Sagol Kangjei: The ancient polo of Manipur

Sagol Kangjei: The ancient polo of Manipur

Subject : History

Context: Part of Home Minister Amit Shah’s programme in Manipur on Friday was the inauguration of a 122-foot-tall statue of a polo player astride a Manipur Pony in Imphal, a project that has been in the works for several years now.

About Sagol Kangjei:

• Modern-day polo originated within the small northeast Indian state of Manipur in 3100 BC, where it was played as sagol kangjei (sagol means pony and kangjei is a game of sticks).
• Polo in Manipur isn’t just a sport, it’s a way of life and an integral part of the state’s culture. The Manipuris have had a close relationship with the ponies since time immemorial.
• Manipur has polo not just among the mortals but also has Marjing, who is considered the God of polo and features a pony as his carrier. Moreover, the Lai-Haraoba festival of the state depicts the life and times of Khori-phaba, the polo-playing god of sports.
• Sagol Kangjei was never a game of the kings in Manipur; it was a king of the games played by ordinary people.
• Unfortunately, unplanned land-use and urbanization during the last half a century have robbed the Manipur pony of its natural habitat and the polo teams of their playing grounds. It’s become exorbitantly expensive to maintain a polo team and increasingly difficult to seek out a suitable ground to play regular matches.
• The origins of polo in Manipur are associated mythologically with Marjing, the God of the Chenglei tribe, to whom a structure similar to the ancient polo stick along and a ball are still offered in worship.