Haipou Jadonang

Haipou Jadonang
Born 1905
Kambiron village, British India (present-day Tamenglong district of Manipur)
Died August 29, 1931
Imphal
Occupation Spiritual leader and political activist

Haipou Jadonang was a Rongmei Naga spiritual leader and political activist from Manipur, British India. He established the Heraka religious movement, and declared himself to be the "messiah king" of the Nagas. His movement was widespread in the Zeliangrong territory before the switch to Christianity. He also envisaged an independent Naga kingdom ("Makam Gwangdi" or "Naga Raj"), which brought him in conflict with the British rulers of India. He was hanged by the British in 1931, and succeeded by his cousin Rani Gaidinliu.

Early life

Haipou Jadonang was born to Thindai and Tabonliu in a Rongmei family. He was youngest of the couple's three sons, and his father died when he was around one year old.[1]

Heraka

Haipou Jadonang founded the Heraka (or Haraka, "Pure") religious movement, variously described as a reform movement or a cult. Heraka derives from an ancestral Naga practices known as "Paupaise", and is also influenced by Hinduism.[2] It is also known as the "Kacha Naga movement", "Gaidinliu movement", Periese ("old practice"), Kelumse ("prayer practice") and Ranise ("Rani's practice"). Khampai is a pejorative term for the movement.[3]:2 It has also been described as "Naga renaissance".[4]

Jadonang encouraged the Heraka followers to worship and make sacrifices to the creator god Tingwang.[5] In accordance with the Rongmei tradition, which states that the humans first emerged from a primeval cave, Jadonang established a cave temple at the Bhuvan cave.

Death

Jadonang was arrested at Tamenglong in December 1928, after he prophesized the end of the British Raj. J. C. Higgins, the Political Agent of Manipur State, arrested him on February 1931 at Cachar. A month later, he was taken to Imphal and imprisoned there. On 29 August, the British hanged him on the banks of the Nambul river, for the murder of four Manipuri traders. According to the British government, he and his followers had sacrificed the traders to the deity in a temple near Nungkao.[5] According to his supporters, the case was fabricated by the British and Jadonang was falsely implicated.[6]

References

  1. ↑ G. K. Ghosh (1 January 1992). Tribals and Their Culture in Assam, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. Ashish Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7024-455-4. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  2. ↑ John Parratt (1 January 2005). Wounded Land: Politics and Identity in Modern Manipur. Mittal Publications. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-81-8324-053-6. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Arkotong Longkumer (4 May 2010). Reform, Identity and Narratives of Belonging: The Heraka Movement in Northeast India. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-3970-3. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Asoso Yonuo (1974). The rising Nagas: a historical and political study. Vivek Pub. House. p. 126. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 T. Raatan (1 January 2006). Encyclopaedia Of North-East India (3 Vols.). Gyan Publishing House. p. 118. ISBN 978-81-7835-068-4. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "78th Martyr's Day of Haipou Jadonang held". Naga News. Nagaland Directorate of Information and Public Relations. 2009-08-31.