Traditional Costumes of Manipur

Traditional Costumes of Manipur for Women and Men,Traditional Dresses of Manipur, Traditional wear in Manipur, Traditional attire of Manipur, Traditional bridal dress of Manipur, Potloi Costume, Festival costumes of Manipur,  Outfits of Manipur

______________________________________________________________

Manipur

Manipur, one of the hidden northeastern states- richly artistic with natural beauty and ornamented with the different style of art and culture. It is way ahead of the pack by the unique and eye-catching traditional wear that it boasts of. 

The traditional costumes of Manipur are very simple. The outfits of Manipur comprise their unique charisma and attributes. It is also easier to wear them. Beautiful costumes look stunning with their unique designs and patterns.

Costumes for Women of Manipur:

• Innaphi and Phanek are the Manipuri traditional dress for women in Manipur. 
• All Manipuri women wore these costumes. 
• Phanek is worn like a sarong. It is a hand woven dress. 
• The people also weave special Phanek, those called Mayek Naibi which has horizontal stripes and very attractive to look. 
• This dress gives an extra appearance to the women and glows the beauty of the wearer. 

Source

• Meitai Females only stitch a cloth which called Kanap Phanek. 
• The Kanap Phanek seems in the design of skirt and Meitai females stitched it with various designs. Though there are many costumes worn during rituals, the major ones are ‘Lai-phi’ and ‘Chin-phi’. ‘Lai-Phi is another attractive cloth, which is in white color having a yellow border. ‘Chin-Phi’ is also another Manipuri traditional costume; the costumes made with embroidered Phanek.

Source

Costumes for Men of Manipur:

• Manipur Men wear their traditional costume white turban (pagri), dhoti with a jacket. 
• The superior member of society wears cloth which called Khamen Chatpa. 
• The Khamen Chatpa is generally worn on the ritual occasions. It is a ritual dhoti. 
• In ancient period the kings gifted Khamen Chatpa to the Genius, Poets and well-known people as the gifts and award. 
• Zamphie was worn during war by the warriors. Ningthoupee was worn by the king.

Source

Traditional bridal dress of Manipur : Potloi

• Potloi is the traditional bridal dress of Manipur which gives bride an amazingly look. 
• Shaped in a cylindrical form, it is stitched on the belt worn over it, the blouse and the inner garment. 
• The skirt usually comes in red, pink and green colours and is adorned with traditional motifs; it is worn with the inaphi and a blouse made of rich fabrics. 
• The potloi is decorated with applique works using geometrical figures and ornamented with sequins, studs and decorative stones. 
• The beautiful dress is paired with a headband and rich jewellery. 
• The traditional wedding of Manipur symbolizes immense joy and pleasure.

Source

Modern clothing of Manipur:

With development in economy, changes in society due to westernization and extension of Christianity, inhabitants of Manipur have become fashion conscious. 

Shirts, t-shirts, jackets, jeans and skirts are common among youngsters. But they still like to wear their traditional costumes.

There are many modified attires as well. They are old fashioned clothes with contemporary changes. For example, Innaphi is a traditional dress of women which is worn with a modern skirt. These days, different types of materials are also used to make Innaphis.

Festival costumes of Manipur:

A wide range of attires are worn by the people during festivals of Manipur. In reality, there are different outfits for Manipur festivals. The Kumins and Potlois are worn in the Raas Leela festivals. There are some other dresses as well for festivals mainly for dance such as Phurits and Koks. Tribal dresses are Phiranji, Lmaphie, Ningthoupee and Saijounba.

Read More about Raas Leela Festival :: Click Here