Banks Khwairamband Market II

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E-Pao! Education - Khwairamband Women Market

An Exploratory Study Of
Khwairamband Women Market In Manipur
– Highlights The Business Opportunities For Banks -
Part II

By: Thingbaijam Michael Khumancha *

4. Constituents of the Khwairamband Keithel

The market is mainly confined to the nucleus of Khwairamband Keithel that houses a couple of Keithel Lairembi statue in the southern side of the main bazaar. However, adjoining the Lairembi, the main market is called Nupi Keithel.

In olden days, only the Nupi Keithel was known as the Khwairamband bazaar. However, expansions have been taken place around the nucleus in the following ways.

i) Nupi Keithel: around the nucleus
ii) Laxmi Keithel: in the southeastern direction of Nupi Keithel.
iii) Nupa Keithel: in the southeastern direction of Nupi Keithel.
iv) Linthoingambi Keithel: in the eastern direction of Nupi Keithel.
v) Yenyonfam : in the eastern direction of Linthoingambi Keithel.
vi) Imoinu Keithel: in the backside of Thangal bazaar and in the southern direction of Punshi Keithel.
vii) Punshi Keithel: in the northern direction of Imoinu Keithel and western strip of Thangal bazaar.
viii) Nagamapal Keithel: along the western bank of the Naga river which is also on the western direction of Nupi Keithel

a) Nupi Keithel

This is the oldest nucleus of the Khwairamband Keithel (Bazaar). Since the time of Kings (Meiding-ngu), this market has been the main market area of the Khwairamband Keithel. At one time, even ladies from royal house used to sit and sell materials. Thus a universal feature was in existence irrespective caste, creed and class.

The Nupi Keithel consists of around 25 sheds. There are around 45 women in each shed. In the bazaar numerous items are traded, viz., vegetable, fishes, ornaments and jewellery, plantain leafs, dried fishes, smoked fishes and numerous seasonal vegetables for local consumption. Here, the women are both primary vendors and secondary vendors.

Primary vendors are those who sell their goods grown in their locality or homestead. Secondary vendors, however, collect the goods in early morning from primary vendors and sell them at a higher price in the market. Primary vendors come from places like Nambol, Wangjing, Kongba bazaar, Thoubal, Moirang etc., at around 4 A.M. IST in the morning and the goods are either sold to secondary vendors or they stay back to sell their goods including the vegetables and fishes.

There are 4 sheds of fishes in the Nupi Keithel. There are more crowds in these sheds, may be because Manipuri people have a preference for fishes as a delicacy.

The primary vendors buy fishes from fish farmers coming from distance places and come to bazaar in buses and mini buses. Similar is the way for vegetables vendors also. The secondary vendors come from Greater Imphal area. They are known as Lalyonbi in Manipuri ( Meitei) language.

Early in the morning they (the Lalyonbi or secondary vendors) collect all the saleable goods at a cheaper price from the bus station where goods are brought by the primary vendors. After transacting with primary vendors the goods are taken to the sheds either by potters or by rickshaws.

There is one exclusive shed of pottery and eating platform for the women. The pot vendors purchase pots from primary vendors and cash payment is made on the spot. The primary vendors visit the Nupi Keithel around 10 times in a month. These primary pot vendors come from distant areas like Nongpok Sekmai, Chairen, Kakching and Thongjao area of Manipur.

There is one shed for Manipuri Pangal (Muslims) who sell eggs, tobacco leaves and dried fishes. Like in other parts of the Nupi Keithel, the Muslim ladies mainly sell their goods in this shed. They (Muslim) freely intermingled with Meitei community in the market.

Thus, a form of unity of different cultures is found in the Nupi Keithel. Around the Nupi Keithel, there is a complete row of Dukans (shops) that sell numerous grocery items ranging from Ngari (fermented fishes) to rice and other household items. These rows of dukans are on the northern, western and southern direction of the Nupi Keithel.

b) Laxmi Keithel

The Laxmi market lies in the southeastern direction of the Nupi Keithel. There are 14 sheds in this market. Each shed houses around 50 ladies. The sheds are made of masonry work, unlike in the Nupi Keithel.

The items traded in this market consist mainly of handloom products such as phanek, chaddar, tablecloths, mosquito nets and loincloths etc. Handloom weavers, however, generally do not come to the market to sell their product. The secondary vendors primarily sell the handloom products in the market from morning to evening.

Handloom weavers operate in two different ways for marketing their products in the market. These are:

Local non-Manipuri dukans supply yarn to the weavers. The weavers make the cloths with the yarns. When weaving is completed, the weavers hand over the cloths to the secondary vendors after getting the money for weaving. The secondary vendors sell the cloths in the Laxmi Keithal.
In some cases, the vendor herself may be a weaver. In that case she herself sells her woven cloths in the bazaar.
In other cases, a Lalyonbi collects woven cloths and she herself sells them in the Laxmi market.

This market is almost an extension of Linthoingambi Keithel, if we look at the products only. There is generally more crowd in the Khwairamband Keithel than in the Laxmi Keithel.

This may be because of availability of all types of goods needed for daily use in that market. The goods that are not sold are kept in lockers made out of trunks and locked in the market. A guard keeps the vigil of the goods at night. However, vendors who are from within the greater Imphal area either keep their goods in a nearby shop or the goods are taken back to their respective home.

c) Nupa Keithel:

The term “Nupa Keithel” means, “Market in which men sit and sell”. According to history of Manipur there were Nupi lal (Revolution by Women) in 1905 and 1935 in which all the ladies of the Khwairamband market were in revolt making the bazaar very sparse.

Hence, men came to the market to do business. Thus, the Nupa Keithel was made in the Imphal area. However, there is negligible number of men in the Nupa Keithel now. It is just a name and most of the vendors are women only.

At present, there are only two rows of sheds which merged with the Masjid road, Imphal. Here, the vendors mainly deal in handicraft articles. The items include bamboo baskets, kouna phak, ebony baskets, and decorative handicrafts items. There are about 150 women traders in this market. Here, some male shopkeepers are also seen in the market.

d) Linthoingambi Keithel:

This market lies in the eastern direction of the Nupi Keithel and south-eastern direction of the Nupa Keithel. The Linthoingambi Keithel is also known as “Phi Yonpham” which literally means “the market in which clothes are sold.” There are 16 sheds.

These sheds house around 800 women traders. The sheds are made of masonry work, unlike the Nupi Keithel. Around the Linthoingambi Keithel, there are shops around the northern, western and southern directions. In the northern direction, there is a shed in which metal articles like tong, knives, and other iron utensils of daily use are sold.

The items that are sold are mainly of handloom products, namely Phanek, Chaddar, table cloths, shawls, mosquito nets, fishing nets and loin cloths etc. There are also vendors who sell items for gods and deities like the costumes for Manipuri dances and Lai Harouba articles.

This is the main market in which all handloom articles are sold in this nucleus of handloom market. The market is a tourist spot and every Foreigners who visit Imphal usually pay a visit to this Keithel. This is a crowded market.

Similar to the Laxmi Keithel, in the Linthoingambi Keithel also local non-Manipuri dukans supply yarn to the weavers for making the cloths and on completion, the cloths are handed over to the secondary vendors.

The secondary vendors transact in Laxmi bazaar. In addition, lalyonbi collects finished cloths and sells them in this market on her own. Unsold stocks are kept in lockers and or the vendors from greater Imphal area either keep their goods in a nearby shop or the goods are taken back to their respective home.

e) Yenyonfam Keithel:

The word “Yenyonfam” means “the place in which hens are sold”. This name is perhaps given because of the nature of goods traded. This shed lies in the eastern direction of the Linthoingabi Keithel.

There is only one shed in which Muslim traders ( secondary vendor) sell chicken, pigeon and ducks, all in living state. The secondary vendors purchase poultry items from different and distant places to sell them in this market. There are about 60 secondary vendors in this shed. In the Yenyonfam Keithel both male and female vendors operate.

f) Imoinu Keithel:

There is a road coming out from the Nupi Keithel toward the Nagamapan Dukanthong Bridge. The shops lying along this road is called the Imoinu Keithel. “Imoinu” is the goddess of plenty and welfare in Meitei pantheon.

The Imoinu Keithel is in the backside of the Thangal bazaar and in the southern direction of the Punshi Keithel. Earlier this was known as the Ngari gali by local peoples. But in recent times numerous vendors operate in this market. Now the number of vendors has increased tremendously.

There are about 60 shops on each side of the road and there are about 75 vendors along the side of the road. The items sold are betel nuts, eggs, dried and fermented fishes, Beetle leaves, etc.

g) Punshi Keithel:

This Keithel lie in the northern direction of the Imoinu Keithel and on western strip of the Thangal bazaar bounded by the Naga River. There are about 60 shops and 90 vendors sitting along the roads.

The items that are sold here are jewelry items, vegetables and grocery items, which are, used daily. In short, the Punshi Keithel can be taken as a conglomerate of shops assembled together.

h) Nagamapal Keithel:

This market lies along the western bank of the Naga River, which is also on the western direction of the Nupi Keithel. Imphal Municipality has constructed 10 sheds. Each shed houses about 75 women. The sheds are made out of wood and galvanized iron sheets.

The main items of transactions are fishes, dried chilies, fermented bamboo shoot ( called Soibum), green vegetables, betel leaves, fruits and grocery items. The Nagamapal Keithel can be described as an extension of the Nupi Keithel.

There are shops along the western side of the Nagamapal road, which do business that are done at par with the Thangal bazaar. Along the northern side tribal women are seen selling items from the hills like plantain leaves, pumpkins, potatoes and other forest product.

Thingbaijam Michael Khumancha

* Thingbaijam Michael Khumancha (Meiraba) prepared this report and was approved by Dr D. D. Mali, Former Director, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship, Guwahati , India.
You can contact Meiraba at khumancham(at)rediffmail(dot)com .
This article was webcasted on March 13th, 2007.

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