Loktak Folklore Museum

Folklore museum in Manipur

This article is about a folklore museum. For folk goddess of Loktak, see Loktak Ima. For documentary film on Loktak, see Loktak Lairembee (film).

This article contains the Meitei alphabet. Without proper rendering support, you may see errors in display.

Loktak Folklore Museum

(Meitei: Loktak Khunnung Pukei Lankei Shanglen)

Location within Manipur

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Loktak Folklore Museum (India)

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Established| 16 October 2016
Location| Thanga Island, Loktak lake, Manipur, India
Coordinates| 24°31′3.6″N 93°48′49.5″E﻿ / ﻿24.517667°N 93.813750°E﻿ / 24.517667; 93.813750
Type| Folklore Museum
Key holdings| Folklore artefacts
Founder| Tongbram Amarjit
Director| Tongbram Amarjit

The Loktak Folklore Museum (Meitei: Loktak Khunnung Pukei Lankei Shanglen) or the Thanga Folklore Museum (Meitei: Thanga Khunnung Pukei Lankei Shanglen) is a folk museum in Thanga Island in the Loktak lake of Manipur, India. It cares for and displays a collection of artistic, cultural and historical artefacts associated with the Loktak lake.[1][2][3] The museum preserves the folk customs and beliefs, folk medicines, folk literature associated with the Loktak lake.[1][2][3]

## History

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In 2016, the Tongbram family led by Tongbram Amarjit took initiatives to establish the Loktak Folklore Museum (Meitei: Loktak Khunnung Pukei Lankei Shanglen) at Thanga Tongbram Leikai in Thanga, Bishnupur District of Manipur. The museum was inaugurated by Tongbram Mangibabu, the then Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Thanga Assembly constituency in 2016. The inaugural event was presided by Dr. K. Sushila, Director of Art and Culture, Government of Manipur.[1][2][3][4]

## Collections and features

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The collections of the Loktak Folklore Museum include the fishing kits used by the fishermen of early times, literatures on the Moirang Kangleirol scattered over the Thanga and adjacent regions. It also houses the paintings of the spiritual and the mortal beings as well as traditional handloom and handicraft weaving accessories.[2]

Photography and videography are allowed inside the museum.[4]

## Exhibitions

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In October 2019, the Bangla Manipuri Poetry Festival was organised for 3 days (3 October – 5 October) at various locations in Manipur. On the second day of the festival, the event was conducted in the Loktak Folklore Museum. The event was organised by the Library and Information Center (LIC), Kakching and Sahitya Thoupang Lup (Sathoulup), Imphal.[5][6]

In 2021, the Kalen Art Exhibition was held at the Loktak Folklore Museum. The aim and the purpose of the art exhibition is to promote the cultural heritage and the significance of the Loktak lake.[7][8]

Tongbram Amarjit, the founder of the Loktak Folklore Museum, said:

> "Museum as we know, is the soul of human civilisation and we can't simply abandon the things of the past.[7]"

The Loktak Folklore Museum had planned to organize the Kalen Art Exhibition associated with the International Museum Day on 18 May of the year. However, due to the COVID pandemic, the planned event was postponed.[7][8]

Kalen is the Meitei lunar month in which the Umang Lais are worshipped. It is during this time that the Lai Haraoba festival is celebrated across the state. In association with this, the Kalen Art Exhibition focussed to inspire the youths to explore the cultural heritage of the Loktak lake.[7]

## See also

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* Imphal Peace Museum
* INA War Museum
* Kakching Garden
* Keibul Lamjao National Park \- world's only floating national park in Manipur, India
* Khonghampat Orchidarium
* Manipur State Museum
* Manipur Zoological Garden
* Phumdi \- Floating biomasses in Manipur, India
* Sekta Archaeological Living Museum
* Yangoupokpi-Lokchao Wildlife Sanctuary

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Loktak Folklore Museum". northeastheritage.in.
2. ^ a b c d "Thanga folklore museum re-telling legendary Loktak tales". thepeopleschronicle.in. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
3. ^ a b c "Loktak Folklore Museum aims high to preserve dying practices of fishing community". e-pao.net.
4. ^ a b "Loktak Folklore Museum". www.museumsofindia.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
5. ^ "Bangla Manipuri Poetry Festival concludes". www.thesangaiexpress.com.
6. ^ "Bangla Manipuri Poetry Festival concludes". e-pao.net.
7. ^ a b c d "Art exhibition encourages youth to explore cultural heritage of Loktak lake". www.ifp.co.in.
8. ^ a b "Kalen Art Exhibition extended". e-pao.net.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Loktak Folklore Museum.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Loktak Folklore Museum.

* Loktak Folklore Museum www.museumsofindia.org Archived 2022-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
* Loktak Folklore Museum_e-pao.net