Ningol Chakouba Festival

Ningol Chakouba Festival Latest News

Every year, the Department of Fisheries, Manipur, organises the Annual Fish Fair cum Fish Crop Competition on the day ahead of the Ningol Chakouba festival.

About Ningol Chakouba Festival

• The festival is celebrated every year on the second day of Hiyangei month of the Meitei calendar. 
• Ningol means ‘married woman’ and Chakouba means ‘invitation for feast’; so the festival is the one where the married women are invited to their parents’ home for a feast. 
• The main component of the festival is the visit of married sisters to their maternal homes for grand feast and joyous reunion followed by giving away the gifts.
• It is customary for the son of the family to extend a formal invitation to his sister for Ningol Chakkouba a week before the gathering. 
• The festival is held today outside Manipur where Manipuris are settled.
• The essence is to strengthen the bond of affection among the brothers and sisters, daughters and parents of a family.

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History of Ningol Chakouba

• It dates back to the time when King Nongda Lairen Pakhangba ruled in Manipur.
• The Queen Laisana used to invite her brother Poireiton to the King’s palace for a feast once in a year. So, it was known as Piba (brother/son) Chakouba rather than Ningol Chakouba.
• The tradition changed during the time of King Chadrakirti Singh (1831-1886) in the 19th century. He invited his sisters for the feast as it was difficult for him to visit their places in one day.
• Thus, the tradition changed to Ningol Chakouba since then and continued to become an integral part of Manipur’s rich culture and heritage.

Source: News On Air