A few days back, a workshop on the conduct of various rituals and ceremonies related to the rites of passage of the Meitei community was held at the City Convention Centre, Palace Compound, Imphal East. Several cultural activists participated in the event and deliberated on the present day scenario of rituals and ceremonies. In the Meitei community, there is an unwritten code and everything is elaborate in terms of rituals and ceremonies be it among the followers of traditional Meitei religion like Sanamahi or Hindu Vaishnavism.
Of all the rituals and ceremonies, one cannot do away with the ceremonies relating to birth, marriage and death while other ceremonies are extraneous. The transformation of these essential ceremonies in recent times was the subject of intense scrutiny in the deliberations particularly regarding marriage ceremonies. However, some rituals which should have been strictly a family affair like Chak-umba, Nahut Nareng Tamba or piercing of the ear and Nagun Thangba or Coming of Age ritual have also become a community affair.
Add to that, the extraneous ceremonies like Yum Sangaba and house-warming parties, birthday parties, wedding anniversaries and other extravagant add-ons and mind you it involves extra expenses for gifts from those who are invited. Sadly, these extraneous rituals were out of the radar of the recent workshop. One good thing about the pandemic was the reduction of extravagance in traditional rituals and mind-boggling ceremonies relating to the rites of passage in Meitei society. Due to lockdown procedures, every ceremony had become a family affair along with a minimum of few relatives and friends. Even now, most families have chosen to wind up the Shradhha ceremony before noon to avoid unnecessary hassles to the grieving family members.
A popular subject of the debate was with regard to the recent practice of ‘Bhabok Mamai Taba’ in Shradhha, marriage and Phiroi ceremonies. It was a form of salutation to the audience in the first row, mostly elders and Brahmins, who were also celebrated with money like the ritual performers of Nat Sankritan. At the end of the ceremony, the total amount was almost the same as the Sankritan performers. Nobody ponders upon how this practice came into being and still the practice is questioned. Since long, in almost all localities the number of elderly people had come down and the host family had to practically beg some of the existing elders to attend the ceremony from start to finish and mind you, all the four sides of the ceremonial space had to be seated for the rituals to continue. As a gratitude, the family members and their relatives use to honour the first-row seaters.
And somehow, other people attending the ceremony joined in. Nowadays, there is a rush among the elderly to come early and occupy the first row because of the benefits. And then, people start complaining about the extra expenditure without even pondering upon the fact that it was not mandatory. All is well if they chose to celebrate the Sankritan performers only and it was out of an imagined prestige that they were ‘compelled to celebrate the first-row seaters also. And, it was rather sad that the workshop forgot to delve into how such a practice came about.
Another area of neglect in the workshop was about the rate of potyeng or shingyen. These are forms of community participation or contribution in the rites of passage where the family is not left alone to bear the costs. But, the practice has greatly evolved with time, especially in the practice of giving Potyeng. With ever-rising inflation, the rates of mandatory Potyeng-sel have increased to Rs 500 and 1000. Anything below is ridiculed.
On the other hand, the overall expenditure in organising these rituals and ceremonies had increased manifold particularly in marriage ceremonies with extravagantly decorated pandals and catering services with exorbitant rates, wedding cakes, momos and non-veg items, on-site tea and hot snacks and lavish feasts during Mangani Chakkouba. With the entry of event managers or the modern day Arangphams, the expenses had gone through the roof. These events handle everything from erecting pandals and decorating them with extravagant paraphernalia, photography sessions and videography, organising wedding cake parties, catering services and what not.
It was indeed lucky that they left the ritual part to the Arangphams. During Sradhha or Lanna Thouram, it has become customary nowadays to add a utensil or towel over and above the food items being offered and mandatory Dakhina. Indeed, the time has come for the society to fall back and think on extraneous expenses during such rituals and ceremonies.
