Polo and indigenous ponies of Manipur
- Part 2 -

Waikhom Damodar Singh *

A game of Polo at Mapal Kangjeibung, at Manipur Sangai Festival 2012 :: Pix - Jinendra Maibam

Though the game of sagol kangjei had been originally a game played for merriment it was at the time of the great King Khagemba (name derived from the words, khagi meaning Chinese and Ngamba for victory) of the later period, the 46th successor king of the Pakhangba's dynasty or line who was coronated as the king of Manipur in 1597 A.D. that the game had flourished into very active military game. The System of playing the game "pana-wise" was introduced during his time.

There were 6 Panas at the time of Khagemba -
(l) Ahallup
(2) Laipham
(3) Naharup
(4) Khabam
(5) Hidakphaba
(6) Potsangba, adding 2 more panas, the latter 2 to the 4 panas that already existed earlier since the time of Pakhangba, and ever since the game came to be known as "pana sagol kangjei", which was restricted to be played only by the recognised and registered players belonging to the four panas, namely,
the Laipham,
the Ahallup,
the Naharup and
the Khabam.

The game then had flourished further into very active Military game during the time of the most chivalrous and warrior king, Pamheiba (Garibniwaz), the 48th successor king of Pakhangba's line who ascended the deitic throne of Manipur in the year 1709 A.D. It was during the reign of this most powerful king of Manipur that her Army (militia) was reorganised and became really an invincible Force of the time and overran the Burmese and the territory of Manipur was extended right upto Ava, the then Burmese capital situated on the bank of the great river, Irrawady.

The Manipur Army was divided into three columns :-
(1) The infantry column equipped with Thang-Tas (swords and spears with shields) and firearms.
(2) The cavalry column equipped with swords shields, and in addition equipped with the then most effective and feared weapons, the "Arambais", the poisoned arrows.
(3) The naval column equipped with Thang-Tas, Shields.

The main strength of the then Manipuri Army lay in its cavalry force which consisted of very skilled rider­fighters mounted on exceptionally skilled and trained indigenous war ponies which could stand great and prolonged endurances with simple and little food (fooder-hay) to eat available anywhere. The Manipuri cavalry-men were such great and outstanding "equestrians" that they were regarded not as ordinary riders but truly as "centaurs" (half body from chest to head being of human being and half body from chest to legs being of a horse) i.e. once they are mounted on the most skilt. skilled and sensitive indigenous ponies they become as if of one "being" only unchallengeable both in the warfares and in playing the sagol kangjei game.

There were more than such 3000 very well trianed and skilled cavalry-men at the time of Pamheiba ably supported by an elephant column which had some 150 elephants kept at "Kokchai royal samusang stables" in Mayang Imphal area on the south and it was because of the great might of the unparalleld Manipuri cavalry Farce, and also of the great ability of the Manipuri generals, particularly of one most able and courageous general named, Thangjaba Chakrapani that Pamheiba came out always victorious in all the wars and made the neighbouring kingdoms and enemies felt his unchallengeable power and prowess by exercising his sway deep into their areas.

Thus the Manipuri cavalry force had remained as the leading force in all the wars that had taken place throughout the pre-British period, and it was the very robust type of the indigenous Manipuri Sagol Kangjei game that had kept its men and the indigenous Ponies "ever fit" by the regular play of it carried out during the peace time in a "war-like" manner i.e. "free-for-all" or in a very wild and robust manner of play.

Then, it was from the year 1859 A.D. onwards that a great land mark in the history of the game had entered into when a group of British officers and tea planters headed by one Captain Robert Stwert, Lieutenant Shearer etc invented the modern form of Polo, initially known as "English Polo", later on called International style of Polo and played its first originating game at Silchar, Cachar, Assam where they continued playing of it. The modern form of Polo thus originated was the result of a great fascination felt on the British people who were then living in the area of Assam.

When they saw for the first time such a very manly and thrilling game of the Manipuri Sagol Kangjei played by the Manipuri militia-men who lived in Silchar and Cachar area along with their king, Maharaja Chandra Kirti Singh, they were much fascinated by it and thus they took on it in a form much modified from the original vigorous, robust and dangerous form of the indigenous Manipuri Sagol Kangjei to a more lightly enjoyable play of the game on horseback.

The British people had invented their game of Polo based on the game of Manipuri Sagol Kangjei play purely for recreational purpose with a Polo Club established at Silchar in the same year of 1859 which stands today as the earliest and oldest Polo Club in the world. The English style of Polo thus originated was later on introduced into England by the English cavalrymen of the 10th Hussars who served in India with its first game played there in public in 1869. It was then introduced into America in 1883 and later on into the other parts of the world, and by now it has become an International Game.

Manipuri Sagol Kangjei was introduced into India by an exhibition match played in Calcutta by two Manipuri teams which consisted of best selected local players like, Keisham Ojha etc. of that time who were sent by Maharaja Chandra Kirti Singh in 1863 via Shylet and Dacca, and it was after that event only that the modified form of Polo was introduced into England where the first English Polo Association was formed in Hurlingham. With modified Polo rules based on the Manipuri rules the Association has now become the Controlling Board for the International game of Polo allover the world.

Very recently under the auspices of the All Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association two series of classic International Polo tournaments had been very successfully organised and conducted at the historic Imphal Polo Ground in which teams from USA, England, Australia, Germany and Kenya participated. India was represented by two Teams, one by a team from the Indian Army and another by a team from Manipur. In both the tournaments the Manipur team had excelled themselves and came out with flying colours as the champions of both the tournaments.

The Manipur Horse Riding Association is again organising another international Polo tournament commencing from 23 of this month ending on 29 as a part of the Manipur Sangai Festival being organised under the auspices of the Government of Manipur, and teams from England, Germany, France and Thailand and India, represented by two teams, one in the name of All India Polo Association and the other in the name of Manipur Polo team will be participating. It will be happy for the people of Manipur, in particular, if their players could repeat to come out this time also with flying colours.

There are as many as 30 Polo clubs in Manipur who actively participate in the regular annual Polo tournaments in both the styles conducted by the All Manipur Polo Association and the All Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association. Manipuri women's teams have also started participating in the local tournaments of the IP style showing that they are also as capable to play the manly game as the ladies of other foreign countries U.K., USA, Australia, Kenya etc. do. The foreign players and other visitors from abroad were really amazed and thrilled when they saw the unprecedented huge crowds that had turned up at Imphal Polo ground and watched the International matches conducted with all the zeal and interest which is, indeed, a very rare thing to be seen in any other place of the world. Truly, in this regard also, Manipur is in the very much forefront and therefore it is very much befiting to name her as the real "Home of Polo".

From the study of the fossils and remains found in America, South-East England and Western Europe it has been established that the earliest members of the horse family began to appear on Earth from their tiny species of progenitors known as "Eohippus" and "Orohippus" from the Eocene and Oligocene periods onwards i.e. some 40 to 23 million years before, which were the periods much before the descent of mankind who appeared on this planet only during the last part of the Quarternary period of the Cenezoic Era which is a period of some 50,000 years from now. It was then much later on, that the so called "nomads", the "wanderers" from place to place appeared in the much later period of some 5000/6000 years ago, and first tammed, and rode the horse and put it at work, on sports and in war-fares.

While the text of the "biological findings" explain the origin of horses and how after tamming them they began participating in the man's war-fares, sports and pageantry shows the Manipuri Puya (Puran) says that "Sagol" (horse) is a divine animal which had been created by Lainingthou Sanamahi (king of Gods) out of the "dust" from the "sole" of his feet and had named it "Samadon Ayangba" as it can run as fast as the speed of light.

Though the local mythological version may not be so true the fact that remains crystal clearly true is that the local Manipuri "Ponies" had been the indigenous animals of Manipur from the very primeval days and they are regarded as "God gifted divine animals" having extraordinary qualities of sensitiveness and great courage in the wars, high stamina with very sensitive response to quick maneuverings of turning to the left, to the right or about turn in fast speeds as required in wars and playing games.

They have also great resistant power to prolonged endurances with little food to eat. They can swim in big rivers with riders on them. The most glaring case of such a pony was the royal pony, "chitrabot" of Senapati Nara Singh whcih swam in the big Chindwin (kyeendwin-Ningthi) river of Burma in the dark night of early morning during the glorious days of Manipur in the 1830s.

The most daring cousin brother of Maharaja Gambhir Singh thus crossed the river in the dark night quietly and galloped towards the place where the British officer, Lieutenant, later on Captain and Major, was kept tied on a tree by the Burmese as their "war captive" for carrying out execution soon, and rescued him most unbelievingly giving no chance to the Burmese sentries to react to his very swift and surprising action.

The famous royal pony (real name, Kartik) swam back to the other bank of the river carrying both the gallant Manipuri prince Senapati and the rescued British officer on its back. For the extraordinary performance and exemplary valour and skill exhibited by the most courageous Manipuri prince and the pony, the Government of the British East India Company who were then the "allies" of the Manipuris reciprocated to the king of Manipur Chandra Kirti Singh with their profound gratitudes and great honours.

In fact, according to the mythological beliefs of the Manipuri learned Pundits (Maichous), the significance of playing Sagol Kangjei as was invented by the deities is not an ordinary thing of play. It had been invented with a very divine intrinsic significance by the deities. The stick which is known as "Kanghu", made of a wooden "mallet" of about a foot long having a hole at its centre through which is fixed a 4 to 5 feet long "cane stick" represents the divine "union" of "Lairema" (the supreme goddess) and "Liningthou" (the supreme god) resulting to the cosmic creation. —to be contd

To be continued..