Translation as a modernising agent: modern education and religious texts in colonial Manipur (1891–1947)

ABSTRACT

The discourse on translation in Manipuri literature – the first Tibeto-Burman language listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution – is primarily descriptive in nature and has focused on the central narrative that Manipuri literature enriched itself through translation, oblivious to the question of linguistic and cultural hegemony that preoccupied twentieth-century Manipur. The issue of asymmetrical transaction and dominance between the source languages and the target language remains ignored and shrouded in obscurity. Through mapping out two trajectories of translation projects in Manipur during the colonial era (1891–1945), this article aims to explain this asymmetrical transaction and argues that translation served as a modernising agent via projecting the Indo-Aryan culture as modern/legitimate as opposed to the indigenous culture as traditional/outdated. The first trajectory traces the implications of the translations of textbooks as a direct result of the introduction of modern education in colonial Manipur, while the later discusses the translations of Sanskrit religious texts as an indication of the merging of the Indo-Aryan hegemony within the tradition of colonial modernity in Manipur. Thus, this article explores the role of translation in a marginal state (Manipur), where colonial modernity was constituted via non-native hegemonic languages.

KEYWORDS:

• Linguistic hegemony
• colonial modernity
• Manipur
• translation
• representation
• legitimate language

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Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 On the one hand, the fact that modern Manipuri literature is termed as such, although it is technically modern Meeteilon literature, the literature written in Meeteilon (the language spoken by the Meeteis which serves as the link language among the diverse ethnic communities indigenous to Manipur) reflects the politics of identifying the Meeteis as Hindu subjects. On the other hand, it also conflates Meetei with Manipur, disregarding the literature (oral or otherwise) available in Manipur in different ethnic languages.

2 Old manuscripts written on various topics about Manipur. They are considered repositories of the indigenous knowledge system and constitute an important resource for drawing historical facts.

3 Meetei Mayek literally translates as ‘Meetei script’. With the introduction of Western education in Manipur and the arrival of the printing press, Bengali script was chosen instead of Meetei Mayek to write Meeteilon with, and it was used for official and educational purposes throughout the twentieth century. However, after a series of revivalist movements in the 1970s–80s spearheaded by different organisations, including the Meetei Erol Eyek Loinasillol Apunba Lup (MEELAL), government of Manipur introduced Meetei Mayek in schools at the primary level, replacing Bengali script in 2006.

4 A maiba is like a shaman but plays a more significant role in Meetei society. Their views are highly regarded by the royal court. However, with the adoption of Hinduism, this has decreased tremendously.

5 https://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/bib/works_bible.htm gives the year of publication as 1827 while Ch. Manihar mentions, on page 212 of A History of Manipuri Literature, that the Bible was translated into Meeteilon as early as 1824.

6 Although writing and written texts were not new in the royal court of Manipur, written literature and writing were neither as common nor regarded as superior to orality in terms of legitimacy. With the advent of modernity in the nineteenth century in Manipur, the king began to take writing more seriously, as evidenced in the series of treaties made between Manipur and neighbouring states mediated by the British. Naorem Sanajaoba gives a detailed list of the treaties made in writing in his book Manipur: Treaties and Documents (1110-1971). The only document mentioned in this book that was written before the arrival of the British is Loiyamba Shinyen, which he describes as the twelfth-century Meetei Constitution text.

7 Meitei is another name for Meetei. Meetei was first used by Naoriya Phulo, the harbinger of the Meetei revivalist movement in Manipur, and was adopted as the formal name of the Meiteis by the state government in the late 2000s.

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Akoijam Malemnganbi

Akoijam Malemnganbi is a PhD research scholar at the Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies in the University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India. Her research focuses on the critical study of the role of translation and its engagement with modernity in Manipur in the twentieth century. She taught English Literature as a Guest Faculty at the Department of English Literature in the English and Foreign Languages University, Shillong Campus, Shillong, Meghalaya, India. Her English translation of the poem ‘Leimagi Ningthamtha’ (Leima’s winter) originally written in Meeteilon by Laishram Jamuna has been published by the Commonwealth Foundation, United Kingdom, as part of their collection ‘Translations: South & Southeast Asia’ in Adda (https://www.addastories.org/leimas-winter/).