title: "Leimaren Sidabi" tradition_name: "Leimaren — the Meitei mother-earth goddess" category: "deity" description: "Leimaren Sidabi — Leimaren — the Meitei mother-earth goddess. Non-Brahminic tradition: Sanamahi, Meitei." tradition: ["Sanamahi", "Meitei"] district: "Imphal East" historical_period: "Pre-historic Meitei" geographical_spread: "Imphal, Imphal East, Manipur" audience_level: "All" verification_status: "UNVERIFIED" last_updated: "2026-04-24" mantra: "Oral Meitei invocations" sacred_offerings: ["tradition-specific local offerings (rice-beer, eggs, grain, mithun, fowl, etc. per tradition)"] sacred_colours: ["red (earth)", "yellow"] sources:
- { tier: 2, type: "book", title: "Sanamahi tradition: scholarly and community sources" }
- { tier: 2, type: "book", title: "Tribal Religions of India", author: 'Sarat Chandra Roy / L. P. Vidyarthi / S. C. Sinha' }
- { tier: 3, type: "gazetteer", title: "Imphal East District Gazetteer" } geo:
- country: "India" state: "Manipur" district: "Imphal East" town: "Imphal" lat: 24.817 lon: 93.9368 temples:
- name: "Main shrine of Leimaren Sidabi" location: "Imphal" district: "Imphal East" state: "Manipur" country: "India" built_century: "Pre-historic Meitei" note: "Leimaren — the Meitei mother-earth goddess" lat: 24.817 lon: 93.9368 festival_dates: ["Lai Haraoba"] festivals:
- name: "Lai Haraoba" month: "Vaishakha (April–June)" duration: "15–20 days" worship: daily_rites: ["tradition-specific (see body)"] offerings_sequence: ["see body"] stories:
- title: "The sacred narrative of Leimaren Sidabi" source: "Community tradition + scholarly sources" summary: "Leimaren Sidabi (lit. "mother-earth-eternal") is the earth-goddess consort of Atingkok Maru Sidaba in Meitei cosmogony. She is the mother of Pakhangba, Sanamahi, Nongpok Ningthou, and all other Meitei deities. Worship is aniconic — invocation, libation, offering of sacred foods. Every Meitei ritual involves the invocation of Leimaren. During Lai Haraoba (April–June), she is honoured with special dances and pōṅ (drum) rituals." primary_scriptures:
- title: "Oral tradition of Sanamahi" type: "liturgical chants / folk narrative"
Leimaren Sidabi
Tradition: Sanamahi / Meitei
This entry honours the self-representation of Sanamahi tradition. India's sacred landscape includes hundreds of traditions beyond the Brahminical-Vedic canon. Each has its own cosmology, priesthood, ritual calendar, and relationship with the sacred landscape. Each deserves first-person recognition.
The Place
- Location: Imphal, Imphal East, Manipur (24.817°N, 93.9368°E)
- Tradition: Sanamahi, Meitei
- Historical: Pre-historic Meitei
Story & Worship
Leimaren Sidabi (lit. "mother-earth-eternal") is the earth-goddess consort of Atingkok Maru Sidaba in Meitei cosmogony. She is the mother of Pakhangba, Sanamahi, Nongpok Ningthou, and all other Meitei deities. Worship is aniconic — invocation, libation, offering of sacred foods. Every Meitei ritual involves the invocation of Leimaren. During Lai Haraoba (April–June), she is honoured with special dances and pōṅ (drum) rituals.
Mantra / Invocation
Oral Meitei invocations
Festival Calendar
- Lai Haraoba (Vaishakha (April–June), 15–20 days)
Sources
Drawn from scholarly ethnographies of Indian tribal and regional religions (Roy, Vidyarthi, Sinha, Fuchs, Sarkar, Sontheimer, Kinsley), colonial-era gazetteers, and contemporary community documentation.