Discovery of Kangleipak
- Part 3 -
- The concept of Space-Time Entity of Meetei Race in Kangleipak -

Wangkhemcha Chingtamlen *

In the first article under the heading 'DISCOVERY OF KANGLEIPAK', the writer wrote "The Religion of the Indigenous Meetei Race including the Hill communities is the Sanamahi Religion. The abstract concept of the SPACE-TIME ENTITY is the ultimate God-creator of the universe." Now the writer will show the concept of the entity as found in the Kanglei Scriptures.

The indigenous Meetei Researchers have a copy of a Puya named 'Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Ama-Ilon Pukok' the original copy of which was burnt down by king Pamheiba Garivaniwaz and his Dharma Guru Santi Das Gossai in the first half of the 18th century A.D.

Just before the burning of the scriptures and written documents of the Meetei Race, one Angom Chaopa, a dignitary of the Royal Palace in whose custody the Puya was kept, copied the Puya secretly just before collection of all Puyas for burning and was smuggled out to a Hill community village for safe keeping for the future.

Researchers discovered the Puya in 1971 A.D. The following is the Xerox copy of the 44th Latam (Page) of the above mentioned Puya copy :

Click here for a larger resolution image

The 3rd and 4th lines of the Xerox copy says

"Malem Leimana Lumpala ?
Palem-Imana Malum-ee.
Koilou Nongmatonna Wangpala ?
Panthou-Ipana Mawang-ee."

The rough English translation is this :

" Whether the Earth is heavier?
(No) Palem-Ima (Mother roughly) is Heavier.
Whether Koilou Nongmaton (Top of the limitless space) is taller?
(No) Panthou-Ipa (Father roughly) is taller."

In the concept of Palem-Ima, the child stays in the womb of the mother-woman about ten months eating the blood of the mother-woman before birth; and in the concept of Panthou-Ipa the ultimate God-creator concealed Himself in the Father-man for further Endless-creations of mankind; are signified.

So, here in these Puya sentences, Palem-Ima and Panthou-Ipa have special significance. Panthou-Ipa actually mean here, universal God-creator-Father. The Meetei Race call Universal God-Creator as Ipa (Father roughly).

This Universal God-Creator is also called by the Meetei Race as ONE, because He is the only ONE being or spirit or reality before anything else existed in the Universe. This only one being .. is called Ipung Loinapa Apakpa technically, by the Meetei Race in the time of Yore.

Please see another Latam (Page) of the Puya, Wakoklon Heelel Thilel Salai Ama-Ilon Pukok. The following is the Xerox of the page 22 of the Puya:

Click here for a larger resolution image

In the above Xerox, from the 3rd line to 5th line of the Puya says:

"Talang Ipung Loinapa Apakpana
Iyek Talanipan Amati Singthalon
Cheising Iyek Amata Saiontuna
Ating-aa Sitapa Ahangpa Haina Koukhale."

The rough English translation of the above Puya sentences is this :

" The indeterminate Primordial Ipung Loinapa Apakpa
Incarnating as 18 (writing) alphabets and
counting number ONE stood permanently being called
as the Deathless Open Space."

From these scriptural dicta and from our Living Tradition of calling the Permanent Open Space what we call Koilou Ating-aa also as Ipa Sorarel, Ipa Salailel, Universal Father, it is known that the Meetei Race thought the Open Space was the ultimate God-creator or ultimate origin of the universe, ultimate reality of the changing phenomena of the universe.

From our experience upto this stage of the Dicta of the scriptures called Puya, there is an Essential difference between our philosophical experience of God, the Foundation of every religion, from the Philosophical experience of the God of the west including of India.

We do not start from 'Jagat Mithya', 'Sunyata is the otherside of Purnata'. But in Kangleipak, we start from Ipung Loinapa Apakpa (a being or a reality in whom everything included. Ipung means whole of blood, whole of every living being).

He creates everything . Everything is His manifestation. He incarnates as Open Space. He creates everything including the earth, the moon, the sun, the stars etc. We in the East, start from the ultimate reality to the changing phenomena of the universe.

Then what is the relation of SPACE with time what we call MATAM in Kangleipak?

In Kangleipak, the definition of Time as a measure of duration or measure of unlimited duration is not the foundation of time, and rather we feel this is only a late Idea in the long March of the Human Civilization, and this kind of Definition does not explain the origin of the abstract Time-concept. This kind of definition describes the Time-concept as they find the Time-concept in late ADs.

In Kangleipak, we have the Indigenous Time-Concept called MATAM, generally translated into English as Time, though we do not know actually the Appropriateness of the translation.

The concept of Matam in the Indigenous Vocabulary in Kangleipak we have : MATAM = MA + TAM, MA means Mana, further means by Him (by the Good-creator) TAM means Tampa = Tamba further means provided for, or make it available to the living beings etc.

So, Matam, therefore, means all objects created by the God-creator as objects of the changing phenomena. So, the concept of Matam does not mean any abstract concept as time, as we find to day. The original Idea or concept of Matam means and includes all definite concrete creations like the earth, the moon, the sun, the stars etc, the mountains, the rivers, the trees etc….. the events like famine, war etc.

A concept very near and almost synonymous to is the concept of MAHOUSA in the Kanglei vocabulary, generally translated as NATURE. Mahousa = Ma+hou+sa = Ma means Masana further means by self, Hou means Houkatlakpa = Hougatlakpa, Sa means Sakatlakpa = Sagatlakpa further means growing up, spring up by themselves. So, the Matam with the Synonymous concept to it Mahousa, in Analysing them, does not means Any Abstract concept in Kangleipak.

The western concept of time also means the same thing originally, the writer feels. A young man sitting in a garden looks at his watch very frequently. He does not mean the abstract concept of time when keeps his eyes on the watch. He means a concrete Human Body in his mind, that is, his beloved lady's arrival as scheduled.

A farmer asked his friend 'What is this month?' He does not mean an abstract concept of time, but he means a concrete events of sowing, or harvesting of crops, or arrival of Monsoon for cultivation in his mind. A concrete thing stands behind every or any mention of time, most probably consciously or unconsciously.

Then how modern concept of Time as 'Indefinite, unlimited duration in which things are considered as happening in the past, present or future' etc. comes about ? vv As mankind advances in Human civilization, Man begins to study natural history, science history, racial history, social history, calamity history, astronomical history, history of inventions, geological history, history of the origin of the mankind etc. etc. for men's own needs.

All these things are co-related, parts of the same thing, manifestations of the same Reality, the necessity of doing studies of all these things in the same time frame of unlimited duration is felt, is forced, consciously or unconsciously, upon mankind. To connect yesterdays with todays and todays with tomorrows, man requires a time-watch or time clock in a time-frame of unlimited duration.

To study social relevance of Women's problems in Manipur to day with those faced by the women in 1939 (Women's war), we require an uninterrupted social time duration with yesterday and beyond backward, and also, with today and beyond Forward. To tell the mankind of today a Message of 'Dooms-day', we require an unlimited Time-duration-Frame beyond to day.

The necessity of these things may be more acute in Physics, Astronomical investigations etc. In this way, the abstract concept of Time with Space, ' a four dimensional continuum with four coordinates, the three dimensions of space, and that of time, in which any event can be located' and also anything can be located, might have been born.

Further, if you go from Imphal to New Delhi on foot you may require some months. If you go on train, some days. If you go by Air, few hours. So, to understand the difference of duration of action for reaching from one concrete point of the Earth's surface to another point of surface of the Earth, man requires this abstract concept of time, or a Time-machine telling you the abstract Time-concept. In this way, the abstract Time-concept was born as of necessity as the Human kind has unlimited vast Faculty for adapting to changing necessity. Abstract concept are born only when man has developed advanced faculties.

In Kangleipak, the unity of Space with Time, that is, the abstract concept of Space-time Entity is apparent and a simple concept even to an unsubtle mind. We have Ipung Loinapa Apakpa (Talang Ipung Loinapa Apakpa in the Puya), who is Taller than the Top of the limitless space, incarnates as the open space and creates everything inside the open space.

And we have the Matam concept in which we conceive all concrete creations in the open space. So, the totality of the Ipung Loinapa Apakpa with the space-time entity, with all His creations in the universe is the ultimate Reality of the Meetei Race in Kangleipak.

But the Meetei Race worship Him in the name of Lainingthou Sanamahi (Lainingthou = Lai + Ningthou = King of Gods) who concretely comes to the Earth for Endless creations of the Mankind and other Living beings and to care for them and sustenance.

to be continued...

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* Wangkhemcha Chingtamlen contributes regularly to e-pao.net . The writer is President, Kangleipak Historical and Cultural Research Centre, Sagolband Thangjam Leirak, Imphal, Kangleipak (Manipur). The writer can be contacted at chingtamlen(at)gmail(dot)com
This article was webcasted on April 16th, 2009.

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