion to Sanamahism was held. The event became known as, Nongkhang Parei Hanba, which symbolized reversing the forced mass baptism into Hinduism of the Meitei people of Manipur by King Pamheiba in 1729, which is referred to as Nongkhang Iruppa. On 23 April 1992, the then Maharaja of Manipur, Okendrajit Sana declared that "I open the Lubak Tabu and abandon Hinduism as state religion and recognition is hereby withdrawn by the Royal Customary Law of the Country, instead the Royal Customary Law revives the Lainingthouism as the state religion and do herby give recognition as state religion." The 2011 census of India places the Sanamahi followers at 8.19% of the total population of Manipur, India.
Official status On 5 August 2022, the Manipur State Legislative Assembly re-affirmed a resolution to record the Sanamahi religion in the census data with a separate unique code as an officially recognised minority religion of India. In the past, on 31 July 2002 and on 1 August 2003, the Manipur State Legislative Assembly had adopted similar resolutions to allot a unique code for the religion but did not get approved by the Central Government of India. In the previous decades, many social, religious and political activists, associations and organisations struggled through violent agitations and protests to include the Sanamahi religion as an officially recognised minority religion of India.
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