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Lainingthou Sanamahi Kiyong
An afternoon scene of the Lainingthou Sanamahi Kiyong
Religion
Affiliation	Sanamahism (Meitei religion)
Sect	Lainingthou Sanamahi worship
District	Imphal East district
Province	Kangleipak (Meitei for 'Manipur')
Region	Nongmaiching Mountain (Selloi Langmai Mountain)
Deity	Lainingthou Sanamahi
Ecclesiastical or organisational status	active
Governing body	"Sanamahi Lainingkol" (University of Sanamahi Culture)
Year consecrated	2019[1]
Status	active
Location
Location	Nongmaiching mountains (Selloi Langmai mountains)
State	Manipur
Country	India
Architecture
Type	Meitei architecture
Style	Meitei architecture
Funded by	followers of Sanamahism
Date established	8 June 2019; 4 years ago (2019-06-08)[1]
Groundbreaking	2006[2]
Completed	2019
Specifications
Height (max)	75 feet (23 m)[2]
Dome(s)	1
Minaret(s)	1
Spire(s)	1
Temple(s)	1
Monument(s)	1
Shrine(s)	1
Inscriptions	1

The Lainingthou Sanamahi Kiyong (Meitei for 'Lainingthou Sanamahi Shrine'), officially known as the Laiyingthou Sanamahi Kiyong (Meitei for 'Laiyingthou Sanamahi Shrine'),^[a] is a temple of God Lainingthou Sanamahi of Meitei religion (Sanamahism), built on the Nongmaiching mountain (Selloi Langmai mountain) in the Imphal East district of Kangleipak (Meitei for 'Manipur'). It is a center of the Sanamahism followers in Manipur.^[3][2] It is the central body of the "Sanamahi Lainingkol" (University of Sanamahi Culture) at Chingoi Maru Langmaiching (Nongmaiching).^[4][5][6]

The Sanamahi Kiyong is a religious destination and a pilgrimage site for the Meitei people, even for those living outside Manipur in other Northeast Indian states and also for the Kabui people and the Zeliangrong people living in Manipur, Assam and Tripura inside India as well as in Myanmar and Bangladesh.^[7]

Aim

The construction of the Sanamahi Kiyong temple aims at the establishment of a university of Sanamahi religion on the Nongmaiching mountain. It was built according to a 2002 resolution adopted at a public meeting having a goal to construct a university for Sanamahism,^[2] with the aim to teach the future generations of people about the ancient Meitei culture of the Sanamahi religion, offering its students various subjects about indigenous art forms, dance forms, music, Thang-Ta and Sagol Kangjei (Meitei for 'polo') etc.^[1][8]

Architecture

The Sanamahi Kiyong is 75 feet (23 m) tall. It has 7 stories, that represent the seven clans (Meitei: Salai) of the Meitei people. The 7 stories are painted in the colours of the 7 Meitei clans.^[2]

Construction

The construction of the Sanamahi Kiyong started in the year 2006. It was done through the donated funds raised from the public.^[2][4][5] As of March 2012, the construction cost reached ₹2 crore (equivalent to ₹3.8 crore or US$470,000 in 2023) and the then estimation of net cost was around ₹3 crore (equivalent to ₹5.7 crore or US$710,000 in 2023).^[2]

Inauguration

The Sanamahi Kiyong was previously planned to be inaugurated on 16 May 2019. But it was postponed to 8 June 2019 because religious leaders advised that it should be done on Meitei month of Enga (Meitei: ꯏꯉꯥ, romanized: ī-ngā) and not on the month of Kalen (Meitei: ꯀꯥꯂꯦꯟ, romanized: kā-len) and 8 June falls on Enga, the favourable month.^[3][9][10]

On 8 June 2019, the Sanamahi Kiyong Hongba (Meitei for 'inauguration of the Kiyong-Temple') was organised by the "Foundation For University of Sanamahi Culture" and the "Laiyingthou Sanamahi Thougal Kanglup". The event was attended by N Hiyainu, wife of Nongthombam Biren, the then Chief Minister of Manipur.^[1]

Gallery