Shaphee Lanphee is a type of Shawl which is specially made by needle work without frame over the Loin Loom fabric woven by Meitei Women. It is worn by the Nagas of Manipur as a special recognition of Honour. Literally, the name of Shaphee is the fabric of animal and Lanphee is the fabric of war.
The shawl of Shaphee Lanphee is a special cloth which was used to be presented as rewards/awards by the Meitei Kings to the worthy Naga Chiefs of Manipur. It marks as pride and respect to the person who possess it. The stylized motifs of the Shaphee Lanphee are now popularly used as waist coat with synthetic lining.
Shaphee Lanphee have black background and red border fabric decorated with 10 different stylized motifs, namely, Shamu (elephant), Shagol (horse), Iroichi (buffalo horn), Nga (fish), Numit (sun), Tha (moon), Thawanmichak (star), Phantup (seat), Ta (spear) and Wahong (peacock). All the stylized motifs are embroidered with needle manually with cotton threads.
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The fabric is first embroidered with 40 Nos. of Thwanmichak (the Star) in two extreme margins of the fabric. Secondly, 20 Nos. of Ta (the Spear) and 10 Nos. of Phantup (the magical seat) in two sides in the second row of the fabric are embroidered and the third row is repeated with another set of 20 Nos. of Thwanmichak (the Star) having 10 Thwanmichak in each side.
The fourth row is embroidered with 10 Nos. of Iroichi (the buffalo horn) in two sides having 5 Iroichi in each side. Fifth row is represented by five motifs, namely, two Numit (two Sun), two Tha (two Moon) and one Shagol (one Horse) in the middle in each side. Therefore, there are 4 Numit, 4 Tha and two Shagol together in the fabric.
In the middle, there are two Wahong (two Peacocks) in the outer margin and two Nga (two Fishes) and two Shamu (two elephants) in the inner centre. Unlike such other embroidery, the work on Shaphee Lanphee embroidery is done without any frame support. It starts the manual embroidery from right to left horizontally by a needle. The stitching method is locally known as pumhanba, means repeat threading.
The philosophical concept of the different motifs which are needed in the Shaphee Lanphee is that the floral design with the red core is significance the Sun. The white patches at the ends are significance of the stars and the other heavenly bodies in the sky. The concept of the moon and the sun are the symbols of mother and father.
The significances of this cloth of attractive motifs are the representation of the relationship between the celestial bodies and the Meitei King. The celestial bodies like sun, moon, star, etc. are the symbolization of the supreme power of mother and father. The motifs of Phantup (magical seat) and the elephant symbolize the royalty. The motifs of spear heads and the fishes are connected with the myth of King Naothingkhong (663-763 A. D.).
A Shaphee Lanphee is required both the hand weaving and embroidery work with needle. Like normal fabric, it is required warp thread, weft thread and embroidery thread. Weaving in Manipur, from early period, used mainly the fibres extracted from “Lashing” (Cotton ball) and “Kabrang” (Mulberry cocoon) and also extracted from the bark of a kind of tree called “Santhak” Urtica sp.).
GI Tag Registration Date : 31 March 2014
GI Tag Number : 371
Certificate Number : 211
Geographical Area : Manipur
Special Cover Release Date : 19 November 2021
Cancellation : Imphal 795 001
Type : GI Tag Cover
Cover Identification Number : NE/27/2021-2022
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Enlarged View of Cancellation
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