Yaoshang is one of the most important festivals of Manipur which is celebrated for five days during the Meitei lunar month of Lamta. The month of Lamta is significant in the sense that womenfolk come out in the streets to appease the spirits on every Saturday (LamtaThangja) with offerings collected from every household in the locality. In course of time, the festival came to be associated with Manipuri Vaishnavism, a cult followed by majority of the Meiteis.
As it happens with the onset of Spring season, it is also associated with age-old tradition of Thabal Chongba which is in fact a formal occasion for young boys and girls to meet. What is Thabal Chongba and what it means for the Manipuri society?
One often tries to get away with the simplistic description of a popular folk dance during the annual Yaoshang Festival and by even a literal definition of Thabal Chongba as‘dancing by moonlight’. The only other occasion existing till today albeit only in some rural areas is ‘Likkon-Saanaba’ where young boys and girls gather for a game of dice. Perhaps it is because of the stars, adolescent urges to understand members of the other sex begin to develop in the Meitei month of Lamta as a prelude to the onset of the creation festivities like Lai Haraoba season in the month of Kalen. Every youth has gone through this phase and no one had bypass it. ThabalChongba is one such occasion where the adolescent urges or itch is channelized ritually through a merry dance. It is not just of holding hands and dancing away the night with gay abandon. For two consecutive years we have banned the Thabal Chongba ritual or festivities. It means bottling up the itch or adolescent urges and it could most possibly lead to negative social situations which we all would want to avoid.
We have seen in the past, explosion of negative sexual behaviour among the youth as a result of extreme forms of restrictions and conservatism.
Essentially, Thabal Chongba is a folk dance with a purpose for the Manipuris. It serves as one of the socially sanctioned forms of courtship between adolescent boys and girls, with roots in the creation myths and fertility rites of yore. Being a conservative society, courting is usually allowed at the girl’s home under parental supervision. Yet, socially sanctioned spaces are also created for boys and girls to meet and get to know each other. Thabal Chongba is one such space which continues till today although the forms and settings have evolved. But, it is always under the watchful eyes of the brothers and mothers as it is always held at the locality of the girl. It so happened that Yaoshang festivities merely coincides with the Hindu festival of Holi.
Yaosang begins with Yaosang Mei thaba, where a traditional hut is burnt after due benediction to the local diety. As soon as the temporary hut is burnt, children will go to every house for monetary donations called Nakatheng and after they receive the Nakatheng the children will blessed the donors for a bountiful future. During the next days, groups of local bands will visit homes of well-to-do families and perform Holi. Meanwhile, girls come out in the streets and seek donations from people for organizing Thabal Chongba.
In the last few decades, local clubs have started organizing sport events for children and women-folk and a sporting movement ensued. Besides, the revivalist tendencies involved, it is a creative and innovative idea of introducing sports during Yaoshang festival. Nevertheless, Thabal Chongba still remains the big event. We once again wish our youth will enjoy Yaoshang this time.
