Puyas

(Manipuri: ꯄꯨꯌꯥ ꯂꯥꯢꯔꯤꯛ, romanized: pooyaa laaireek)
Language	Meitei language
No. of books	more than 120

The Puyas (Manipuri: ꯄꯨꯌꯥ) are archaic Manipuri manuscripts.^[1] They encompass a wide spectrum of themes including genealogy, literature, history, royalties, administration, creation and cosmology, philosophy, poetry, religious beliefs, etc.^[1]

Saroj Parratt noted in 2005 that none of these Puyas were yet to be dated by professional historians or subject to serious textual-critical scrutiny.^[2] Consequently, she criticized the tendency of local authors to treat puyas as reliable sources in their reconstruction of Manipuri history.^[3] Scholars have noted that puyas had been forged by Meitei nationalists to support their reinvention of history and tradition.^[4][5][6]

See also[edit]

• Meitei literature
• Sanamahism
• Puya Meithaba

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Brandt, Carmen (5 December 2017). "Writing off domination: the Chakma and Meitei script movements". South Asian History and Culture. doi:10.1080/19472498.2017.1411050. ISSN 1947-2498.
• Laishram, Sadhana. "Conservation and preservation of Manuscripts in Manipur" (PDF).
• Naorem, Naorem Malemsanba (2015). "Centrality of body politics in Thokachanba's script and cultural revivalism in Manipur". Colonialism and Resistance: Society and State in Manipur. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781315638317.
• Rajshekhar, M. "In violence-scarred Manipur, ancient scrolls show why AFSPA will not work". Scroll.in. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
• Parratt, Saroj Nalini Arambam (2005). The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa : Original Text, Translation, and Notes. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-34430-1.
• Naorem, Deepak (October 2022). "Taming the 'rude' and 'barbarous' tongues of the frontier: Bor Saheps, Sutu Saheps and their encounters with languages, scripts, and texts (1835–1904)". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 59 (4): 471–506. doi:10.1177/00194646221130814. ISSN 0019-4646.

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