Cane and Bamboo Crafts of Manipur
- Part 6 -

By: Mutua Bahadur *

CONTAINER BASKETS

People both in the valley and in the hills have long since been using container baskets for keeping items of daily need. Although such use has been given up to a great extent, it is nonetheless in continuance even today. The container basket has no fixed size. Rather, the size of a container basket determined by the purpose which it is particularly going to be used for.

Meiteis use such baskets to keep cotton meant for making cloth; wares meant for selling at the market; fruits, betel nuts, betel leaves, meant for marriage ceremonies, religious ceremonies; and also grain, rice and vegetables. The tribal roups also use container baskets to keep yarn meant for making cloth; grain, rice, etc. and also to keep rice-beer contained in Tumba or dried hollowed-out gourd.

The container basket used by the Meiteis for marriage and other religious purposes is known as Lukmai (Fig. 30). In the rural areas, each household of every village has at least one to two of these lukmais. It is treated almost as a compulsory item in the household. For the urban people who do not own lukmais, the practice is to hire these baskets from a Lukmai-shaanba, i.e. a person who hires out lukmais on payment.

The women-vendors at the local market display in lukmais all sorts of fancy wares like cosmetics, ornaments, beads, etc. and also items required in religious rituals and ceremonies. It is an age-old profession which is still in existence today. Taking cue from the word 'Lukmai, a woman vendor filing wares displayed on lukmais has been christened as the Lukmai-phambi (i.e., one sitting with a lukmai) by the people. The term is still being used to refer to this section of women vendors.

Meiteis use a particular type of container basket called Chengchamuk (Fig. 31) in which the finely winnowed rice meant for cooking is put to be washed thoroughly with water. In the hills, especially in the remote areas, long bamboo tubes, hollowed out sufficiently, are used for containing drinking water. These are stored inside the house, often piling one upon another. Many of the tribal groups use Tumbas to contain rice-beer and also to drink from.

To strengthen these tumbas, and also for easy carriage, the outer surface of the tumba is supplemented with a handsome weave done with cane splits. The pattern of the weave is diagonal filled in to the texture of the open hexagonal weave.

The Maram peoples living in Wilong use a container basket called Rashakok (Fig.32) which is finely woven in the open weave style with thin bamboo splits. In December there is a community festival in which banana leaves are spread out on these Rashakok baskets and the menfolk eat rice served on the banana leaves. Each household has a minimum of three to four Rashakoks, according to the number of family members in a particular household. It is an indispensable tradition for the Marams to keep Rashakoks if and when a new home springs up.

The Moyon and the Monsang tribes use a particular container basket called Irang (Fig.36) on which the steamed rice is poured out, and unwanted ingredients like rice chaffs, weed seeds, tiny pebbles, etc. are picked out. The form of the Irang is concave and it has a circular base which makes it possible to keep the basket firm without the least fear of tilting it. Irangs have two forms of weave: an outer weave and a surface weave.

The villagers of Andro use a small container basket, called Shamuk (Fig. 33) in connection with death rituals. It is a custom for the elders of the family to keep these baskets stored in the house. They are placed on scaffolds constructed for the purpose. A notable thing about Shamuks is that a person cannot make it whenever he pleases to do so. It is permissible to make one only during the festive month of Lamta (March-April) when their God, Panam Ningthou, celebrates. This tradition is still is continuance today.

Going back to the history of Manipur, i.e., during the Chahi Taret Khuntakpa or Seven Years' Devastation (1819-1826), when Manipur was conquered and ravaged by Burmese forces, Meitei soldiers used a container basket with which boiling water was poured on to the enemy soldiers from tree-tops. This container basket has a small lid, and the lid is attached to the body of the basket by a strap. The basket is perpendicular in structure. It is coated with Khe which makes the basket water-tight.

37. Selluk. Meitiei Bamboo basket used as a container for yarn and shuttle for weaving. Height 12 cm. Diameter of the mouth is 28 cm.

See a gallery photo of Cane and Bamboo Crafts of Manipur here.

To be continued ....

Mutua Bahadur

* Mutua Bahadur contributes to e-pao.net regularly. This article was webcasted on November 10, 2011.