As the month approaches November people are eagerly waiting for the Diwali to burst the crackers, lit sparklers, decorate their homes with lights, and of course enjoy the sweets. But to the people belonging to the Meitei community of Manipur there is another important reason to look forward to diwali celebration. And it is for the celebration of ‘Ningol Chakkouba’ which usually falls on second day after diwali. 

What is Ningol Chakkouba?

Though there isn't any equivalent English word for Ningol, its meaning is something like ’female born to a particular clan’ and chakkouba means ‘inviting for a feast’.  So Ningol Chakkouba literally means the feast for the female and is dedicated to the daughters and aunts of the family. It is not a religious festival but celebrates the love between the brothers and sisters. This day is particularly special for the married women as they are treated to a special feast by their parents and brothers. 

How it started?

It is believed that once Queen Leisana who was the wife of King Pakhangba , one of the important kings of Manipur invited her brother for a feast. This led to a ritual in which married women invited their brothers for an annual feast. However it led to problems when a brother is invited by many sisters at a same time. So when the Chandrakirti Maharaj faced the same situation, he changed the ritual and instead invited all his sisters for the feast. Since then, it has become a tradition for the brothers to invite their sisters for the meal on this day.

How it is celebrated:

Though it falls on the second day after diwali, its preparation begins a long way back. The family members do a hectic shopping for the gifts to be presented on that day. Gifts have to be bought for all the sisters and the daughters of the family, their children and sometimes the adopted sisters and daughters. By adopted I don’t mean the legally adopted ones but those who share a warm and close relationship and so are treated like one’s own daughters and sisters.

A day or two before Ningol Chakkouba, one of the brothers or nephew would visit the married daughters. There, he would formally invite the sister or aunt as the case may be for the feast.  It is customary to give a betal leaf and some pieces of betal nuts placed on a piece of banana leaf while inviting her to come for the feast without fail.

On the actual day of the feast, the married sister would come for the feast wearing silk clothes. She doesn’t come empty handed. It is customary to bring lots of fruits like apples, banana, dry coconuts, oranges etc along with rasgulla, barfi, gulab jamun and other such sweets etc. Usually, her children also accompany her. When she reaches her home, the eatables are distributed to the close neighbours as well. 

At home, everybody would be busy preparing for the feast.  As the sisters-in-law also have to get ready fto visit their home, in most cases the brothers would do the cooking himself with some help from other members . It is customary to include the fish curry in the menu. So if Ningol chakkouba falls on Thursday, some people prefer to postpone it by a day or so as many people strictly eat vegetarian meals on Thursday.

After the meal, there is another ritual to be followed. The sisters are made to sit on a mat facing north direction as it is considered auspicious. Each of the brothers would then gift her something and seek her blessings. Traditionally clothes like shawl, traditional wraparounds, saree like clothes that women drape around are given as gifts. But with the change in the trends, many people opt to give household items like utensils, crockery items etc. The gifts are placed on a big flat plate like thing called shengaa and offered to the sisters. The shengaa is covered with pieces of banana leaves before the gifts are placed on it. Along with the gifts, a 10 rupee note or a 50 rupee note is also placed on the shengaa. While accepting the gifts, the sisters bless the brothers to live a long and prosperous life.

In short, though the sisters visit their brothers and have meals together on other occasions too, having meals together on the Ningol Chakkouba Day is something special as it signifies the love between the brothers and sisters.

• Written by jabeen.
• In category Customs and Culture.
• 12 years ago.

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