Meitei people in Australia

The Meitei people (), also known as the Manipuris (), originating from the northeastern Indian state of Manipur and parts of Bangladesh with Meitei population, constitute a small but growing diaspora in Australia.

## Cinema 
In October 2017, the Meitei language film Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake) received two nominations for the 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Brisbane.

The Meitei language film Boong was awarded Best Youth Film, in the 17th edition of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, held in 2024 in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, following the four-day Asia Pacific Screen Forum.

## Clothing 
Meitei women in Australia commonly wear traditional attire consisting of the phanek (), a wraparound skirt, paired with the innaphi (), a lightweight shawl draped over the upper body. This clothing style reflects customary dress practices of the Meitei community from northeastern India.

During Meitei festivals in Australia, traditional Meitei foods such as ngatoi (fish curry), ooti (greens and lentil curry), singju (a salad spiced with perilla seeds, fermented fish, and ghost pepper), keli channa (chickpea preparation), and laphutharo eromba (a dish made with banana flower) are prepared and consumed by the Meitei community.

Drawing on these texts, Lightfoot prepared explanatory notes that outlined core features of Manipuri dance. These included an understanding of the performance space as sacred, the ritualistic and devotional character of the dance, the deliberate absence of emotions such as lust, greed, anger, envy, hatred, and pride, and the use of modest costuming intended to prevent sexualized interpretations.

## Fashion 
During the 2018 Eco Fashion Week Australia (EFWA), Robert Naorem, a designer of Meitei heritage, presented a collection as part of the EFWA UpCycling Challenge on Day 4 of the event, held on 19 November. The showcase, titled Fashion Archaeology, incorporated elements of Meitei cultural heritage within the framework of sustainable fashion practices.

Naorem's collection was constructed using upcycled materials, including thrifted garments, handmade pieces, and recycled textiles. The designs drew inspiration from Meitei historical and cultural symbols associated with Manipur, particularly the traditional inaphi, a draped shawl worn by Meitei women, known for its distinctive motif work. The garments utilized handloom textiles, organic silks, and cottons, produced by artisanal weavers in Manipur.
### Ningol Chakouba 
Ningol Chakouba (), a festival celebrated to strengthen the bond of love between married women and their paternal families, is also observed by the Meitei diaspora in Australia. Sometimes, it was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

## Facing racism 
Instances of racialized interpretations of Meitei culture in Australia have been documented in historical media coverage. In an article published in The Sydney Morning Herald on 13 June 1957, a writer identified as R.R. described the Manipuri dancer Ibetombi in racialized terms, referring to her as belonging to the "Mongolian" race. The writer drew parallels between her performance and what he termed "Mongolian art," characterizing it with language suggestive of primitivism and exoticism.

This depiction was publicly challenged by David K. Cleaver, a supporter of Indian classical dance, who submitted a letter to the editor published the same day. Cleaver criticized the racial classification as inaccurate, arguing that there is no singular concept of "Mongolian art or dance." He noted that while some Southeast Asian cultures had borrowed artistic influences from the north, their aesthetic traditions were more closely aligned with those of the Indian subcontinent than with East Asian cultures such as Korea or Japan. Cleaver further condemned the racial framing of cultural expression as a remnant of 19th-century pseudo-scientific theories.

The categorization of regions such as northeast India within a so-called "Mongolian Fringe"—a term used by Olaf Caroe, former Foreign Secretary to the British-Indian government—has historically contributed to a racialized perception of indigenous and tribal communities. This classification has often led to cultural stereotyping, social marginalization, and discriminatory attitudes toward people from these regions.

In contrast, figures such as Lightfoot sought to present Meitei dance in Australia through a more scholarly and culturally informed lens. Drawing on academic sources—including works by Mutua Jhulan Singh, Faubion Bowers, Haobam Kulabidhu Singh, and Jyotirmoy Roy—Lightfoot produced detailed explanatory notes for performances. These emphasized core characteristics of Manipuri dance, such as its ritualistic and devotional nature, the sacred symbolism of the performance space, the emotional restraint embodied by the dancers, and the use of modest costumes to prevent misinterpretation of the performance's intent.

## Related pages 
* Meitei people in Canada
* Meitei people in the United  Kingdom
* Meitei people in the United States
* Meitei people in Bangladesh
* Meitei people in Myanmar
* Meitei people in Assam
* Meitei people in Meghalaya
* Meitei people in Nagaland
* Meitei people in Tripura

## Bibliography 
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## References