In this first episode of our special season on South and Southeast Asia, we spoke with Santa Khurai, a Meitei activist, writer, and artist nupi maanbi from Manipur. In this post, we give you a little background to better understand the context and history she refers to in this episode.
Manipur is a state in the northeastern region of India, the ancestral home of the Meitei people and a diverse mix of ethnic communities who have lived in the region for thousands of years. The Meitei live in the valleys and are the majority ethnic group in the state, but occupy only 10% of the territory. They speak the Meitei language and are mostly Hindus, although the indigenous religion of the Meitei is Sanamahism. The vast mountainous regions are inhabited by Nagas and Kukis, who speak their own languages and are mostly Christians.*
During the British imperial occupation, Manipur remained an independent princely state within British India and, as part of the British Empire, was involved in a decades-long war with the Burmese Empire. At the time of the partition of India around 1947 by the British colonial authorities, Manipur's Meitei rulers decided to remain under the protection of India, mainly to gain protection from Burma, despite being more culturally related to that neighboring country. However, the arbitrary demarcation of territories mainly affected the hill tribes, who found themselves divided between different states and countries.
Nevertheless, India has had a strong influence on Manipur, both culturally and politically. Many independentist and revivalist movements aim to save the Meitei identity from assimilation by the Indian state and to preserve their own religion and language, for example their ancient script, which was replaced by the Bengali script in the 18th century, has regained its official status in Manipur since 2021.
As in many indigenous communities around the world, trans and gender non-conforming people have been an integral part of Meitei's history and religion. In medieval times, for instance, pheibas were people outside the gender binary who performed important roles exclusively reserved for them.
Being outside the gender binary was seen as a sign of privilege that allowed them to exist outside the specific roles of men and women.
This made them the only people suitable for tasks such as assisting royalty in their daily routines, entering sacred spaces, and performing tasks where security was a concern. When Manipur was occupied by the British Empire, the role of the pheiba disappeared and with it the word used to identify trans people.
Another example of the historical role of trans people in Meitei society is the amaibi. In Sanahamism, the amaibi are the shamanic priestesses who provide a direct link to the lais, the deities of the natural world. They are responsible for many aspects of religious ceremonies and are the visionaries who foretell messages from the lais to the community, give advice, and heal illness. They are especially important at Lai Haraoba, the most important festival for the Meitei, when they perform a ritual dance to celebrate and please the gods. The amaibi is a feminine role, characterized by their distinctive dress and makeup. However, becoming an amaibi is a direct request from the lais, usually expressed through a divine possession. Therefore, anyone who receives the call must respond, regardless of their gender assigned at birth.
The figure of the amaibi, like the Supreme Being in Sanahamism, exists outside the distinction between male and female, embodying both and neither at the same time.
Nupa maibis, the "male" priestesses, must fulfill their role at all times, so they're expected to wear traditional dress and perform femininity in their daily lives, effectively living as trans women. Because this religious role has existed for centuries, the figure of the trans priestess must be considered a central aspect of Meitei culture.
Find out more about nupa maibis in the documentary "The Unheard Voice" (2014), directed by Siddharth Haobijam in collaboration with our guest, Santa Khurai, and the All Manipur Nupi Manbi Association, here: https://vimeo.com/114317356
Because being an amaibi is a calling and not a choice, not every trans woman can fulfill this role, and in the absence of the pheiba role, gender non-conforming people have been left in an ambiguous position within Meitei culture. Coupled with decades of brutal British colonial erasure and persecution of non-normative sexual and gender identities, transgender people in Manipur face extreme marginalization despite their historical role as spiritual and cultural leaders.
Today, the term for a transgender person is 'nupi-shabi' and 'nupa-shabi', meaning to 'pose' as a woman or man, respectively. However, this term is considered derogatory by trans people. Since around 2010, the transgender community has decided to change the way they are perceived by updating the words they use to identify themselves. Now 'nupi maanbi' and 'nupa maanbi' is the preferred terminology to refer to transgender women and men. The words change the concept of 'posing' implied in the traditional term to 'looking like', emphasizing that they are not pretending to be anything, but rather claiming their own identity by how they want to be perceived by society.
Trans people in Manipur have limited access to education, health care and employment.
Most are economically dependent on their families, but at the same time are typically disowned by them after choosing to express their identity publicly. Even the nupa maibis, the "male priestesses," face increasing difficulties as traditions fade into a more globalized and westernized life in Manipur. A complex mix of conformity to inherited transphobic attitudes from the colonial era and reaction to a more concrete visibility of queer identities has led to demands that the role of amaibi be performed exclusively by cisgender women (nupi maibi). As a result, many nupa maibi, especially among the younger generations, have lost their ancestral roles and the respect of their communities.
Despite the extreme hardships they endure on a daily basis, Nupi maanbis have found survival in community building. In the capital Imphal and other major cities, trans women have taken over the beauty industry, running their own parlors and carving out a niche for themselves in society. Some have also found success in film and theater. And while many find some comfort in these success stories, queer and trans rights activists in Manipur continue to fight for true justice in a future when trans women are not limited to these niche markets, for example with the formation of the All Manipur Nupi Maanbi Association (AMaNa) around 2010.
Meanwhile, trans activists like our guest Santa Khurai are dedicating their time to documenting the historical role of trans people in Manipur. You can see some of her documentation work on Rainbow Manipur and her Heinrich Böll Stiftung project "Neglected History of a Dwindling Identity."
Given the importance of gender non-conformity in Meitei's history, it is unfortunate that revivalist movements to strengthen Meitei identity - which have often been misdirected towards ethnic conflicts with other indigenous tribes in Manipur* - do not place nupi and nupa maanbis at the forefront of this struggle. Part of the decolonization effort, here and wherever European imperialism has exported its conservative views and laws on sex and gender, necessarily involves a revival of the sacred nature of queerness that permeates most indigenous cultures.
Learn more about trans life in Manipur with our guest, Santa Khurai, in this week's episode. And don't forget to follow us for more interesting info every week!
References and further reading:
· M.C. Arunkumar (2023) “Social Acceptability of Transgender Persons in a Traditional Society: The Case of Manipur.” Kikhi and Rakshit Gautam, eds. Marginality in India. London, Routledge.
· Siddharth Haobijam (2020) “The Amaibis of Manipur: Gender-fluid Priestesses of the Sanamahi Religion.” Sahapedia.
· Santa Khurai (2021) “Neglected history of a dwindling identity.” Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
· Anand Singha (2021) “Nupi Manbi: Manipur’s transgender community’s existing struggle for acceptance amidst the pandemic.” The Leaflet.
· Rubani Yumkhaibam (2020) “The Emergence of a Transgender Community in Manipur: The Case of the Nupi Maanbis.” Indian Journal of Gender Studies 1(21).
* Since May 2023, ethnic tensions have led to riots and many people have lost their homes and lives. Ethnonationalism is on the rise worldwide, and it is not only ethnic minority groups that are targeted, but also queer people within majority groups who are portrayed as a danger to the integrity of the nation. It is important to recognize the intersection of gender and ethnic identities and how the most vulnerable are always disproportionately affected, regardless of their position in the conflict. Show your support and stay informed.