True to its reputation Manipur, the gem of India is known for its varied forms of sports and games played by its sports loving people. A widely popular sport is the ‘Mukna’, an indigenous wrestling game played since the days of the kings and Maharajas that ruled Manipur. This game is very popular in the Manipur valley and it is played during the last day of the Lai Haraoba festival.
Mukna requires physical strength and skill.
There is no doubt that the people of Manipur are sports lovers and love playing different kinds of games and sports . Mukna is an indigenous way of wrestling played between the male rivals to test the strength and the physical abilities of the wrestlers. The game bears similar resemblance with the Pehlwani the Indian style of wrestling popular in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the Sumo wrestling of Japan. History books say that this form of wrestling was first reported in the 15th century. According to legends the erstwhile king of Manipur Atiya Mapu Shidaba had two sons named Pakhangba and Sanamahi. Sanamahi was furious with his father for naming Pakhangba as heir to the throne and it is believed Pakhangba is the creator of this Sports. King Khagemba (1597-1672) patronized this game during his reign and made it hugely popular among the Youths .
It was believed that Mukna required absolute physical fitness and skill to be mastered and as such only the males were allowed to take up this sports. Certain moves such as holding the opponent’s neck, hair, ear or legs with the hands is not permitted. Any strikes are also considered fouls. The best way to judge the winner is -if anyone who touches the ground with any part of their body besides the feet is declared the loser.
During the last day of the Lai Haraoba festival, Wrestlers are allowed to compete according to different weight-class. To keep the traditional touch, some of the traditional equipments and dresses of the land are used by the players of this game. The waist belt is known as a ningri. The winner is called a yatra. The winner is decided on the basis of whoever pin down his opponents – with the whole of his body or his back touching the ground. There are many techniques or lou, used in Mukna. Absolute physical fitness and skill is required, while mastering these techniques.
There are other forms of Wrestling which are played in different parts of the world. For example Shuai Jiao, a Popular Chinese wrestling style of China, is as old as 4,000 years. In the modern age Greco-Roman wrestling became an event at the first modern Olympic games, in Athens in 1896 and it has found its way into Olympics since 1908, the event has been in every Summer Olympics. So looking into these different forms of Wrestling the Manipuri style of Wrestling has a huge potential to be popularized among the Youths.
