The WARI initiative

In the concluding part of the Chothe world of spirits, Charles Yuhlung recollects his encounter with the 'Athi Thawai', the spirit of a deceased person.

Wari Scribbles Generally speaking, from my understanding, when a man dies his soul is transformed into a spirit which is invisible; a ghost is a spirit that is partially visible to the naked eyes and creates mischief to humans. The spirits that lost their ordained place of death become ghosts.    

"The uncanny could surprise us at any point and at anytime; yet why is it that we tend to associate such encounters more with the darkness of the night?"

Read the 3rd part of Charles Yuhlung's experience with the uncanny. This month, we have the case of the sounds of the stick thrown by an angry spirit.

Introducing the artwork of young Ms. Rasika Konsam

Wari Scribbles Manipur is filled with fascinating stories of ghosts, gods and goddesses. There are innumerable accounts that have been told in the past and only a few have been written. The reason, I believe, is that such stories are never considered of great moral value. Another reason might be because in the pas...

"This is love:
To fly towards a secret sky
To cause a hundred veils to fall each moment
First to let go of life. Finally,
To take a step without a feet"
- Rumi

Love is an emotion, an inspiration, an ideal and to many it has also been what underlies the pursuance of a personal conviction.

Divine love is at the core of devotional performances in Manipuri Vaishnavism. This month's photo essay captures glimpses of a Basak Utkantha performance.

Wari Visual Stories Devotional performances are central in the practice of Manipuri Vaishnavism. These performances are formulated in accordance to the religious philosophy. To the devout, they are expressions of devotions and at the same time occasions or opportunities where one may experience being touched by the gre...

It's the 4th of the month and we are back with the second part of the Chothe World of Spirits. This time, Charles Yuhlung tells us about his encounter with Arung Junpi Laihu (granule thrower).

Happy reading!

Wari Scribbles With time, I realised that many of the brave, weak, rich or poor person may accidentally encounter any of these spirits while some others may be specific targets of particular vengeful spirits. I also came to realise what the elders often said that there are good spirits and bad spirits, the benevol...

"In the midst of the cold winter month of Wakching of the Meitei almanac, a day is dedicated to the worship of Imoinu. Referred to with the epithet ‘chahong-ngahongbi’, she is often described as an equivalent to the goddess of prosperity elsewhere. The epithet refers specifically to food and literally bears direct reference to abundanceof rice grains and fish. The day marked for Imoinu worship is the 12th of Wakching which falls on 25th of January this year."

Happy Imoinu!

Wari Stories In the midst of the cold winter month of Wakching of the Meitei almanac, a day is dedicated to the worship of Imoinu. Referred with the epithet ‘chahong-ngahongbi’, she is often described as an equivalent to the goddess of prosperity elsewhere. The epithet refers specifically to food and literal...

Gaan Ngai is celebrated on the 13th of Wakching, one day after Meiteis celebrate Imoinu on the 12th of the same month. While the drums can be heard over a distance, there is much more to it than dancing and feasting. We present glimpses of the festival as observed in the Kabui/Rongmei settlement of Keikhu.

Wari Visual Stories Gaan Ngai is the winter festival which also sums up as the post-harvest festival. In the Kabui/Rongmei language, ‘gaan’ (also written as ‘gahn’) quite literally translates to winter but it is also the name of a month. Post-harvest festivals are common among many agricultural communities. The...

Not all uncanny encounters are scary horror events and not all come with good or bad bearings; but they just might leave one feeling unsettled in some ways.

Our first post of 2021 is by Charles Yuhlung on globes of light that make their appearance from time to time. Locally they are known as lameithanpi in Chothe and lammeithanbi in Manipuri.

Happy New Year!!

Wari Scribbles In Manipur, folk beliefs, practices and stories—are often broadly referred to as pu wari. The wari could be magical or legendary tales, tragic love stories, tales of animals and birds, or even ghost stories. Told by grandparents and elders, they are passed down by village storytellers in oral form...

"Christ may not have reached the hilly tracks of Northeast India and surely not Father Christmas. But the many minions of Santa Claus and idea of his magic continue to touch everyone - Christians and non-Christians alike. Christians here celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus in their own way beyond the pale of the biblical canon."

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Wari Stories Like many other celebratory events this year, Christmas is also not quite the same this year as the ones before. Large family gatherings and church gatherings have by and large been delimited or cut down. As the year 2020 draws to an end and Christians observe the biggest festival of their religious...

Chuhi or sugarcane molasses is the sweet sticky glue that hold together various assortments of grains, cereals, oilseeds, etc. sweetening them and converting them into delicacies of sweet somethings.

In this month's VISUAL STORIES, we take you with us on a trip to the sugarcane fields of Wangoo village in Manipur. The product of this village is locally pretty well known.

Wari Visual Stories Sugarcane molasses or chuhi, as it is known in Manipuri, forms the base of most local sweet products that used to be locally available; that is, until the advent of processed white sugar and other kinds of confectionaries. It was quite literally the sweet sticky glue that held together various assor...

The landscape is not just what meets the eye but what the mind has been taught to perceive. It becomes a part of us as much as we become a part of it.

Kangkana Roy on the landmark Sanyashi Pahar of Bongaigaon, Assam on this month's SCRIBBLES post.

Wari Scribbles One of the things that always fascinated me in life are stories and the manner they are told. There are some which were not really stories but people like to tell them as stories, more so perhaps because the storyteller believes that people wouldn’t really believe it anymore as they are too unbeli...

It is not surprising to find flora and fauna figuring poignantly in lore and fables of various cultures. To the Meiteis, the blue vanda is closely associated with the crow. Read about it on our STORIES recent post.

Wari Stories The blue vanda (Sc. vanda coerulea) also known as the blue orchid or autumn lady’s tresses is a beautiful orchid that blooms in the wild among the lush green of the forests of Northeast India, Northern Thailand, South China and Myanmar. A flower whose name bears testimony to its colour, the blue v...

When we say nature is beautiful, we often think of the landscapes but part of nature is also those inhabiting the landscapes. And these include plants, animals or birds whether they are resident or migratory.

To the wildlife and nature enthusiast in each and every one of us all, Jogamani Sharma tells us about his love for nature and his foray into Bird Photography.

Wari Visual Stories I am a hobbyist nature photographer. Being in love with nature and adventure since childhood, it seemed natural for me to lean towards ‘Nature Photography’ among the different genres of photography. It was my love for travel that led to photography and it was photography that later fuelled my l...