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The traffic island
at Mao Gate in Senapati District, Manipur has several megaliths that
are protected by the office of State Archaeology in recognizing their
antiquity related to the long tradition of the Mao tribe of Manipur.
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Some of the
megaliths are more than a hundred years old and they conform to the
marked custom and tradition of the Mao tribe whereas these megaliths
are closely related to the lives of the tribal villagers, and are in a
way testimonies of their past economy and way of life. |
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These megaliths
are erected during their Feast of Merit when a person of wealth and
position in the village would perform the ritual of erecting a
monolith to demonstrate his material wealthiness, and in the process
he would be accorded certain status in the tribal society. Inevitably,
these megaliths are regarded as symbols of wealth and social status. |
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The practice,
however, has become obsolete today owing mainly to the advent of
Christianity and western education. Mao Gate is 106 kms to the north
of Imphal, on N.H.39. The total area protected is 570 sq. m. |
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