Monday, 21 April 2014

Kang (Rath Yatra of Manipur)

Kang (Rath Yatra of Manipur)

rath yatra manipurRath-Yatra or Kangchingba is a festival of Meitei Hindus. Idols of Shri Jaganatha, Shri Balarama and Shri Subhadra are worshipped during this Yatra festival. The idols are drawn in the Rath (car) of Shri Jagannatha. The Rath is big and tall (nearly 20 ft height with six iron wheels) and is pulled by the devotees on the days of Rath Yatra and Puma Yatra as well. The Rath is decorated beautifully and the procession is almost the same with that of Rath Yatra of Puri, in Odisha. After the procession, localities in Imphal area and in other villages start their own processions with sankirtana.

Male, female, young, old and children participate in the Rath procession. Wherever the procession goes, People offer flowers, fruits and sweets to Shri Lord Jagannatha and his siblings. The festival is observed with a great zeal and glamour.

The sankirtana is performed in a circle by both groups of men and women separately. The men are followed by women and they sing songs with the rhythm of the Pung, a mirdanga used by Manipuri. This is followed by a dance by a group of young men and women. After the dance and song, distribution of prasadam known as Kshechiri is offered to the devotees. Brahmans distribute the prasadam to all devotees with no bar for any sort of community.

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