The term “Phunga” refers to a fireplace, usually placed in the kitchen and “Wari” means tales or stories in the Manipuri Language. In the evenings, the children of a household gather around the fireplace while their grandparents share traditional stories. When the individual terms “Phunga” and “Wari” are put together, they translate to “Folktales”, stories passed down from generation to generation.

This is the first episode of a three-part podcast series Phunga Wari (Manipuri Folktales), each featuring a folktale narrated by an elder in Manipuri to capture the authentic beauty of oral storytelling. Each Manipuri narration is immediately followed by an English translation in Rajkumari Reekiya's voice.

Rajkumari Reekiya, a 5th Semester student of the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English at The Assam Royal Global University produced this podcast series as part of her Summer Internship with NEZINE.

English narration of this episode 1 (Kabui Kei Oiba- The Tiger Head) I Manipuri Folktales- PHUNGA WARI begins at [11:57].

Credits:

Special thanks to Thingbaijam Ramananda Singh for his contribution.

Music:

Harish Kangjam