Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions and presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

Group performance of specially choreographed music and dance numbers mixing different forms of folk dance and songs of ritual occasions presented in the State Level Lui-Ngai-Ni (Naga Seed Sowing festival) held in Kapaam village in Chandel District, Manipur.

This folk tale is about a war fought single-handedly by one man against one village. The narrator is from Maguilong village.

Video of Shobhana Chelliah introducing the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability' held at the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in New Delhi, India. At this workshop, held in conjunction with UNESCO, participants discuss their experiences of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' L. Somi Roy discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word, and the relations between insurgency and writing systems in Manipur.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Lalnunthangi Chhangte discusses her experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in Mizoram, India. She talks about the legacy of colonialism in the area and the stigma toward indigenous groups.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Pauthang Haokip discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in Manipur, India.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Rex Khullar discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in the hills of Manipur, India. He talks about how village life can be disrupted when children have to go to larger cities to make money for their families.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Ana Roeschley discusses her experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word in the Balkans. She talks about the siege of Sarajevo and the destruction of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Video of a presentation from the 2020 workshop 'Language Then and Now: Language Endangerment and Political Instability.' Marjing Mayanglambam discusses his experience of how political instability and violence break apart communities and erode their ability to pass down their written and spoken word, specifically in relation to the scripts used to write the Manipuri language.

This is a personal narrative about an elderly person famous by the name Pīr Miā̃ who would travel by horse. He once arrived in the village of Khetaurā, the village next to Bairīḍīh. The speaker tells some events which took place at that time and talks about Pīr Miyā̃ along with his interaction with him.

This is a story about a princess whose mother died and her father remarries. The stepmother gives birth to a daughter, and the princess and her stepsister spend their childhood in a friendly way. As time passes, the stepmother and daughter develop jealousy and animosity towards the princess and adopt every possible technique to trouble her. Even after suffering so much, the good fate of the princess always takes care of her. All inflicted hardship by the stepmother bounces back to her daughter. The moral of the story is — As you sow shall you reap. This story is told in the western variety of the Southern dialect of Azamgarhi.

This is a story about a hen and python who were very good friends. Once, seeing the hen being quite healthy, the python’s intentions went awry. He asked the hen to go inside her stomach once and check what’s there, and then he would do the same. The hen replied, okay, and the python goes inside and finds 8-10 eggs. His intentions very nefarious at once, and he asks the hen to do the same. The poor hen does so, and the cunning snake does not open his mouth to let her out.

This is a story about a prince whose maternal uncles killed his father. Once — when young — he asks his mother about his father. She replies that he was murdered by his uncle. From that day onwards, he decides to take revenge for his father’s death. His uncles wanted to kill the prince too — the way they killed his father. This story describes how the prince takes revenge. This story is in the western variety of the Southern dialect of Azamgarhi. succeeds in finding Sheherbano. This story is told in the western variety of the Southern dialect of Azamgarhi

This story — which can be said to be the Azamgarhi version of the world-famous folktale of Cinderella — is about a gorgeous princess named Sheherbānō whose mother dies, and her father remarries. The stepmother would never like the princess and inflict tremendous pain on her. Living in forsaken circumstances, the young princess witnesses a remarkable change in her fortune, thanks to her very attractive sandal being lost in the market after returning from her friend’s wedding. This leads to her accession to the throne when a prince finds that sandal and turns desperate to marry its owner. This story describes how the stepmother tries the best of her stratagems, leaving no stone unturned, to prevent this from happening — but in total vain.