Headhunting: In the Search for Manipuri “Chirong”

**Meitei yumjao are becoming an artifact these days. This post showcases a collection of façade that adorns a yumjao.**

Today in Imphal, you will be considered lucky if you chance upon a traditional yumjao a.k.a sanggai sanglen. It is a typical independent house in the valley and believed to be, among other things, sustainable and ecofriendly.

When contemporary cement and concrete structures have taken over the quaint landscape with the changing times, many natives have been expressing their fondness for such houses, in which there is very little distinction between architecture and culture. Regardless of the dynamic lifestyles and ways of building homes, a familiar old-world charm still lingers in some of the neighbourhoods in Imphal.

When it comes to vernacular architecture, one thing I have always wanted is a chirong, the ornamental cross-shaped design that is fitted atop the façade of many tribal houses, particularly in the hills. For us it is more of a cultural prop—one of the images showing a collection of chirong ideas (below, image no 1) is from the 2015 Sangai Festival.

This collection of images is selected from the introduction of an attempt to study vernacular architecture. The head is a good place to start from!