FROM DOMESTIC ORAL TRADITION TO DIGITAL CULTURAL FORM: A STUDY OF PHUNGA WARI AMONG OLDER AND YOUNGER GENERATIONS IN IMPHAL, MANIPUR

Vivek Paonam; Oinam Momoton Singh

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i12s.2026.8341

Authors

Vivek Paonam Senior Research Fellow, Department of Sociology, Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur
Dr. Oinam Momoton Singh Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i12s.2026.8341

Keywords:

Phunga Wari, Meitei Oral Tradition, Digital Folklore, Cultural Transmission, Manipur, Intergenerational Change

Abstract [English]

Phunga Wari is a Meitei storytelling practice rooted in the household, the hearth, and the everyday bond between elders and children. In its older form, it was more than a way to pass time. It carried moral lessons, memory, humour, discipline, and practical wisdom through ordinary family moments. This study looks at its changing place in Imphal today, using field evidence from 30 elder focus groups and 788 younger respondents. Phunga Wari is moving away from an elder-centred household setting into a wider mediated field. The stories remain available, but the older social setting that gave storytelling its force has become weaker. The paper argues that Phunga Wari now stands between continuity and change in Meitei cultural life.

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