Religion is a set of ideas about something that we humans believe to be outside of ourselves. Its nature is universal. It is a means of connecting people by directing their emotions. It is also a means of coping with the things outside of our control and for which we have no explanation. The two main pillars of culture are religion and life cycle customs. Life cycle rituals are the occasions or celebrations that designate significant turning points in a person’s life. These customs signify the transition from one period of a person’s life to the next. These rituals are made more meaningful and practical by religion (Singh, 2015).
       
Our entire Manipuri culture is reflected in the “Lai-haraoba.” It displays the Manipuri people’s charm and happiness, as well as their strengths and weaknesses and beliefs. Sacred grove degradation, on the other hand, could result from focusing more on “Lai-haraoba” in cultural programs and less on the groves’ conservation needs. A variety of traditional, religious, cultural and ritualistic beliefs and practices that promote the conservation of certain wildlife and cultivated plants are connected to the ancient Manipur’s love and care for them. Meiteis are one of the indigenous inhabitants of Manipur state in North-eastern part of India. Some Meiteis are Vaisnavite Hindus. The term “traditional ecological knowledge” describes the body of information that native and indigenous peoples have accumulated over many centuries from close observation and interaction with their surroundings. Intimate and in-depth knowledge of flora, fauna and natural phenomena; creation and application of suitable technologies for trapping, hunting, fishing and farming; and a comprehensive understanding, or “world view,” analogous to the scientific field of ecology are all included (Inglis, 1993).
       
The present study has been undertaken to assess the traditional knowledge in the utilisation of religious/sacred plants in rituals of Meitei and Meitei Hindu people based on the collections of plant species from three Women’s markets.

Study area
 
Manipur is a state in Northeast India, with its capital city being Imphal. The Indian states of Mizoram border it to the South, Assam to the West and Nagaland to the North (Fig 1). The size of the state is 22,327 square kilometers. The state has an abundance of flora owing to its location at the junction of the Himalayas and Indo-Burma, along with many different climates and edaphic factors. The region within the Indo-Burma biodiversiity mega hotspot was rated the seventh greatest hotspot, as per the “Hotspots of the world” (Myers et al., 2000).


       
The Ima Keithel (Meitei: Mothers’ market), also known as the Nupi Keithel (Women’s market) or Khwairamband Keithel (Khwairamband market), is a unique female-only market (Largest women’s market in Asia) situated in Imphal West District of Manipur, India (24°48’28.88"N, 93°56’2.57"E). All vendors and entrepreneurs in the market are women and therefore, the market is entirely run by women.
       
Nambol is considered one of the places to go for education in Bishnupur district of Manipur. After Khwairamband Bazar in Manipur, Nambol Bazar (located at coordinates, 24°48'27.75"N, 93°56'0.61"E) is the second most heavily used market in this area. The Nambol Bora, a local specialty is famous at this market. This market is also very heavily geared towards only women. The main location that draws in visitors to Manipur is the Loktak lake located in Bishnupur District at a distance of 48 km from Imphal City and is also the largest freshwater lake in North-East India. Singjamei Keithel (located at 24°46'53.98"N, 93°56'22.77"E) in Imphal is also a bustling commercial hub. The area in which our research was conducted is one of the largest and oldest markets in the country. This market has a large assortment of items such as Manipuri traditional handicrafts, beautiful jewellery, awesome textiles, an array of fruits and vegetable, etc.
 
Survey, collection and identification of plants
 
Several collections were undertaken in 2 districts of Manipur in May-July (2024 and 2025). Plants were collected and identified for their sacred uses. Taxonomic identification was carried out using standard books of IBSD and BSI (2021) and ICAR (2004) and sources from World Flora Online, Indian Fora Online, Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants in Manipur, Plants of the World Online and Tropicos.
       
A study of sacred plants was conducted in the above three markets by interviewing with 30 respondents. 10 elderly persons (above 60 years of age) comprising of 10 respondents from each market were selected purposively and interviewed to assess their traditional knowledge regarding the utilisation of bioresources in rituals and cultural life of the people. Knowledgeable persons (Arangphams, event managers of the traditional rituals of Manipur) of villages were interviewed about the sacred plants and the information collected was verified with the published literature (Singh and Singh 1994; Trisal and Manihar 2004; Laishram et al. 2019; Singh and Rajkumari 2021; Devi et al. 2024a,b; Devi et al. 2024). Botanical and family names of plant species were updated with the help of Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database. Some mistakes and others found in botanical names in the book of Singh (Singh, 2006) were corrected and updated.
 
Data collection from local ritual managers
 
The indigenous ritual managers known as Arangphams (in male), Maiba and Maibi were chosen as informants for this study because they are recognised authorities in planning, designing, organizing and managing most of the traditional ritual events of the Meiteis and Meitei Hindus of Manipur. All of the gathered plants were provided to them in the form of fresh plants, images, local names, etc. to aid in their understanding. Local names, botanical names, family names and the dissemination of religious knowledge were all documented.

A total of 49 taxa of sacred plants belonging to 43 genera and 30 families were documented in the present study. The most dominant family include Rosaceae with 7 species followed by Asteraceae with 5 species; Cucurbitaceae and zingiberaceae with 4 species each; Nymphaeaceae and solanaceae with 3 species each; Poaceae, Magnoliaceae, Oleaceae and Anacardiaceae with 2 species each and rest of 16 families having only 1 species (Table 1). Some sacred plants are shown in Fig 2-4.








       
The Meitei’s priest and priestess, Maiba and Maibi, are significant figures in a number of celebrations and rituals. Maibi (pl. = Maibis) takes a major role during the festival of Lai-haraoba, Apokpa-khurumba and Laisang Hangba. She carries out rites (worshipping of the ancestor deities of a particular salai/yek, i.e. clan). This kind of Maibi is distinct from the contemporary midwife Maibi in both appearance and manner of attire. Some Maibis work as midwives, assisting in childbirth. Maiba is typically used in Lai-haraoba, death ceremonies and conventional medical practices. Both of them served as God’s emissaries, making pleas on behalf of people and the well-being of society. Various sacred plants and their derivatives are used by both Maiba and Maibi during the festivals and activities mentioned above. Similar to this, depending on the various rites, Hindu priests and priestesses use different plants and their products.
       
On the other hand, the taboos and beliefs surrounding the sylvan deities (Umanglai) in the forest areas are limited to any kind of disruption of the local flora and wildlife. These social divisions support the idea of sacred groves by aiding in the preservation of the organism as a whole. The Meiteis, a major community in Manipur, execute the annual pleasing of the deities in order to worship them and win their favour. Indigenous cultural acts and rituals carried out by the locals in sacred groves are a means of biodiversity conservation. Across a broad range of ecosystems, sacred trees/plants support the preservation of uncommon and endemic species. Preserved holy forests act as havens for endangered species and are rich sources of precious medicinal and other high-value plants (Khumbongmayum et al., 2005). Most of the plants indicated in Table 1 are essential for Umanglai.
       
Maximum and minimum numbers of sacred plants were reported from Ima Keithel and Singjamei Keithel respectively in our present study (Table 2). It has been discovered that the majority of the herbs utilised in the ceremonies have therapeutic qualities. To preserve the knowledge of significant indigenous plants that are closely related to daily lives, the community devised various protocols. To honour the significance of the plants, they create a variety of cultural practices, including festivals, ceremonies, rituals and religion. Among the notable celebrations are Lai-haraoba and Sajibu Cheiraoba. The significance of plants is increased and the next generation is made more familiar with them through the festivals and ceremonies. To a certain extent, taboos and traditional beliefs aid in protecting sacred plants from the growing urbanisation.


       
The current research showed that a lot of sacred and medicinal plants were used by the Meitei community. This indicates that there is strong link between preserving biodiversity and continuing with the traditional culture/nature practices of the Meitei people. The same conclusion was made by Kumar et al. (2023) when they looked at the sacred grove ecosystems of the Western Ghats. These authors found that protecting these areas via ritual means has greatly contributed to protecting the diversity of plants and creating a bank of knowledge surrounding how to use them. In addition, indigenous plant knowledge has been shown to have a significant role in traditional (non-Western) medicine, community food security and sustainable use of local resources in studies regarding wild edible plants in the Himalayas (Nisha and Rao, 2021). In addition, there has been an increase in global interest toward conserving and using neglected indigenous crops and highly-valued culturally relevant plant species due to their resilience to climate change, social/cultural value and their role in promoting sustainable development (Mutetwa et al., 2026).

The present study was supported by the Principal, G.P. Women’s College, Dhanamanjuri University, Imphal 795 001, India. We thank the Principal, G.P. Women’s College, Dhanamanjuri University, for the support and encouragement. We are also grateful to the Arangphams (in male), Maiba and Maibi for providing information on sacred plants and their by-products.
 
Disclaimers
 
The views and conclusions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of their affiliated institutions. The authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information provided, but do not accept any liability for any direct or indirect losses resulting from the use of this content.

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article. No funding or sponsorship influenced the design of the study, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.