A weird thought on the Etymology of Tongjeimaril

Sorojit Khulem *

A stretch of the Tongjeimaril - Old Cachar Road :: Pix - TSE

Tongjeimaril had been in the news because of the pathetic condition of the road, the need to revive Old Cachar Road etc. I had been wondering how this old road came to be known as "Tongjeimaril".

Was it due to its narrowness, as was depicted in the famous Manipuri episode in which Oinam Bijando insisted the King to pass an elephant through a Tongjeimaril?

In Manipuri, Tongjei means a rubber pipe used as pipe for smoking from a Hidakphu (Hukka).

Tongjeimaril [the road Bisenpur – Khoupum – Nungba (as I understand)] is a hill/mountainous road. Maril means a passage or channel or course in Manipuri ie Waisen Maril, Iril turrel maril.

Considering the meaning of the words described above and if you break up "Tongjeimaril" as Tongjei + Maril, "Tongjei" (a rubber pipe) would mean the hill/mountain range (Thangjing Range).

This analogy sounds very absurd. At this point, I remember my Burmese teacher (I studied Burmese in the mid 1970s) who said- the Burmese word for hill/mountain is 'Taung Chih'. I don't know which one he meant (Taung Kyi) or (Taunggyi). Both the words sound alike to me.

There was a close tie between the early Moirang civilization and the Burmese (Ava), as can be seen through the history of Manipur and the epic 'Khamba – Thoibi'. 'Tongjei' could be a Meitei version of the Burmese words 'Taung Kyi' or 'Taunggyi'.

The meanings of these Burmese words are: Taung – hill/mountain, Kyi – serene (Kyi is also used as part of a name as in Aung San Suu Kyi - Burmese political leader who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her work - promoting democracy in her country) and Taunggyi – huge mountain ('Taunggyi' is also a name of a hill village/town in Shan State of Myanmar).

Considering the lay of Thangjing Hill Range which is in North-East to South-West direction, with sun shine on the Hill Range throughout the day, Thangjing Range definitely present a magnificent view from the plains of Moirang.

It is in this context, I believe the Burmaese (Avas) called the Thangjing range as 'Taung Kyi' (Beautiful Hill/Mountain). Like the Manipuri word 'Ching' the Burmese 'Taung' can mean either a Hill or a Mountain.

Coming back to "Tongjeimaril", this name perhaps was given by our forefathers to mean a hill/mountain road/path/track/passage or a passage through Tongjei (Taung Kyi or Taunggyi).

(I request all the readers to share any reliable information on the Etymology of Tongjeimaril)