|
A Note On Manipuri Ethnographic Materials Held In Museums In England
By John Parratt
This brief paper is an initial compilation of artifacts and other materials of ethnographic interest removed from Manipur during the period of British domination and lodged in museums in the
United Kingdom. It is not at this stage exhaustive. Some materials in British museums originating from Manipur are not specifically labeled as such and are therefore difficult lo trace, and there remain several smaller museums to be investigated.
It may be that in some cases artifacts of similar design are not readily accessible in Manipur itself, and some items (such as paintings) are unique. I hope that this preliminary list may be of some use to Manipuri researchers, and copies of the catalogue details of these holdings have been lodged in the State Archives. With the exception of the few manuscripts in Meitei
Mayek, this article does not deal with archival or manuscript sources concerning or originating from Manipur, nor I have been able as yet to compile a comprehensive list of photographs relating to Manipur.
The British Museum
Probably the most important item held in the British Museum is a set of nine stone panels, which were among the many items obtained from Mrs. E. Moysey, the daughter of Col. Maxwell' in 1928-9 (As; 1928:1201.1 -9). According to her information the panels originally came from a temple dedicated to Brindaban Chandra and built around 1840, though the panels themselves are probably earlier and originally stood in a temple in Langthabal. (NOTE who moved the capital?) They represent Hindu deities. One (panel 2) is clearly of the dance of Radha and Krishna and the last panel, which is badly damaged, also shows a dancing god, panels I and 3 show figures, probably also gods, sitting beneath a snake. This may be meant as a
Pakhangba symbol, or simply a
Naga motif. The remaining panels show figures seated on variety of animals and in warlike poses.
Also of considerable interest are four firearms, obtained from the widow of
J.C.Higgins', which were confiscated by him after the Kuki war of l918. Three of these are rifles with iron flintlock mechanism, with some of the metal parts engraved. Two are damaged. The other firearm is a pistol, also engraved, with a cap-firing mechanism. The only other weapon exhibit is the shaft of an Angami spear.
There are also early examples of an iron and wood Naga axe and dao. Both are over one hundred years old, being donated in 1872 and 1879 respectively. There is a particularly fine example of a Meitei Kaosel, with lid, called in the catalogue a 'pan box' which must come from around the same period (AS: -1962:07.3a& b). Made of brass, it is intricately decorated and has five small 'feet' as its base. The remainder of the holdings in the British Museum consists of textiles of Angami, Kabui and Zemi manufacture, and a single piece of basketry.
The Pitt-Rivers Museum
The Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford has a larger collection of Manipuri artifacts, and its list of donors of these items reads like a who's who of British officers who served in the north east: Johnstone (3), Shakespeare (4) Hutton (5), Mills (6), and Higgins all made donations, as did Sir Robert Reid, Governor of Assam, from 1937-1942.
A number of these items are of particular interest. Foremost perhaps is a pair of cast brass models of the
Nongsha, which stood in the palace until they were destroyed by the British forces in 1891. The
Cheitharol Kumbaba actually lists this item as among the large number of artifacts Shakespeare took with him when he left Manipur in 1904 (though they were not donated to the museum until nearly twenty years later. These figures each have two large branch horns (As: 1923:V11.72).
Some of the large number of Meitei games, which Shakespeare took at the same time, has also found their way into the Pitt-Rivers Museum. These include two sets of dice made from deer antler (confiscated, as the note explains, from a gambling prosecution), and Kong disks.
Shakespeare states that the circular ivory disk was used by women and the wooden one by children. The men's disk is oval in shape and made of deer antler bone. The brassware includes three further examples of
Kaosel, one with an exceptionally long neck. They have ornamental banding, though not as extensive or intricate as the example in the British Museum, and probably date from about the beginning of the century. Other brassware includes two items from Moirang for Hindu puja, a lamp and a bell surmounted by a winged deity. There is also a pair of brass cymbals with typically embossed centers.
The museum has a particularly rich collection of horse equipment, most of it donated by J. Dalton Woodthorpe from Cachar in 1918. The attribution of these items to Manipur is regarded by the museum catalogue as doubtful, but they do represent the type of horse gear common in Manipur at the time, and it can be assumed that they originated among Meiteis who had settled in Cachar. Included are elaborate saddles, girths (one with silver inlaid buckles), stirrups and decorated headstalls and tail ornaments.
Sir James Johnstone had previously donated a polo saddle and mallets dating from the 1880s. Of exceptional interest is a collection of twenty
Arambai, each around 84 mm in length, complete with a quiver. When Higgins gave these to the museum in 1930 he noted that 'the last expert thrower has died, but one or two men still make them.'
Two examples of the pena exist. The earlier, donated in 1909 is incomplete, consisting of only the basic parts of the
maru, and a fragment of the
cheiging. It is clear from these examples that the construction of the
pena has remained unchanged during this century.
The textiles include a fairly full set of women's costumes for the
Ras Lila, which are much older than the date of their accession in the state. Robert Reid also donated several items of dress, which much have come from royalty or the aristocracy. The Victoria and Albert Museum also has a few items of clothing including a dance costume. The only personal ornaments are a couple of necklaces, probably of Naga origin. The single example of basket ware is not from Manipur itself, but was obtained from Manipuris exiled to the Andaman Islands after the conflict of 1891.
Coins and Painting
The British Museum has a large collection of Manipuri coins, including about fifty made of gold. Most of latter are hexagonal in shape, though a few are round and square. All are heavily inscribed. There are also nearly fifty seal in the Pitt-Rivers Museum. They remain to be properly dated. The Horniman Museum contains sixteen small-framed painting of scenes from Manipur, which were donated by Professor Coddrington in 1948. These are of court scenes and boat racing, but the artist is not identified.
Manuscripts in Meitei Mayek
I have traced only three such manuscripts in Britain, all held in the British Library, Oriental & India Office Collection:
1) OR. 7563 a Sanchi bark ms. Of 26 leaves, between decorated lacquered boards: this seems to be an astrological text.
2) OR. 1715 a paper ms. in Meitei mayek with some Bengali and Sanskrit, 69 leaves but in very poor condition. Possibly an invocation to Radha and Krishna from the 18th or 19th century.
3) OR. 4781 a palm leaf ms. of 67 leaves between wooden board; catalogue gives it as 'Triganda, legend of Ram Rambul of Bayanadi' (?) None of these texts seems to be particularly early and it doubtful if they have any value for the study of early Meitei literature.
Notes
My grateful thanks are due to the Directors of the museums referred to in this paper and their staffs for providing detailed information about some of these artifacts.
1) H. St. John Maxwell served as Chief Political Officer in Manipur for a number of periods from 1891.
2) J.C. Higgins was Vice-President of the Manicure State Durbar in 1910, and became Political Agent in 1924.
3) Col. Sir James Johnstone was political Agent between 1877-1886.
4) Col. John Shakespeare was political agent between 1905-8 and 1909-14, and wrote a number of papers on Manipuri culture.
5) J.H. Hutton served in Bengal and Assam until 1938 and authored a significant book on caste as well as works on the Angami and Sema Nagas.
6) J.P. Mills served in Assam from 1913, and became Secretary to Sir Robert Reid when he was Governor of Assam. He published three books on Nagas.
Main Addresses:
*The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG (includes
Museum of Mankind)
*The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW12DB.
*The Pitt-Rivers Museum, South Park Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ
*The Victoria & Albert Museum, South Kensington, London SW7 2HL
*University of Cambridge Museum of Archeology & Anthropology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DZ.
(The author, professor of Theology, University of Birmingham, U.K., has published a number of books on Manipuri culture and its people)
(Courtesy: The Orient Vision)
|
Welcome! 
International
Features
