ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

Place Affinity in Select Oral Narratives of the Meiteis of Manipur

Abstract: Place has been a significant element in literary studies. Place as a concept, studies the relationship humans have with places they inhabit. Emerging through the contributions of several thinkers in humanistic geography, cultural geography and phenomenology, the study of place attempts to explore how humans experience their environment and how specific locations shape their lives. Among the several dimensions of place experience, place affinity refers to the emotional bonding which individuals form with their physical space and plays a crucial role in the shaping of ecological consciousness. The present study is an attempt to unravel the emotional attachments the Meiteis form with their physical surroundings and how these attachments nurture a deep ecological consciousness. This is pursued through the study of Tutenglon, an important folk narrative of the Meites that narrates the story of the two brothers, Yoimongba and Taothingmang who clear the channels of the Imphal and the Iril rivers. The Meiteis, one of the major ethnic communities of Manipur, possessing a rich repertoire of folk narratives that are not only transmitted orally but also in the form of manuscripts and texts. Drawing on the theoretical insights of humanistic geographers, Yi-Fu Tuan and Edward Relph, as well as Arne Naess’s concepts of self-realization and bio-egalitarianism in deep ecology, this study examines the place affinity of the Meiteis, and how such an attachment cultivates and deepens ecological consciousness among the communities.