The Meiteis are the majority ethnic race of valley of Manipur, and because of this are sometimes referred to as Manipuris. The Meitei people are made up of seven tribes, or clans, which trace their history back to around the 1st century.

Meitei women have always enjoyed equal status with men, and today they work in nearly every social and economic sphere of society; in particular, they control the Meitei markets and the trade in vegetables and traditional clothing. The traditional dress of the women folk is called "fanek". It is a simple gown , worn at the waist or above the chest like a towel. This is complemented by traditional shirts and a "khudei" which may be compared to the Indian dupatta.

The Meitei people are well-known for their sporting prowess, hockey and polo are traditional and the Meitei form of martial art, thang ta, has recently been recognised as one of the official forms of international martial arts.

The major population is concentrated in the Imphal valley of Manipur, Cachar valley of Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Majority of the Meiteis are followers of Vaishnavite Hinduism mixed with traditional beliefs. A section of the Meiteis follows ancient Meitei religion called Sanamahi laining. Meitei Pangal, a section of the larger Meitei ethnic group follows Islam. There are some individuals who follow religions like Christianity and the Bahá'í Faith.

The language used is generally referred to as "meitei-lon". It belongs to the Indo-Tibetian family of languages.Literally it means the "language of the Meiteis". But for some time now, it has been known as "manipuri". Since 1992, the language is in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution. Commonly the text is written in the Bengali Script. The original script has been out of use for a long time but revived recently.

The favoured food among the Meiteis is rice, fish and a lot of vegetables. Footstuffs include "ngari", meaning "preserved fish" in the native tongue. As the imphal valley has a lot rainfall in the monsoons, a lot of fish is caught which is dried in the sun and preserved in earthen pots. Due to the fermentation involved , ngari has a distict smell and taste. It is found in low quantities in many meetei dishes. Abother dish contains "Hawaizar", meaning "preserved beans". Soyabean is boiled on low heat for a time, washed, packed in leaves and let to cool down for several days where it ferments. It is wrapped in banana leaves and distributed. Both the food forms are a cottage industry in Manipur.

Ethnic groups in India | Indo-Mongoloid

Manipuri | Meitei

Meitei Literature Link

• Seirangba Marup, the Yahoo Group of Manipuri Art and Literature