Gods, Deities, and Spirits
The Kabui believe that the destiny of human beings is in the hands of God who is called Tingkao Ragwang or Tingkao Lagwang. He is believed to be the supreme creator of the universe through different deities, and is believed to be living in heaven.
Ragwang or Lagwang literally means “King of Gods”, that is the Supreme God; the two words representing phonetic variation in different localities. Tingkao is the Supreme God and as He is believed to be the king of gods, His name and attributes go together and He is known as Tingkao Ragwang; He can do everything for humans. Thus, He can make them happy, healthy, wealthy, and prosperous or just reverse of it, if He likes them to be so. He possesses all human attributes. He has a wife, children and so on. He is said to have seven sons. It is also believed that the Tingkao-Ragwang eats food and drinks rice-beer like any human being. He is just a benevolent God who is dealing with humans according to his deeds. In recent years, He is worshipped in a kalumkai (temple), and He is described as omnipresent.Obviously, Tingkao Ragwang punishes the robber, the wicked individual, and the wrong doer by putting them in all sorts of distress and disappointment during their worldly life here or by making their lives shorten; while the honest people, the hard-working people, and those good men who help the poor and needy are rewarded by Him with happiness and a longer life. Therefore, the Kabui revere Him as the protector of human beings and animals from evil spirits, death, and disaster; and as the remover of every obstacle, giver of health (meicravmeicric/meicravgaymei), wealth (lanv), longer life (panty sangmei), and so on. He is in fact believed to be the final judge and protector of all living things in the world. He lives in heaven where peace prevails for eternity; He is immortal, eternal, and has no birth and death.
He is believed to have ever-wakeful eyes (ka-mheek) with which He can see everything in the universe.In recent years, as it is observed during field study, Tingkao Ragwang is equated with Kubai religion. He is interpreted as rules and regulations and thus the religion of His followers (the TRC). He is the God, and at the same time He is the founder of the religion.
In addition to this Supreme God, there are many other gods and goddesses. For instance, as has been mentioned, Tingkao Ragwang has seven sons, who are also gods. Moreover, there are many benevolent and malevolent spirits too. Among the Kabui, the TRC group never worship the evil spirits, but they are used to give their shares while worshipping or offering other gods/deities/good spirits, so that they do not disturb the occasion or ceremony. Some important spirits, good and evil, believed by the Kabui are listed as under:
Apouna/Ragwang (good spirit)
Bisnu/Bonchanu/Manchanu(good spirit)
Napsinmei (god of paddy)
Koklumei (good spirit) Chonchai (good spirit/god for prosperity) Karangong (good spirit)
Charakilongmei (good spirit, for the welfare of humankind) Kairao (presiding deity of the house/ancestors)
Kaipibhamboo and Kaibabhamboo (village deities, both of them are also collectively known as Soang/Shong)
Dampapu-Dampapui (God and Goddess of creation) Champei (Goddess of birds and animals)
Karampou-Karampui (presiding deities of the locality) Zongumei (evil spirit)
Kaibhamei (evil spirit) Changlhu (evil spirit) Changlhu-lhudai (evil spirit, north) Changbang-lhudai (evil spirit, south) Taroi Gang (presiding deity in the land of deaths Pung-la (presiding deity of mounds, considered to be an evil spirit) Maigang (fire god)
Pong-Gwang (wind god) Ting-Gwang (rain god) Mong-Gwang (cloud god) Bangla-Gwang (earthquake god) Di-tingpu-Di-Zangpui (Father & Mother goddess earth) Kaikulla (presiding deity of each corner)
Lang-bhangla (spirit dwelling under the bedsteads) Lam-la (evil spirits)
Laora (god of paddy field, evil spirit) Kapakara (evil spirits/devils)
Duira (water god)
Thingphalla (forest deity)
Kunmei (good spirit, considered to be the protector of the village concerned) Chagamei/Pa Ra (evil spirit)
Kapenpu and Kapenpui (evil spirits, who are in-charge of any kind of epidemic etc.) Kunmei (good spirit, considered to be the protector of the village concerned)
Changmei/Pa Ra (evil spirits residing by the roadsides)
Kapenpui (evil spirit, who is in-charge of any kind of epidemic)
Here, the author would like to list some gods, goddess, and deities that are regularly worshipped by this community to appease them on different occasions.
Though some of them are frequently worshipped, others are not worshipped as frequently. Due to space constraints, the author has selected and listed the most frequently worshipped gods and deities under the following headings:4.1.1 Apouna/Ragwang (Good Spirit)
He is the eldest son of Tingkao Ragwang. The Kabui of TRC group worship him as the protector of the village concerned, for he is a village god. If there is any occasion in a village, or in a family, the Peimei/Peikai (member/office of the traditional village council called Pei) or the host perform gulim-dansanmei (ritual offering of ginger), and joupaankeimei (libation of rice-beer) and he is invoked and worshipped. Here a difference is clearly seen in the case of gulim-dansanmei. If it is performed at the village level, it is meant for predicting an omen, whereas when it is performed at the individual level, simply offerings are made without the process of predicting an omen relating to the occasion.
4.1.2 Bisnu/Bonchanu/Manchanu (Good Spirit)
Among the seven sons of the Supreme God, he stands in the second position. He is considered by this community as the good spirit. According to the mythology of the community, he left Manipur and stayed in a cave of Bhubon hill, located in the Cachar district of Assam. Hence, this god is mostly worshipped by the Kabui of Assam, particularly the so called Heraka group. The TRC group also believes in Him, though they do not worship Him like the Kabui of Assam or Heraka group.
4.1.3 Kairao (Household Deities/Ancestors)
Literally, kai means house, and rao means deity. The Kabui believe that the Kairao is the deified soul and embodiment of the departed souls of ancestors. Generally, this tribe has a firm belief that the surviving members of the family enjoy prosperity, good health, etc. with the blessings of their ancestors. It is also said that Kairao is the giver of offspring, corn, cattle, pigs, dogs, etc. as well as the remover of obstacles and the protector of individuals of the family concerned from unnatural death.
There is a deep-rooted faith among the Kabui that the untimely death of any person in the family takes place only when Kairao has handed over the soul of the person concerned to the evil spirit(s). Above all, the anger of this deity causes barrenness of the surviving members (female) of the family and their (female) domestic animals.The Kabui people believe that Kairao dwells on one of the legs of the tripod, made of upright stones or iron, of every family hearth. The other two legs are also dwelling places of two deities of wealth, Kambupui to the left and Charaipui to the right of the dwelling place of Kairao. However, Kairao is worshipped on any important occasion of the family, particularly by the head of the family and his wife. On such occasions, the head of the family offers rice-beer to the deity, while his wife offers cooked rice, cooked-meat, and also rice-beer.
To appease Kairao, the Kabui also perform another religious ceremony locally called the Kairao-thee. The first one, related to important occasions, is performed on a small scale seeking blessings so that family members do not commit any mistake. The Kairao-thee ceremony is, however, held on large scale and meant to appease the Kairao for the welfare of the community. A full-grown pig is generally sacrificed in a large scale ceremony with customary rites and rituals.
Regarding the belief and practices of the TRC followers in urban areas, it was noted that most of the families still continue believing in Kairao and worship it with some modification. Though they are using gas stoves or other appliances in the urban areas for cooking purposes in the kitchen, they setup these hearths either for the time of worship or permanently in the house for the purpose of worshipping. In every Kabui village the author visited, followers of Heraka faith were not reported. Even though Heraka faith is common for the Zeliangrong people, it is mostly accepted among the Kabui of Assam.
4.1.4 Kaipi Bhamboo and Kaiba Bhamboo (Village Deities)
According to my informants, these village deities are worshipped from the time of yore; hence, belief and worship of these deities have formed in an important component of their religious worldview.
Both of these deities are also collectively known as Soang. The Bhamboos/Soang are small menhirs. They are found in each and every Kabui/Ruangmei/Rongmei village, one to the north (kaipi) and the other to the south (kaiba) of the village concerned. The duality of these deities is also indicated by the dual names by which they are known. Thus, the deity in-charge of the northern side or gate of the village is called Kaipi Bhamboo, while the other one standing in-charge of the southern gate is known as Kaiba Bhamboo. These deities (Soang) are regarded by the TRC group of the Kabui as the protectors of the villagers, birds, and animals of the village from evil spirits and diseases. To date every Kabui village has these structures regardless of their religion. But the TRC group has a deep-rooted faith in them and continue to perform rituals; whereas those Kabui who are baptised to Christianity have abandoned their beliefs and practices, but have not dismantled the structures.Conventionally, no temple is built for these deities. Simply, one particular spot with a miniature menhir on either side (northern and southern) of every Kabui village, is kept reserved for these two deities. Now-a-days, in some villages the author has come-across two smaller huts meant for these deities. In fact, such places are rather sanctified places unfrequented by men, women, and children. Chickens are generally sacrificed in these places from time to time to propitiate the deities for protecting them from unwanted events like epidemic, death, and other natural disasters.
4.1.5 Dampapu-Dampapui (God and Goddess of Creation)
This god and goddess are generally regarded as the Father and Mother of all living beings of the universe. Thus, whenever a child fails to have his or her normal growth certain rites like Dampakhonmei and Dampagallhou are performed so that the young child resumes his/ her normal growth.
4.1.6 Champei (Goddess of Birds and Animals)
It is strongly believed among the Kabui that without the favour of Champei one can never succeed in hunting, fishing, etc.
So, the first thing a hunter has to do before his venture to a forest for hunting or trapping is to offer ginger, or an egg, or release a chicken in the name of Champei with a prayer for big game. Hunting is restricted in these days due to a ban by the Government of Manipur. Hence, hunting on a large scale, i.e., group hunting is reduced except on religious ground. Nevertheless, individual hunting and trapping are still pursued to keep the belief and tradition alive.4.1.7 Karampou-Karampui (Presiding Deities of the Places)
The Kabui have a firm belief that various gods and goddesses are always in-charge of various places of the entire surface of the earth. Thus, according to them, no inch of any part of the earth’s surface is without a presiding deity since one or the other god/goddess is always incharge of this or that place. However, they also believe that all the places and their presiding deities are under the charge of Karampou-Karampui and so, the duo is worshipped in every place. Whenever one feels a sense of fear while moving in the woods or meadows he or she offers the deities anything in possession to avert it. And in that case, if he/she has nothing with him/her at that moment, he/she may offer the deity any loose thread from any part of his/her own clothes, or he/she may offer the deities even green grass or green leaves available there.
In this way, for successful hunting or trapping a hunter may offer something that he can afford to the Karmpou-Karampui of that place before he actually starts hunting or trapping there.
There are some evil spirits like Kapakara, Kunmei, Zongumei, Changlhu, Changlhu- lhudai, Chabang-lhudai, Chagamei/Pa Ra, Kaibhamei Taroi Gang, Pung-la, Lam-la, etc. These evil spirits are not worshipped by this tribe (TRC group) separately, but for every religious rite and ritual, a share (particularly the ritual offerings) is always given to each of them so that they do not create disturbance during the occasion.
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