Sanamahism

Sanamahism (or Sanamahi religion), also known as Lainingthouism (or Lainingthou religion) or Kangleism (or Kanglei religion) or Meeteism (or Meetei religion) or Meiteism (or Meitei religion), is a traditional ethnic religion of the Meitei people of Manipur, Assam, Tripura in India, as well as in parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Named after deity Lainingthou Sanamahi, it is animistic, polytheistic, shamanic, spiritualistic in nature. Its liturgical language is the Classical Meitei language. It forms the basis of the Meitei civilization (Kangleipak) since ancient times.

Sacred symbol for Sanamahism, depicting 5 classical elements

Quotes

• Apart from their roles of priestesses and priests, the maibas and maibis also function as oracles and custodians of the tradition thereby performing the sacred duty as intermediaries between the divine spirit (umanglais) and the common masses. The maibis, in this case, exercise greater authority in being involuntarily 'possessed' by the spirit, and also representing the female spiritual power-so widely venerated within the animistic faith of Sanamahism.
  • Kailash C. Baral, Cultural Forms and Practices in Northeast India. Germany: Springer Nature Singapore, 2023. p. 113

• Sanamahism, the ancient religion of the Meiteis, is named after its central hero, Sanamahi.
• Sanamahism is relatively egalitarian in its value system. With the ascendance of Vaishnavism, egalitarianism took a drubbing. Ethnic, gender and class differences took on sharper contours.
• The monarchical state is said to have explicitly pursued goals of collective growth and even-handed justice-principles usually traced to Sanamahism, which is inherently opposed to casteism, women's subordination and degradation of human beings.
  • Mehrotra, Deepti Priya. Burning Bright Irom Sharmila. India: Penguin Books Limited, 2009.

• Sanamahism is a pre-Hinduism religion in the state; it's a surprise that not many of us are aware of the existence of such a religion. I realised the significance of Sanamahism in Manipur when Deepshakhi told me that this temple is dedicated to Lord Sanamahi too, in parallel to Lord Govindajee temple in the city.
  • Rastogi, Priyanka. Early Sunrise, Early Sunset: Tales of a Solo Woman Traveler Across North East and East India. United States: Partridge Publishing India, 2019. p. 106

• Sanamahism couldn't die out though Vaishnavism was under the royal patronage for nearly 300 years...
  • Tandon, Om Prakash. Studies in Indian History and Culture: Anthology of Papers Presented at the 10th Annual Conference of Indian History and Culture Society Held at Bharat Kala Bhavan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, During December 23-25, 1986. India: The Bhavan, 1988. p. 188

• Sanamahism, the traditional religion, was so strong that Vaishnavism could not completely replace it, and over time these two religions were syncretised (ibid.). Gharib Niwaz's son Chit Shai (1748-1752) tried to revive Sanamahism by persecuting the Hindu converts, but he could not succeed in eliminating Hinduism from Manipur.
  • Sharma, Abhimanyu. Reconceptualising Power in Language Policy: Evidence from Comparative Cases. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2022. p. 194

• Sanamahism of Manipur is a counterpart of Shamanism in Korea. Sanamahism is a pre-Hindu religion of the Manipuris.
  • Sushila Narsimhan, To-yŏng Kim, India and Korea, Bridging the Gaps. India: Manak Publications, 2008. p. 189

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