Home >> Articles >> Lack of Conciousness and Awareness of Names

There is nothing significant in a name but recognition or identification of somebody or something by that name .There is no speciality or hard and fast rule to select a name as a new fashion in search of beautiful alien names. The original fascinating and meaningful indigenous traditional names of Manipur either in hills and valley have been completely near extinction. The new alien names are very much attractive to the people that the preservation of old traditional names has been a matter of consideration .People long the new and fresh things disregarding the old system and manner existed for the past long time.

The imported names are closely related to religion of Hindu, Christian, and Muslim etc. The old Manipuri names are still with original indigenous religion and beliefs both in Hills and Valley .Interestingly the Meitei Pangal community very fondly adopts old meitei names but they never choose /seek the Hindu or Christian names for their children. Have the people of Manipur been working for integrity and protection of cultural and social structure of Manipuri society?

Some years back woman organizations /societies were compelled to take a firm decision about the use of dresses alienated (unfriendly) to the indigenous traditional dress following a diktat from a proscribed underground outfit in order to protect and preserve our tradition. As dictated the dress code for the girls in schools /colleges, other professional and working women should be the old traditional wears other than alien dresses viz. Fanek instead of frock, skirt, salwars, sari etc. The woman forum, however, disagreed with the view and asserted that the local woman wear (Fanek) would not serve the desired purpose since woman’s engagement in various professional jobs and manual works. According to the nature of work, circumstances demand convenient dresses for efficient performance of works/duty in respect of sport girls/woman, lady police, lady doctors, nurses etc. The Woman Society knows well where and which dress, and which colour /pair would be suitable for a particular ceremony of death, ritual, worship, marriage and other functions .Woman adorned for these occasion are so fascinating, fantastic and attractive that all the inherited customs are with woman folk .Here is the importance of traditional attires giving no room to alien dresses .That was a pragmatic and very nice decision better than those ever taken by a Manipuri woman society. The decision was a sensible woman’s consciousness and awareness of dresses and not in favour of other styles of dress from outside. But there would be no such consciousness and awareness of these alien names invading to rape (spoil) the native names and identities. No woman organization would be coming forward to take a decision against the inflow of alien names the meaning of which are not thoroughly known and not self explanatory likes traditional names of this land.

Every time the people of Manipur are talking about inner line permit system, territorial integrity and uplift of traditional custom and social beliefs. But who cares the violation of age old traditions of the people of hills and valley and changes of culture are affected gradually to extinct the old system.

Name preserves identity and recognition of a particular race, group or community and also of a particular area or zone There are different styles of names .Every Nation /Country in the world has name of different style for the people identifying themselves as a distinct nation and every state or zone in India has different set of names of their own people .In Manipur also there are popular names inherited from forefathers of hills and valley worth preservation of identity.

"What is there in a name" The maxim is very much true for the people of all communities in Manipur .Any alien name may be given to any child only to identify or recognize the baby by that name without giving importance to old traditional system of a group or community .Time has come to change this style of naming to preserve the old system with consciousness and awareness of names .The people of Manipur in hills and valley, otherwise would be losing an unseen valuable wealth of antiquity. The old changed names such as Tamil Nadu ,Mumbai, Kolkota, Karnakata etc are names of ancient places of India .The present names of this land “ Manipur ’’ also ought changing to its original name; but due to non co-ordination of the people of all communities of Manipur ,it remains as it is .