The Meitei people, also known as Meetei people, are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group native to the Indian State of Manipur. They form the largest and dominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They speak the Meitei language (officially called Manipuri), one of the 22 official languages of the Republic of India and the sole official language of government of Manipur. The Meiteis primarily settle in the Imphal Valley region of modern-day Manipur, though a sizeable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. There is also a notable presence of Meiteis in the neighbouring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Meiteis represent about 53% of Manipur's population, according to the 2011 census.
The Meitei are known by a number of endonyms, Meitei, Meetei, Meithei (Meitei), and as well as by numerous exonyms, such as Meckley, Manipuri, and Kathaeh or Kathay (Burmese: ကသည်း). The term Manipuri is widely used, but problematic because of its ambiguous scope: next to being a synonym for Meitei/Meetei, it can also refer in a wider sense to the native ethnic groups in the hills of Manipur.
As per the 2011 census, there 1,761,079 Meitei language-speakers in India.
The vast majority of them (1,522,132 people, 86 percent of the total) are in the state of Manipur, which is also their place of origin. Estimated 239,836 people of this population are Meitei Pangals. The remainder, 1,353,999 people, are ethnic Meiteis.
A significant number (168,133 people, 9.5 percent) of Meitei language speakers are in the state of Assam. In the Barak Valley region of Assam, Meitei people are the third largest ethnic group, after Bengalis and Hindi speakers.
Myanmar has a significant population of Meitei people in Kachin state, Yangon Region, Sagaing Region, Shan state, Ayeyarwady Region, among others.
The population of Meiteis are found in four districts of Sylhet Division in Bangladesh, namely Sylhet District (thirteen villages), Moulvibazar District (twenty-eight villages), Sunamganj District (three villages) and Habiganj District (four villages). In early times, there were Meitei population in Dhaka, Mymensingh and Comilla too.
The European Manipuri Association (EMA), which works to unite members of the Manipuri diaspora across Europe, was founded in Sheffield on 23 September 2001. The association has marked Ningol Chakouba in the UK, in Kent in 2015 and in Hertfordshire in 2024.
The earliest sections of the Cheitharol Kumbaba, a Meitei chronicle, record the gradual spread of Meiteis across Kangleipak (Meitei for 'Manipur') and their assimilation of other clans (also known as Yek Salai) into a confederacy.
In 1100 CE, Loyumba Shinyen (Old Manipuri: ꯂꯣꯌꯨꯝꯄ ꯁꯤꯟꯌꯦꯟ, romanized: Loyumpa Shinyen), an ancient Meitei language constitution was written and regulated under the supervision of Meitei King Loiyumba (Loyumba) (1074 CE-1112 CE) in the Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). It is a formal proclamation of the proto-constitution which was drafted in 429 CE by Meitei King Naophangba. The idea of its constitutionalism was functional until it was substituted by the Manipur State Constitution Act 1947.
Myanmar is home to a sizeable community of Meiteis, who are called Kathe in Burmese. Unlike other Hindu communities in Myanmar, the Meitei resemble other Burmese ethnic groups in terms of physical appearance, which has accelerated their assimilation and integration into Burmese society. In the early 1950s, Burmese Meiteis numbered approximately 40,000, with one-third of them residing in Mandalay. Current estimates are approximately 25,000. Meiteis have resettled throughout the country, including in villages near Myitkyina to the north, Homalin, Kalewa, Pyay, in the center of the country, and Yangon to the south. They continue to practice Hinduism in Myanmar.
As a result of wars between the Meitei kingdom and the Konbaung dynasty between the 17th and 18th centuries, many Meiteis were resettled in the Burmese kingdom. Some Meitei settlements in modern-day Myanmar originate from the 1758–1759 war, and from the Burmese occupation of Manipur from 1819 to 1826. Alaungpaya, during the former campaign, resettled Meiteis in Sagaing and Amarapura. The Meitei people's horsemanship skills were employed in the Burmese royal army, where they formed the elite Cassay cavalry (ကသည်းမြင်းတပ်) and artillery regiments (ကသည်းအမြောက်တပ်) which were employed during the Burmese–Siamese wars. The Burmese court also retained a retinue of Manipuri Brahmins called Bamons, also called Kathe Ponna (ကသည်းပုဏ္ဏား) to advise and conduct court rituals.
The Meitei people speak the Meitei language (also known as the Manipuri language or Meiteilon), a Tibeto-Burman language. The Meitei language is one of the languages with legal status in India, and was included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in 1992.
There are many Meitei language movements, including classical language movement (predominantly in Manipur), associate official language movement (in Assam), linguistic purism movement (predominantly in Manipur), etc.
Historically and then after a long gap, presently, Meitei was written in the indigenous Meitei mayek script. The script was replaced by an alphabet based on the Bengali script in the early 18th century. The Meitei Mayek script has seen a revival in recent decades, and is now seen in street signs, schools, newspapers, and legislative proceeding records.
Among the heritage of diverse literary works in Meitei literature, the Khamba Thoibi Sheireng (Meitei: ꯈꯝꯕ ꯊꯣꯏꯕꯤ ꯁꯩꯔꯦꯡ, lit. 'poem on Khamba Thoibi')), is regarded as the national epic of the Manipuris. It is an epic poem based on the ancient romantic adventure tale of Khamba and Thoibi. It is the best known magnum opus of Hijam Anganghal Singh. It is often considered to be the greatest of all the Meitei epic poems. At 39,000 verses, it is the longest Indian epic just after the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
Architectural designs and sculptures
Some of the significant intricate designs of the traditional Meitei architecture and sculptures are seen in various buildings and institutions, especially the temples of traditional Meitei religion: Hiyangthang Lairembi Temple, Pakhangba Temple, Kangla, Sanamahi Kiyong Temple, Thangjing Temple, Moirang, among many. Others include the Ima Keithel, Kangla Sanathong. include Some of the worthy to mention finely crafted sculptures are the Marjing Polo Statue, Kangla Sha sculptures, Statue of Meidingu Nara Singh.