Imoinu Iratpa

Imoinu Iratpa is a sacred Meitei festival dedicated to Imoinu Ahongbi, a goddess associated with the household, hearth, kitchen, wealth and prosperity. The observance centers on the home, where families prepare offerings and prayers for household well-being.

The festival is also known as Emoinu Eratpa or Wakching Taranithoini Pānba, referring to the twelfth day of the Meitei lunar month of Wakching.

• 12th day of Wakching — the main day of Imoinu Iratpa in the Meitei lunar calendar.
• December–January — the observance usually falls around the transition between these Gregorian months.
• Festival eve — some community celebrations include a procession or preparatory activities before the main household prayers.

Household well-being — Imoinu is revered as a guardian of the home, hearth, food and domestic prosperity, so families seek blessings for peace, stability and abundance.

Gratitude for sustenance — Offerings of food and household resources express gratitude for the things that sustain family life.

Meitei spiritual tradition — The festival preserves devotion to Imoinu within Meitei religious and cultural practice, including among some Meiteis who also follow other religious traditions.

Traditional accounts of Imoinu worship place her among the deities revered in the older Meitei religious tradition. Historical accounts describe worship associated with the royal household by the 5th century, followed by wider participation among ordinary people by the 15th century.

The observance has traditionally been centered on domestic worship around the kitchen hearth. In more recent practice, community organizations and public venues have added collective rituals, cultural performances and other gatherings alongside household observance.

At home — Families clean and prepare the household, particularly the kitchen and hearth, and arrange food offerings for Imoinu.

Worship — Prayers and offerings may include rice, vegetables, fruits, sweets and fish. Lamps or candles are lit, especially in the evening.

In public — Community celebrations may feature processions, pena music, traditional dances, storytelling and other cultural performances.

Preparations begin with cleaning the household and arranging the foods and other offerings. During the main observance, prayers are performed and offerings are presented at the traditional household hearth or other designated sacred space. As evening arrives, lamps and candles are lit, while community celebrations may continue with music, dance and other cultural activities.

Manipur — The strongest concentration of observance is in Manipur, where household worship is complemented in some places by community rituals and cultural programmes.

Northeast India — Meitei communities outside Manipur may maintain the festival through household prayers and food offerings, adapting the scale of observance to local community settings.

Community gatherings — Public celebrations can vary considerably, from intimate neighborhood observances to larger programmes featuring music, dance and traditional religious performances.

• Household cleaning and preparation
• Offerings at the kitchen hearth
• Presentation of rice, vegetables, fruits and sweets
• Offering of fish
• Lighting candles and lamps
• Pena music and traditional dance
• Community processions and prayers

Imoinu — Represents household welfare, prosperity, food, peace and abundance.

Hearth — The traditional kitchen hearth connects the goddess with domestic life, cooking and sustenance.

Lamps and candles — Light is used to welcome and honor Imoinu during the evening observance.

Rice pot — Represents food, nourishment and the household resources associated with Imoinu.

Fish — A culturally important food and a customary offering in Imoinu Iratpa observances.

• Imoinu Iratpa is observed on the 12th lunar day of Wakching in the Meitei calendar.
• Imoinu is associated with the household hearth, kitchen, food, wealth, peace and prosperity in Meitei tradition.
• The festival is traditionally centered on household worship rather than a single central public venue.
• Fresh fish, vegetables, fruits and other foods are among the offerings made during the observance.
• Pena music, traditional dances and storytelling may form part of larger community celebrations.
• The festival is also known as Emoinu Eratpa and Wakching Taranithoini Pānba.