Sangai Festival

Why is in news? Sangai Festival begins in Manipur

The largest tourism festival of Manipur, the Sangai Festival begins on Monday in Manipur.

The festival named after the State Animal which is found only in Manipur have been organised in grand manner this time after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the festival in the last two years.

It started in the year 2010 and has grown over the years into a big platform for Manipur to showcase its rich tradition and culture to the world.

This time the festival is being held at 13 different places of Manipur to showcase the varieties of cultural items to both domestic and international tourists.

The theme of the festival is 'festival of oneness'. The ten days festival is expected to attract tourists in Manipur.

The festival is labelled as the grandest festival of the State today and helps promote Manipur as a world class tourism destination.

Every edition of the festival showcases the tourism potential of the state in the field of Arts & Culture, Handloom, Handicrafts, Indigenous Sports, Cuisine, Music and Adventure sports of the state etc.

The festival will reflect the State’s proud cultural heritage and the love for art which is inherent amongst various tribes inhabiting the State of Manipur.

The State’s classical dance form, ‘Ras Leela’ is quite famous all over the world for its distinctiveness from any other dance forms in India. The various other folk dance performances like the Kabui Naga dance, Bamboo dance, Maibi dance, Lai Haraoba dance, Khamba Thoibi dance etc. which will be showcased at the festival.

Indigenous sports will also be a major highlight of the State’s biggest tourism festival this year. Manipur’s famous martial arts- Thang Ta (a combination Spear & Sword skills), Yubi-Lakpi (a game played with greased coconut like rugby), Mukna Kangjei (a game that combines hockey and wrestling), and Sagol Kangjei- Modern Polo (believed to have evolved in Manipur) will all form part of the festival.

Sangai Deer:

The sangai is an endemic and endangered subspecies of brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur, India.

It is found in its natural habitat only at Keibul Lamjao National Park over the floating biomass locally called “phumdi” in the south eastern part of Loktak Lake.

IUCN status: Endangered.