Yangkhullen awaits heritage village tag

Mungchan Zimik
UKHRUL, Jan 21 : Yang-khullen village in Senapati district, perched on the steep slope of the Zi Mountain is Manipur's "hanging village".
Large boulders and slabs of stones stacked as bastions and steps leading to the village, nestled at 1,600 metres above the sea level, Yangkhullen resembles a fortress.
Yangkhullen was indeed built as a "fortress" to protect its villagers from enemies during war.
Times have changed, but the structure remains.
Still preserved as it was in the past, Yangkhullen reminds the villagers of their forefathers and their architectural ingenuity that bound the villagers together and protected them from harm.
Yangkhullen was earlier called Zi village, after the mountain.
It has around 180 households.
The village is just a 2-hour drive from Maram.
From the foothill, one must walk and climb steep steps of some 250 metres. This is the only way to reach the village.
Climbing the steps is enthralling and refreshing with cold breeze soothing the body.
The village itself, and the view down below are picturesque.
Hingdailong, a village youth, said Yangkhullen is a "heritage passed down from our forefathers".
The villagers want Yangkhullen to be officially recognised and developed as a heritage village.
Rightly so, Yangkhullen has stood the test of time. All the ancient structures, architecture and culture are well preserved.
Hingdailong said the villagers are putting in every effort to preserve the village, its culture and tradition.
Yangkhullen has four entrances or gates, constructed by "our forefathers", he said.
Two of the gates are located on the eastern side of the village, one is in the southwest, and the fourth is in the southern side.
The southern gate was used by the villagers for going to fields for agricultural work in the past, Hingdailiong said.
He said each gate was maintained by a village clan. The stones were stacked in odd numbers as a traditional practice of the village.
Once the gates were closed, there was no other way to enter the village in the past. It kept the villagers safe from the attacking enemies. The entire village was a fortress, Hingdailiong said.
A good old practice of the village that has continued till today is the "sharing of the meat" of the animal killed during hunting, he said.
Whenever an animal is killed during hunting, the meat is shared within the clan, he added.
However, he noted that there are forest areas where the village has banned all types of hunting.
The village has declared the upper hill slope as a reserved forest area, he added.
The main occupation of the village is agriculture. Only about 10-15 people are Government employees, Hingdailiong said.
Sharing some of the tradition and customs, Hingdailong said, "There is a particular pond in the village that is considered a taboo for women".
Women of the village are prohibited from fetching water from this pond, he said.
Explaining, Hingdailong said, the pond was used by warriors of the village in the old days.
After returning from a war, the men would wash themselves in the pond before entering their home, Hingdailong said, adding women are still prohibited from fetching water in the pond.
He continued that the village has preserved many old articles and tools used by the forefathers.
The village has kept "Rangki Lee" well preserved, Hingdailong said.
Rangki Lee is a giant wooden bunk bed used by young males.
There are also antiques like wooden wine storage, wooden plates and different types of weapons. "The antiques are the village's assets," Hingdailong said.
In 2022, former Chief Minister N Biren Singh publicly declared Yangkhullen as a heritage village of Manipur on his maiden visit. However, there is no visible work on the ground to make the village a truly heritage village till today, Hingdailong said.
With the objective to develop Yangkhullen as a heritage village, the locals constructed three heritage and guest houses, he said.
While there are still no adequate guest houses and homestays, Yangkhullen still attracts many visitors from across the country, he said.
Promoting and improving homestays and other facilities including access to water will help the village become a favourite tourist destination, he said.
"Yangkhullen has every potential to become one of the most attractive heritage villages in the country. What is lacking is proper attention of the Government and relevant authorities," Hingdailong said.
Developing Yangkhullen village as a heritage village will certainly boost eco-tourism in Manipur, he added.