Thang-ta or huyen lallong is a weapon-based Indian martial art created by the Meitei of Manipur. In the Manipuri language, thang means sword and ta means spear. As its name implies, the sword and spear are the primary weapons in thang-ta. The spear can be used in its non-missile form while in close or thrown from afar. Other weapons used include the shield and axe. Because of Manipur's cultural similarity, geographic proximity and ethnic ties with Myanmar, thang-ta is closely related to banshay. Both can be practiced in three different ways: ritual, demonstration and combat. The first way is related to the tantric practices and is entirely ritualistic in nature. The second way consists of a spectacular performance involving sword and spear dances. These dances can be converted into actual fighting practices. The third way is the true combat application.
The earliest record of thang-ta and its sibling Sarit Sarak dates back from the early 17th century. Warriors would arrange to fight one-on-one as a way of settling feuds or disputes. The day before a duel, fighters might eat dinner together. While thang-ta involves using weapons against one or more opponents, Sarit Sarak is the art of fighting empty-handed against armed or unarmed opponents, but on many occasions there is a combined approach to the training of these two systems. They were used with great success by the Manipuri kings to fight against the European colonists.Martial arts were banned during the British occupation of the region,since it was used to train the freedom fighter to fight against the Britishers, but the 1950s saw a resurgence of the traditional fighting forms. Today thang-ta is the most popular of Meitei martial arts, practiced by both men and women. It is most often seen through demonstrations in cultural programs.
"The Hornbill festival held in the first week of December shows that with its stunning natural beauty and great cultural traditions, Nagaland can offer a rich fare to tourists. NAGALAND, with its diverse tribal culture, is a land of festivals. A narrow strip of mountainous territory with rugged hills, emerald valleys, sparkling streams and a rich variety of flora and fauna, the 16th State of the Indian Union has salubrious climate throughout the year.
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang [at] gmail [dot] com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com
