The feast that strengthens bond between brothers & sisters : Ningol Chakkouba

Hueiyen Lanpao *

Ningol on the way to her home during Ningol Chakkouba at Imphal on October 28 2011 :: Pix - Jinendra Maibam

Legend says Queen Leisana, the wife of King Pakhangba invited her brother Poireiton for a feast. This led to an annual ritual in which married women invited their brothers for partaking in a feast together.

However, this annual ritual ran into problems when a brother had more than one sisters and he was invited at the same time at different places. When King Chandrakirti was in a similar situation, he decided to invite all his sisters for the feast at his royal palace instead of him going to the houses of each sister.

Since then, it has become a tradition for the brothers to invite their sisters for the feast, and that is how the festival of Ningol Chakkouba, as it is known today, came into being.

It is that time of the year again when the markets are abuzz with last minute shopping for Ningol Chakkouba festival which falls on November 15, and why shouldn’t it be? After all, it is one of the biggest but most important festivals, eagerly awaited by all.

Ningol Chakkouba is the celebration of inalienable bonding between the brothers and sisters and preparation for the festival began days in advance with family members engage in hectic shopping for feast to be prepared and the gifts to be presented.

On the day of the festival, the married Ningols come to the brothers’ houses and maternal places not just to share a sumptuous meal but also the joys and sorrows of life.

After the meal, the brothers presented some simple gifts as token of love and the Ningols blessed their brothers for long life and well-being. This, in short, is the very feature and essence of celebrating Ningol Chakkouba.

However, over the years, the significance of celebrating Ningol Chakkouba seems to have been overshadowed by the mad rush for competition over the gifts to be presented/given.

On the other hand, for the ever increasing number of widows, whose husbands have fallen victims to the ongoing armed conflict, celebration of Ningol Chakkouba is becoming meaningless. This is indeed sad.

See a list of Photo Galleries for Ningol Chakkouba Festival here