Meitei folktales

 ( Meitei Culture ) 

The Meitei folktales (), also sometimes referred to as the Manipuri folktales, are the large collections of Folklore developed from the Meitei culture since Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur). Folktales are called "funga wari" (" phunga wari"), literally meaning "stories of kitchen furnace or stove" in Meitei language (officially called Manipuri language).

In early times, in the Meitei households, children must have gathered around the kitchen fire, listening to the stories narrated by the elders. Generally, Meitei folktales were developed from the creativity of the old folks, especially the grandparents, who narrated the children the diverse sagas of varying genres.

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List of Tales

• The Rain of Kabok
• The Female Mosquito's Plight
• The Clever Frog Defeats the Tiger and the Elephant
• Water that Turns Everyone into Tigers
• Keibu Keioiba
• The Flying Elephant
• Sandrembi and Chaisra
• The Golden Deer and the Golden Parrot
• The Golden Parrot
• The Doe and the Crow
• The Two Brothers
• The Pigeon's Feast
• The Clever Fox
• The Fox and the Jackal
• The Fox's Trick
• Light Spirit
• The Witch without a Chin
• The Doll's Groom
• The Doll's Boon
• The Seven Poor Sons
• The Python's Promise
• The Widow's Son
• The Widow and the Frog
• The Demon Queen
• A Contest of Wit
• Big Head
• The Three-Headed Men
• The Stepmother
• The Brother and Sister
• The Brother and Sister
• The Woman who Turned into a Parrot
• The Man who Turned into a Bird
• The Magic Stick
• The Magical Stool
• The Origin of Humans
• The King's Umbrella
• The Bird and the Tiger
• The Egotistical Elephant and the Praying Bird
• The Proud Bamboo
• The Proud Buffalo
• Two Princes
• Numit Kappa
• The sun and the cock
• Blessings from Spirit
• Tapta |la=
• The Seven Loaves
• The Human Python
• Tembalaithak |la=
• Revenge on the Cat
• The Clever Hare
• The Brave Friend
• An Old Couple Plant Taro
• Haosi Namoinu
• The Cruel Stepmother
• The Vampire
• Henjunaha
  Ch Manihar Singh (1996). 9788126000869, Sahitya Akademi. . ISBN 9788126000869
• The Cat and the Bat
• The Mystic Cat and the Bird
• The Cat's Nature
• The Carpenter and Chaoren
• A Sculpted Wooden Face
• The Hornbill
• My Friendly Lamp
• A Foolish Younger Brother
• The Foolish Man's Fortune
• The Truth-telling Fruit
• Child Who Turned into a Pumpkin

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See also

• The Tales of Kanglei Throne
• And That Is Why... Manipuri Myths Retold
• Phungawari Shingbul : A Collection Of Manipuri Folk Tales And Fables compiled and edited by B. Jayantakumara Sharma.
• New Folktales of Manipur, by James Oinam.
• Collection of Folk Tales from Manipur from E-pao.

Bibliography

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Further reading

Folklore studies

• Chungkham Supriya Devi (2025). 9780367677572, Routledge. ISBN 9780367677572

Folktale collections

• Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.
• Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Categories: Meitei Culture, Meitei Folklore, Pages With Unreviewed Translations

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