jourNE to Andro
- Part 1 -

Nelson Elangbam and Rajkumar Somorjit *

Location:

Andro Gate

The Andro village, about 27 km from Imphal along the Imphal-Andro road, is located in the midst of a valley surrounded by the Shandangshenba hill in the south-west, the Nongmaijing hill in the north west and the Uchanpokpi hill in the west. It is one of the oldest villages in Manipur.

The people:

A child crossing the broken wooden bridge

Andro Kids / Andro Youths

The Andro village is inhabited by a loi community. The term loi is very controversial. It is a term given to those people who were exiled by the kings of Manipur. According to Chingakham Ghandharaj Meetei, the present Khullakpa (chief) of the village, their forefathers (the Chingakham family, which is one of the biggest families in the Andro village) migrated to this village as they refused to accept Ramanandi School of Vaisnavism during the reign of Pamheiba (1709-1748 CE).

The Court Chronicle Cheitharon Kumpapa gives us the vivid account of how Pamheiba misused his imperial power to convert his subjects into Hinduism. The opening page of the genealogy work entitled Sangai Phammang reads:

"On 7 November 1734 CE Pamheiba divided his subjects into castes-
Lukun thangba Ksatriya (Hindunized warriors) and Lugun Thangdaba Ksatriya ( Non-Hindunized warriors).
The Brahmanised warriors are Ningthoucha, Angom, Moirang, Luwang, Khuman, Kha-Nganba and Sarang-Leishangthem.
The non-Brahmanised warriors are Khamaran, Takhen, Mayang, Kapo, Kapui, Thagkhul and others.
He also prohibited intermarriage between these two castes."

Pamheiba also discontinued the Meetei way of life. He prohibited cow-slaughter, meat-eating, brewing wine and domestication of pig and fowl in the capital. The court chronicle recorded punishments inflicted to those who disobeyed his order. It is possible that Pamheiba classed the people of Andro as loi as they refused to accept Hinduism.

The Andro village existed long before Pamheiba. According to the Royal Chronicle the village was recognised for the first time during the reign of Naokhamba (411-428 CE). Some scholars say that the people of Andro are called loi because they were subjugated by the Meetei kings. The term loi is also given to those villages which were conquered by the kings of Manipur. The people of Andro prefer to call themselves as Chakpa who were probably pre- Meetei autochthones.

According to Moirangthem Norendra Singh in his book Meihourol the Chakpa rose in rebellion until the reign of Charairongpa( 1697-1709 CE) who finally subjugated them. Accordingly they assimilated into Meetei.

There is a mythological clue about the amalgamation of Chakpa with Meetei in the pre-historic period. It is a well-known fact that long before the proto-Meeteis descended upon Imphal valley, the area was the centre of the Chakpa civilization. The myth of Chakpa Sawangpa Menongpa ascending to the sky in pursuit of a deer shows that the Chakpas had worshipped the unseen forces of nature, symbolised by Sangai (Brow Antlered deer).

Around first century CE, however, there was a profound change, as the gods began to be seen as dragons, a snake with antlers upon its head. This could be taken as symbolically telling us a historical phenomenon of the subjugation of the stag worshippers (Chakpas) by the snake worshippers (Meetei).

Occupation of the village:

The people of Andro are agriculturists. Each house have their own pottery factory, brewing hut, pig-pen and its surrounding by a little kitchen garden in which culinary vegetables are raised in large quantity.

Famous Potteries of Andro / Making of Andro Yu

Paddy field on the foot hills of Uchanpokpi

Andro is famous for its hand-made pottery.

In the past they provided mortuary vessels for the royal family. Andro is one of the seven pot- making community of Manipur. The others are Chiren, Thongjao, Nongpok Sekmai, Ningthemcha Karong, Nungbi and Oinam.

Registered Andro Pottery

An ancient M.S. entitled Chakpalon Khuntaba refers the first creation of pot in the shape of the thalamus of a flower called Nura Khundonglei (Melastame Malabathricum). Married women play monopoly in making pottery. It is a taboo from men for practising this craft. The materials used in making pottery are Leicheng (weathered rock used as temper) and Leitan (black clay).

The collection of raw materials is customarily started after a ritual performs by pepa (social head) of three lineage on the 5th day of the lunar month Fairen (Jan/Feb).

The collection of clay continues till the month Kalen (May/June).

The Andro village produces a variety of pottery. Some of them are

• Mera Kharung (vessel for storing water),
• Lai Chaphu (ceremonial ware),
• Maring Kharung (storage vessel),
• Mera Chaphu,
• Yuyaphu (liquor brewing vessel),
• Thumkharung (carrying vessel),
• Ngangkha (cooking vessel),
• Yukhom (vessel for drinking liquor),
• Ngangkok (steam cooking vessel),
• Wangkam ( serving vessel),
• Kamuk (serving vessel),
• Thagmei makhong,
• Meikoichaphu (use for funeral rite) etc.

Nowadays they produce different terracotta figurines and other decorative items.

To be continued....

Note

The Travelogue "jourNE to Andro" was filmed on 28th August 2011 with a hope to share the beauty of Andro, Manipur. The film has already been broadcasted in ISTV on 10th Oct 2011 at 7pm. The same is also available online at the below links :-

1/ E-pao:- Part 1:- & Part 2:- .
2/ ISTV :- Link here

References:

1. Manibabu Mayenglambam, Pottery of the Andros of Manipur: A study on Ethnoarchaeology, (Manipur University: Ph.d. thesis, 2005).
2. Ibungohal .L and Khelchandra, N (ed), Cheitharol Kumbaba (Imphal: Manipur Sahitya Parishad, 1967)
3. Parratt Saroj Nalini Arambam (ed), The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, vol I (New York: Routledge, 2005).
4. Sana Rajkumar Somorjit, The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs: 1666 CE to 1850 CE (Imphal: W.Ananda Meetei, 2010).
5. Ibemhal Thounaojam , Haoreima Sambubi (Imphal: Arambam Samarendra, 2000)
6. Narendra Moirangthem, Meihourol (Imphal, 2005)
7. Hemchandra Chanam, Meihoural Sangai Phammang (Imphal, 2004)

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* Nelson Elangbam / Rajkumar Somorjit contributes regularly to e-pao.net
The sender can be contacted at elangbam(at)gmail(dot)com
This article was posted on October 20, 2011.

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