Numit Kappa

Numit Kappa, "literary meaning shooting of the Sun" is an ancient epic literary work in Meitei language of Manipur, North East India. The work is believed to be written in the 11th century AD. However, some historians opted it to be a work of around or before 33 AD. The Epic is written in the form of partial poetry and partial prose.

Further information: Meitei literature and List of epics in Meitei language
Numit Kappa
AuthorUnknown
CountryIndia
LanguageMeitei language
SubjectMeitei literature
GenreEpic poetry
The Story is based on the shooting of one of the two Suns to create Night

The epic work is still considered to be the oldest known epic account in Meitei literature.

Synopsis

In the epic, there are two Sun Gods, who brighten the world simultaneously. One was to be slain in order to create the night. The hero, Khwai Nungjeng Piba was an expert archer, who shot Taothuireng, one of the two Suns in the sky.[1]

In Religion
  • The archaic terms in Meitei language is still chanted by the priestesses during Chupsaba ceremony (a ritual associated with the special kind of death in Meitei cosmology), in the form of hymns.[1]

English version
  • The first English translation of the epic poetry was published in the book The Meitheis , written by T.C. Hodson in the year 1908.[2]
  • Recently, the epic is reenacted in the form of play, at Dehli based National Institute of Performing Arts (NIPA) under the directions of Sarungbam Biren.[3]

See Also

Bibliography

References
  1. Kshetrimayum, Jogendro (2009). "Shooting the Sun: A Study of Death and Protest in Manipur". Economic and Political Weekly. 44 (40): 48–54. JSTOR 25663656.
  2. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.158175
  3. "Film showcase for Manipur play - Young theatre director?s drama to be preserved on celluloid".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.