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SAGOL KANGJEI

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SAGOL KANGJEI

SAGOL KANGJEI

CONTEXT : Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated 122 foot statue of a polo player astride a Manipur pony at Imphal’s Marjing Polo Complex in Manipur.

About SAGOL KANGJEI :

  • The name Sagol Kangjei, as it suggests, is derived from the name of the king Kangba wherein Sagol means horse or pony and Kangjei means Kangba’s stick.
  • It was also referred to by other names like ‘Kanjai-bazee’ and ‘Pulu’.
  • It is believed that modern day polo is originated from Manipur’s indigenous polo Sagol Kangjei played on Manipur pony.
  • The Manipuri pony has high cultural significance in manipuri society as its references are found in records dating back to 14th century.
  • The Lai-Haraoba festival of the state depicts the life and times of Khori-phaba, the polo-playing god of sports.
  • These facts indicate that the sport has roots in the state from ancient times and the royal families of Manipuri played an important part in popularizing the sport.
  • Sagol Kangjei was never a game of the kings in Manipur; it was a king of the games played by ordinary people.

MYTHOLOGY OF SAGOL KANGJEI :

  • According to ancient Meitei manuscripts like Kangjeirol (which is a treatise on Manipuri Polo), king Kangba introduced Sagol Kangjei, that is the “Polo” game.
  • It is believed to be one of the three forms of hockey that people indulged in back in those days, the two others were Khong Kangjie (field hockey) and Mukna Kangjie (this involved wrestling and hockey together).
  • It is mentioned in the aforementioned manuscripts that during the Ukrong Hongba festival, Kangba dribbled a bamboo root club by his walking stick on the ground. Consequently, he ordered his subjects to play this game on horseback the next day.

SAGOL KANGJEI TO POLO :

  • In 1859, Sherer – later acknowledged as the father of English Polo – set up the Silchar Polo Club with seven other founding members.

  • They indulged in weekly games with the locals, played in the traditional open spaces with small ponies. The first rules were formulated in 1863.
  • Accordingly, his subordinate officers and common people from the province were the first to play this game.
  • The game expanded to other parts of the country after this, most notably to Kolkata and parts of erstwhile East Bengal.
  • Subsequently the British took the game to their own country and in 1872, Captain Francis Herbert established the first Polo Club in England at Clytha Park, near Abergavenny.

Syllabus : PRELIMS – Art and Culture

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