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TODAY - Friday, Mar 04, 2011 Home >> Manipur >> Arts
And Culture >> Meitei Yumjao The Endangered Art
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"Meitei Yumjao" - The Endangered ArtBy Boby Kangjam *
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With the little experience I have gathered from my profession of
being an Architect, I am making an effort to study on the
conservation of an endangered Meitei Art "The Meitei Yumjao".
Please feel free to comment and add more on this. Every place and
every society has its own art, style, culture and Architecture, so
do "The Meitei Society". When we talk about the Meitei
Architecture, the first thing that comes in the mind is the Meitei
Yumjao, the space and place of birth of the entire Meitei
Generation.People Recent Popular
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nungshiba "One solution to finish up our naharols is to hang
them all without any trial or put them in life imprisonment
whenever they are arrested." ya to pagal logna na bolta hai na
.............. ham... Letter to Kuki Leaders for Peaceful
coexistence >> news section channel >> opinions
>> Opinion on Manipur Integrity Issue ~ Manipur - E-Pao! ::
Complete eplatform for Manipuris 3 hours ago
Dave Yendrembam think
logical.Open Letter to Mr RK Meghen Other Revolutionaris part 2
>> news section channel >> opinions >> Opinion on
Effects of Insurgency ~ Manipur - E-Pao! :: Complete eplatform for
Manipuris 5 hours ago
Unfortunately it is on the verge of extinction from today's
Meitei Society. Whose fault is it? Is it mine, as an architect,
yours as a Meitei or others? We never try to answer and go forward
with time forgetting our origin, our birth place. It won't be a
long wait when we will see Meitei Yumjao as a fairy tale and
fantasy movie element. Meitei Yumjao used to be a perfect dwelling
unit of an ideal Meitei family, few generations back. Few people of
our generation had the opportunity to live in it and enjoy the
essence of it and cherish the life style. Maximum of us have only
heard about its magnificent qualities or seen it in old Manipuri
films. So for the coming generation it will be an extinct art or
entity, as people of Meitei society had stopped constructing Meitei
Yumjao since 50 to 60 years back and replaced it with timber post -
GI sheet or RCC brick structures. It will be seen only in
photographs or museums in days to come. The essence, importance and
specialty of Meitei Yumjao can be seen only when we look deeply
into our life style, culture and ethics. Each and every part has
been properly designed and detailed to suit the lifestyles of
Meitei people and the environment.
Army_Officer One solution to finish up our naharols is to hang
them all without any trial or put them in life imprisonment
whenever they are arrested. Open Letter to Mr RK Meghen Other
Revolutionaris part 2 >> news section channel >>
opinions >> Opinion on Effects of Insurgency ~ Manipur -
E-Pao! :: Complete eplatform for Manipuris 5 hours ago
Sanayai Bryan u knw wat etao u r really matching in clicking d
naturalpic ...u must continue in dis ..d way u tuk d pic luks very
gud m nt saying dis coz u r frnd m saying according 2 d
pic.......
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nungshiba ebungno maithabasha nangnadi kara hanlamdou mali
choirol longanu ko ................... tabada wabarana
............. shamna haiga tao laibak asha yamna nungairamkharaba
jatne adubu puwarege... Letter to Kuki Leaders for Peaceful
coexistence >> news section channel >> opinions
>> Opinion on Manipur Integrity Issue ~ Manipur - E-Pao! ::
Complete eplatform for Manipuris 6 hours ago
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Type of House: The "Meitei Yumjao" was of two types by its mode
of wall construction. First one was of complete straw reinforced
mud thick wall up to the roof height embedding the main load
bearing post bamboos with Pungjei in different heights as
reinforcement steel grass rod. Second system of wall was of thick
straw reinforced mud half wall up to a height of 4 to 5 feet and
above that with split bamboo (Wachet) with uniformly distributed
and binded Shinghoot by bamboo strips (chepsi Paya) and straw
reinforced and cow dung mix mud plastering in different coats. This
thick mud wall gives the required thermal insulation for a
comfortable living space. Selection of mud was also one of the
factors for creating a smooth, fine texture wall which is an
earth-friendly and inventive way to bring a healthy and
naturalistic life. Maintenance of the House: (Leik ang k anthaba
and Phak lang wai teiba) in general is done every year before the
"CHEIRAOBA"- Meitei Chahi Houba( New Year) in the month of Sajibu
Tha (April month) to start a fresh new life with clean and healthy
environment and pray for good fortune in the coming year. Change of
thatch roof is generally done once in eight to ten years according
to the thickness and nature of the thatch used e.i. Tumnou, Emom,
Charot, Singnang, Charu (Peddy straw)etc. However Chak hum Wai
Teiba,(Kitchen floor cleaning), Emung Wai Teiba (Room floor
cleaning) and Mangol Wai Teiba( Verandah cleaning) is done daily as
an unavoidable task in day to day life of the Meitei's in the
mornings before start of any work by the Meitei women for the days
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3/4/2011The Phunga Meifam :
Meitei Yumjao The Endangered Art >>
The concept and necessity of Phunga in Meitei lifestyle is
unavoidable. Our food habit of eating roasted / dry fish can't be
entertained without a Phunga in or out of the house. Phunga Meifam
inside the Meitei Yumjao also acts as a fire place which warms up
the inside space in winter for a comfortable living and never
allowed to extinct the fire all hours of the day. Our "Phunga
waries"(Folk stories) are never complete without a phunga and now
our Phunga Waries have become bedtime stories. Present generation
kids will never taste a true phunga wari sitting around the phunga
eating aloo, Mangra alouba,(baked potatoes, sweet potatoes) etc).
Distribution of Rooms: The distribution of entire house into
different k as Phamel k a, luk humk a, ,leimarelk a, piba Ka,
ningolk a, chakhumk a, sanamahi laipham, Grain storage space and
Mangolk a as per the requirement shows the concept and necessity to
give specific separate space for specific functions. This reflects
the respect, privacy and identity given to each member of the
family and their personal spaces. This is the origin of our
sincerity, honesty, character and culture of which we are proud of.
Building Material and Technique: A "Meitei Yumjao" is built with
locally available material like bamboo of different strength and
size according to the requirement, say Saneibi for main load
bearing members vertical and horizontal load distribution members,
Khok wa being stout and thick, small in diameter as purlins and
rafters, Utang for Kanam and chepsi paya, cane, mud, straw and
thatch, using locally developed technique and style for fixing and
joining various parts of the structure which works perfectly with
the used material with the help of local artisan and craftsman.
Thus, it is economical, environmental friendly and job generating
for the society. Easy availability of construction materials and
community construction system in the early Meitei society help in
maintaining a peaceful and harmonious society. (Lending hand to
neighbors, friends or community in construction). The technique and
technology of constructing Meitei Yumjao is more than 500 years old
and therefore not free from limitations of its own. The limitations
of this system of construction have impacts on its structure, form
and technical quality which in turn affect the physical essence of
the habitable space.
Negative aspects of "Meitei Yumjao": Inability to provide
physically separate rooms (k as) or space due to span limitation of
bamboo truss roof system failed the concept of separate rooms (k
as), privacy and space identity. Inability to provide wider opening
on walls due to cohesion quality of straw reinforced mud wall and
absence of lintel system failed natural crossed ventilation and
natural lighting leading to a dark, swampy and damp internal space.
Lower quality mud compacted plinth and floor with no proper
foundation system could not prohibit the absorption of outside
water during rainy season, making the inside space damp and stinky.
Meitei Yumjao has been planned and designed as a single nuclear
family dwelling unit with no provision for extension or addition of
space with the growth of family and space requirement. But only few
families of previous generation were nuclear family. The planning
and design was not futuristic, due to less population and abundant
land availability . Use of mud floor and absence of provision for
using water inside the house made it unsuitable for washing,
cleaning and other water related functions inside the house. As all
the structure were supported with bamboo columns with no proper
technical or chemical foundation system to
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Meitei Yumjao The Endangered Art >>
protect the bamboo from rotting due to dampness or water seepage
led to breakage of column at junction of floor and wall which
inturn disturb the form and structure of the house reducing its
life time. Reasons for extinction: Reduction in the availability of
the specific species of thatch used for roofing, requirement of
regular maintenance and changing of roofing material and scarcity
of skilled artisan for the job led to the downfall of Meitei
Yumjao. With the development and improvement of lifestyles in
various ways, everyone felt the need of the best space and
facilities to live in which he can afford. These brought in the
change in dwelling structure technically, culturally and
aesthetically and led to the extinction of Meitei Yumjao. I won't
say it is for a wrong cause, it was the need of the hour that led
to its failure as it could not meet the requirements of today's
generation. We all know "Meitei Yumjao" has lots of limitations in
fulfilling the present lifestyles, but I ask myself why? Did we
ever try to develop it with time and need? I think no. We have
never thought about it. But we know it is beautiful, intricately
crafted, economical, sustainable structure with zero pollution,
earthquake resistant due to flexibility of bamboo joints and one of
its kinds in the world and it is a good solution to global warming.
Need of Preserving the Art: If we try to work out and solve all the
limitations of Meitei Yumjao architecturally, structurally and
culturally, it is possible to cater all the requirements and space
quality of present day lifestyle and we can redevelop it and save
it for our future generations otherwise our future generation will
never know from where their lives have started, their origin and
their roots.
* Boby Kangjam contributes to e-pao.net for the first time. The
writer is a Senior Architect at Chapman Taylor ( INTERNATIONAL |
ARCHITECTS | MASTERPLANNERS | DESIGNERS ). The writer can be
contacted at bobykangjam(at)gmail(dot)com This article was
webcasted on March 06 2011.
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