37 
1877.] G. H. Damant —Note on the old Manipuri Character . 
w, a letter which distinctly exists in the Manipnri language, is unrepresent¬ 
ed in the alphabet. Compound letters are seldom used or required. 
The most important MS. is called the “ Takhelgnamba”, and contains an 
account of the wars between Pamhaiba, alias Garib-Namaz, [Gharib-nawaz] 
king of Manipur and the Baja of Tiparah. The copy in my possession 
contains 45 leaves written on both sides. 
The next in importance is the “ Samsokgnamba”, which is a history of 
the war between Charairongba and his son Pamhaiba of Manipur and the 
kings of Burma and Sumjok. It contains 36 leaves. 
The “ Langlol,” a short MS. of ten leaves only, is a treatise on morals, 
intermixed with proverbs and maxims, and would probably be interesting as 
throwing light on the customs of the Manipuris before their conversion to 
Hinduism. The only other MSS. of which I have been able to obtain 
information, are the “ Meiyanggnamba”, an account of the wars between 
Manipur and Kachar, and the “ Salkau”, a treatise on cattle and the respect 
to be shown them. Of these, two latter I have not been able to obtain 
copies. The above seem to comprise the whole literature of Manipur; but 
it is just possible that further search may reveal one or two other works. 
The MSS. are all written on a coarse, but very durable, kind of paper, with 
pens made of bamboo ; paper blackened with charcoal on which they write 
with a soapstone pencil is also used. The character has now been almost 
entirely superseded by Bengali, and indeed but few of the Manipuris can 
read it. A national chronicle is, however, still kept in the old character by 
the guild of priests, ‘ maibees’ as they are called, in which every event of 
importance occurring in the country is regularly recorded. 
The language of the MSS. is most difficult, being quite unintelligible 
to an ordinary Manipuri, while those who can understand it are very few in 
number. It is, however, interesting as being the oldest form we possess of 
the Manipuri and cognate dialects. In a practically unwritten language like 
this, for the very few writings which exist could never have affected the mass 
of the people, considerable variations in dialect must inevitably take place in 
the course of a very few years ; but in the present instance the difference 
between the written and spoken language is so great, that it can hardly be 
accounted for in this way. Tradition has it, and it seems most probable, 
that the Manipuris are a conglomeration of several distinct tribes, and it 
may well be that these MSS. are written in the dialect of one of them, 
whichever may have been predominant at the time, but this is a question 
which can only be satisfactorily settled after careful enquiry. 
I subjoin a copy of the complete Manipuri alphabet, and a facsimile 
with transliteration and translation of the first page of the “ Samsok¬ 
gnamba.” The translation is little more than tentative, as the meaning of 
many phrases is obscure and doubtful, the Manipuris themselves differing 
very much as to their meaning. 
