Religion:Khunu Leima
| Khunu Leima | |
|---|---|
Goddess of pigeons and doves | |
| Member of Lairembis | |
 Depiction of Khunu Leima | |
| Other names |
|
| Affiliation | Meitei mythology (Manipuri mythology) and Meitei religion (Sanamahism) |
| Animals | pigeons and doves |
| Symbols | pigeons and doves |
| Gender | Female |
| Region | Manipur, Northeast India |
| Ethnic group | Meitei ethnicity |
| Festivals | Lai Haraoba |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Salailen (Soraren) |
| Siblings | Nganu Leima and Shapi Leima |
| Term | |
|---|---|
| English | Khunu Leima |
| Ancient Meitei | ꯈꯨꯅꯨ ꯂꯩꯃ (khoo-noo lei-ma) |
| Modern Meitei | ꯈꯨꯅꯨꯔꯩꯃ (khoo-noo-rei-ma) |
| Assamese | খুনু লৈমা / খুনুৰৈমা (khoo-noo lei-ma / khoo-noo-rei-ma) |
| Bengali | খুনু লৈমা / খুনুরৈমা (khoo-noo lei-ma / khoo-noo-rei-ma) |
| Hindi | खूनू लैमा (khoo-noo lei-ma) |
| Sanamahism | |
Khunu Leima (/khoo-noo lei-ma) or Khunureima (/khoo-noo-rei-ma) is the goddess of pigeons and doves in Meitei mythology and religion. She is a sister of goddesses Nganu Leima and Shapi Leima. Legend says that all three sisters married the same mortal man.[1][2][3][4][5]
Etymology
The Meitei female given name "Khunu Leima" (ꯈꯨꯅꯨ ꯂꯩꯃ) is made up of two component words, "Khunu" (ꯈꯨꯅꯨ) and "Leima" (ꯂꯩꯃ). In Meitei, "Khunu" (ꯈꯨꯅꯨ) means pigeon.[6] The word "Leima" (ꯂꯩꯃ) is further made up of two component words, "Lei" (ꯂꯩ) and "Ma" (ꯃ). "Lei" (ꯂꯩ) means land or earth. "Ma" (ꯃ) means "mother". Literally, "Leima" (ꯂꯩꯃ) can be translated as "Land Mother" or "Mother Earth". But in general context, "Leima" (ꯂꯩꯃ) means a queen or a mistress or a lady.[7]
Description
Khunu Leima is described as the ruler of all pigeons. At any time, she could summon all pigeons to any place she wishes. She is one of the daughters of the sky god Salailen (Soraren).[2][8]
See also
- Ngaleima, Meitei goddess of fish
References
- ↑ Singh, Moirangthem Kirti (1993) (in en). Folk Culture of Manipur. Manas Publications. ISBN 978-81-7049-063-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=q5eBAAAAMAAJ&q=Khunu+Leima+pigeon.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 (in mni) Manipuri Phungawari. 2014. pp. 202. https://archive.org/details/dli.language.0065/page/n202/mode/2up.
- ↑ (in mni) Eben Mayogee Leipareng. 1995. pp. 107. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.467071/page/n107/mode/2up.
- ↑ (in mni) Tal Taret. 2006. pp. 43. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.466201/page/n43/mode/2up.
- ↑ Regunathan, Sudhamahi (2005) (in en). Folk Tales of the North-East. Children's Book Trust. ISBN 978-81-7011-967-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=xfDNm96yCPIC&q=Khunu+Leima+goddess+pigeons&pg=PA70.
- ↑ "Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary.Khunu". 2006. https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%88%EA%AF%A8%EA%AF%85%EA%AF%A8&searchhws=yes.
- ↑ "Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary.Leima". 2006. https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%82%EA%AF%A9%EA%AF%83%EA%AF%A5&searchhws=yes.
- ↑ (in mni) Tal Taret. 2006. pp. 46. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.466201/page/n46/mode/2up.
Bibliography
- Glimpses of Manipuri Culture - Dr. Yumlembam Gopi Devi
- The History of Manipur: An early period - Wahengbam Ibohal Singh · 1986
External links
- "The Widow's Son :: Lukhrabi Macha Fungawari Singbul by B. Jayantakumar Sharma" (in en). http://www.e-pao.net/epSubPageSelector.asp?src=The_Widow_Son_Lukhrabi_Macha_By_Bidyarani_Thingujam&ch=manipur&sub1=Folks&sub2=Folk_Tales.
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