Sanamahism

Sanamahism (also called Meiteism or Lainingthouism is an ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Kangleipak (the Meitei term for Manipur) in Northeast India. It is a polytheistic religion named after the god Lainingthou Sanamahi, one of the most important deities of the Meitei faith. Sanamahi (which means liquid gold) is the eldest son of the supreme god Yaibirel Sidaba (also known as Saalailel Sidaba) and the supreme goddess Leimarel Sidabi. Traditionally, every Meitei household, irrespective of their local religion, worships Sanamahi and Leimarel Sidabi. Sanamahism has no single leader but it does have an organization, Maru Loishang, that oversees the main religious activities and govern all affairs pertaining to the religion including the conduct of priest and priestess. The Maru Loishang also acts a court that resolves religious disputes. The gods of Sanamhism can be classified into main deities, ancestral deities (Apokpa), deities of the Meitei clans (Yek Lai) or family (Saghei Lai). and regional deities called Lam Lai or Umang Lai. Worship of the Apokpa deities, the Yek Lais or the Saghei Lais is conducted within a clan, families that share the same surname. Regional deities are worshipped by the residents around the various temples of the regional Umang Lais. An Umang Lais is often one of the main deities, or perhaps an incarnation of the main deities. Many Sanamahi practices are focused on food offerings to deities, combined with hymns, as well as oracular ritual in which priestesses become possessed by a god or goddess. Some esoteric practices are also a part of Sanamahism such as the use of mantras for various purposes. The mystical text Sanamahi Naiyom provides several formulas, including a mantra that is believed to stop rain. The worship of Umang Lais and the ritual that this requires, referred to as the Umang Lai Haraoba, is one of the main religious festivals in Sanamahism. Other festivals include Emoinu Eratpa (the sacred day for Emoinu, goddess of wealth and prosperity), Heikru Hidongba (an annual royal boat racing festival), Kwaak Taanba (the ceremonial freeing of the crow by the Meitei king), Lai Haraoba (an unscheduled merrymaking festival dedicated to the Umang Lais and the Lam Lais of Sanamahism), Mera Chaorel Houba (when devotees offer rice, fruits and vegetables to Lainingthou Sanamahi and Leimarel Sidabi in the sacred Sanamahi Temple of Imphal), Mera Hou Chongba (which promotes unity and love between the Meitei people and neighboring tribesmen), Ningol Chakouba (a day that the married ladies are required visit and dine with their paternal family members, especially their brothers), Panthoibi Iratpa (a sacred festival dedicated to Panthoipi, the Meitei goddess of war and love),  Sanamahi Ahong Khong Chingba, also known as Sanamahi Cheng Hongba (a grand chariot pulling festival dedicated to Sanamahi, guardian of humanity), and Yaosang (ꯌꯥꯎꯁꯪ) falls on the 15th lunar day of the Lamtaa month of the Meitei year. It is a five-day festival that coincides with the Hindu Holi festival, so the Meitei imitate the Hindus by spraying each other with colors, but Yaosang is an indigenous tradition of the Meitei people is considered by many the most important festival in Manipur). A collective effort to revive Sanamahism is referred to as the Sanamahi movement. This campaign began in 1930 at Cachar (present day Assam, India) and had spread to the Manipur Valley by 1934. An invasion by the Japanese invasion interrupted forward progress, but by 1944 the movement finally started to gain momentum in Manipur. Resolutions were made to denounce Hinduism and to revive Sanamahism. In 1945, the popular Meitei Marup was formed, marking the beginning of the revival of Sanamahism and of the Meitei Mayek (the Meitei writing system). By the 1970s and 1980s, the Sanamahi Movement attracted many more activists. Idols of Sanamahi and Leimarel Sidabi were seized from Hindu Brahmins. In 1974 a mass conversion to Sanamahism was staged named Nongkhang Parei Hanba, a symbolic reversal a forced mass baptism of the Meitei people into Hinduism in 1729.