Retelling the History of Manipur through the Narratives of the Puyas History

Narrative encompasses every realm of history. The function of memory plays a vital role in the studies related to memory and reconstruction. Historical studies of memory accounts for the analysis of the textual, visual or oral representations of the past. History and memory are expressed in multiple voices and the reinterpretations of the past can be varied. The Puyas are the ancient written texts of the Meiteis, i.e. one of the ethnic groups of Manipur, a state in India. The Puyas with its varied narrations of oral traditions, myths, religious rites and rituals, history, folklore, art, literature, political and social aspects have been instrumental in nurturing the indigenous being and culture of the Meiteis. Exploring the narratives and oral cultures ubiquitous in the Puyas, the paper seeks to capture the collective memory of the Meiteis into retelling the history of Manipur. The paper further examines the various challenges encountered in constructing the historical memory through the Puyas. The construct of the historical memory among the Meiteis are rooted in shared remembrance of collective experiences and are defined by the ways that remembrance is reconstructed and represented.