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Yumnak Sageis of Meitei Pangals by John Comyn Higgins (1930)

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Yumnak Sageis of Meitei Pangals by John Comyn Higgins (1930)

By – Dr. Makakmayum Baadshah
John Comyn Higgins, a British bureaucrat wrote an account titled “Comparison of Lists of the Clans (Sageis) of Manipur Muhammadans Collected from Muhammadan Elders, Wahengbam Yumjao Singh and Palace Pandits, 1930” in the year 1930. This report is presently at the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
This clan paper was part of various papers or research reports entitled “Notes on Manipur State, India, c. 1838-1946” prepared by John Comyn Higgins (1882-1952) and John Shakespeare (1861-1942) which is at this British library. Higgins entered the Indian Civil Service in 1905. From 1910-1917, he was Vice-President and then President of Manipur State Durbar. He became a Political Agent for the Manipur State during 1917-1933.
Names of the Meitei Pangal clans (yumnak sageis) listed Higgins are given in alphabetical order as: 1. Aribam, 2. Basimayum (Singakhongbam), 3. Baseimayum, 4. Bhuiyamayum, 5. Bogymayum, 6. Chesam, 7. Dolaipabam, 8. Hawai Ingkhol, 9. Hawai Ingkhol Aribam, 10. Heibokmayum, 11. Heikhongta (Meraimayum), 12. Hidak Ingkhol, 13. Ipham, 14. Keikhongta, 15. Keinoumayum, 16. Khullakpam, 17. Khutheibam, 18. Komolmayum, 19. Konthamayum, 20. Korimayum, 21. Leisangkhong, 22. Loubuktongtam, 23. Maibam, 24. Makakmayum Amuba, 25. Makakmayum Angouba, 26. Mansam, 27. Mayangmayum, 28. Meraimayum, 29. Moijingmayum, 30. Moinam, 31. Musram (Musra), 32. Nongjaimayum, 33. Nongsayaibam, 34. Oinam, 35. Phundreimayum, 36. Pukhrimayum, 37. Pusham (Lulakpam), 38. Sairem, 39. Sajoubam, 40. Sakappam, 41. Sangomsumbam, 42. Singakhongbam, 43. Tampakmayum, 44. Thongkhongmayum, 45. Thoubalmayum, 46. Urup (Urupmayum), 47. Yangkhubam, 48. Yumkhaibam and 49. Wangmayum
Makaks (Makakmayum) came from Mughalpur (Mogulpur). Ipham are Pathan. Merai (Meraimayum) are Syed. All others are Sheikhs as they claimed as per the Higgins report.
The first clan Aribam came in the time of King Naophangba and the clan was named or conferred by Naophangba. As J.C. Higgins quoting the Palace Pandits of Kangla remarked: “The first Muhammadans in Manipur came in the time of Naophangba. In the time of Khagemba, his brother Sanongba Lallungamba brought Muhammadans to Manipur in his army.”
The passage further is meant to throw some light on some of the points observed by Higgins in his clan (sagei) report especially about Naophangba period Aribam sagei among the Pangals, its historicity and specificity. Manipur king Naophangba ruled in 428-518 according to the Cheitharol Kumbaba; while according to the Diary of Manipur, Nawphangba ruled in 594-624, and his successor Naofangba ruled in 624-714. The Diary of Manipur is actually titled “Manipur State: Diary of Manipur” which is a typescript translation of the Manipur Royal annals made at the Manipur State Office, Imphal by Nithor Nath Banerjee in 1904 and the copy is now held by the British Library of Asian and African Studies, London. This Diary of Manipur (1904) was published as “The Lost Kingdom: royal chronicle of Manipur” by L. Joychandra Singh at Prajatantra Publication House, Imphal in 1995.
The list of clans collected by J. C. Higgins is not exhaustive however. There are actually upto 78 Meitei Pangal (Manipuri Muslim) clans as research in this field reveals.
The puyas Sakok Lamlen Ahanba and Kanglei Langba Pakhangba among others noted that a Pangal Muslim preacher came to Manipur during the reign of king Naophangba (Lairen Naophangba) and some people embraced Islam and these puyas also wrote that it was during the reign of this king that first royal palace (throne room) of Kangla and the throne were built whence the Muslim saint came. He is Abi Waqqas, father of Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas who is lying buried in the tomb (cemetery) of Guangzhou (Canton) in China as Abi Waqqas died in China in the year 638. The Diary of Manipur and the Lost Kingdom write: “Nawkhangba then ascended the throne and reigned for 17 years and was succeeded by his son Nawphangba who built the Kangla or the throne room, he reigned for 30 years. His son Naofangba ascended the throne and reigned for 90 years”. Comparing from these various texts- Sakok Lamlen Ahanba, Kanglei Langba Pakhangba, Diary of Manipur and the Lost Kingdom and seeing who built the Kangla or the throne room, it can be ascertained that it was during the reign of this particular king Nawphangba who ruled in the period 594 AD to 624 AD that the particular Muslim saint from Arabia arrived in Manipur and preached in Manipur, and the saint further went to China by one of the ancient Silk Routes via Upper Burma-Yunan route to Guangzhou (Canton). Chinese records reveal that Sad ibn Abi Waqqas first arrived in China in the year 618 (in Guangzhou/Canton in Guangdong Province) and for the second time in 651 (in Xian/Changan, the Tang capital in Shaanxi Province). Abi Waqqas and his son Sad ibn Abi Waqqas came to Manipur by Lalmonirhat- Sylhet in Bangladesh after arrival by sea route along the Bay of Bengal during the first visit to Manipur in 615 and second visit in around 649. There is a mosque in Lalmonirhat (in Bangladesh) called Abu Akkas mosque which the residents say was built by the mentioned saints in 648.
(The author is a Ph.D in Management from JJT University, Rajasthan in 2022)

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