New Folktales of Manipur

Book excerpt: This collection documents Meitei beliefs and some of the many oral versions of Manipuri folktales which the author heard as a child. Many folktales and beliefs have sacred and unutterable secrets in their wombs. The occult practices mentioned herein are based on personal conversations with native exorcists (known as maiba and maibe, male and female shamans). No culture can be an island in itself. The author does not believe in a time-bound and immune culture that exists on its own. Cultures can interbreed and evolve with time. If science can benefit from collaboration, why not culture? As long as any single individual who considers himself or herself a Manipuri lives, what he or she does will continue to define what Manipuri culture is. By that right, the author picks up various threads gathered over his short life and weaves them into new clothes that will define his identity and hopefully the identity of his kindred spirits.