Historical Period18c CE
Indigenous Meitei tradition — pre-Hindu; written sources c. 18th c.
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Deities
Pakhangba
Pākhaṅgbā — serpent-god of the Meitei of Manipur
Pākhaṅgbā — serpent-god of the Meitei of Manipur
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Pakhangba (Pākhaṅgbā) is the primordial serpent-dragon god of the Meitei people of Manipur. The Meitei indigenous religion (Sanamahi / Meitei Lairol) preserves a cosmology that long predates the 18th-century conversion of the Manipuri royalty to Vaiṣṇava Hinduism.
In Meitei cosmology:
Pakhangba is the royal emblem of the Meitei monarchs — the Ningthoujas, who ruled Manipur from the early historical period until 1891 CE (British annexation). His coiled form appears on the flag of the independent Kingdom of Manipur and remains the emblem of Meitei ethnic identity.
The Lai Haraoba ("pleasing the gods") festival is the central ritual of Sanamahi Meitei religion. Over 3–12 days, the creation of the cosmos is re-enacted through ritual dance performed by Maibi (priestess) and Maiba (priest). Pakhangba's role in the cosmogony is enacted through serpent-form dances.
The Meitei Sanamahi religion has been undergoing revival since the 1930s, with growing numbers of Meiteis formally reverting from Vaiṣṇava Hinduism (imposed by King Pamheiba 1717) to indigenous Meitei Lairol worship.
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