'Kabui Messiah': The Jadonong Movement in Manipur

Abstract

Jadonong was a traditional prophet-healer of the Kabui Nagas of Manipur in north-east India during the 1920's and 1930's. The movement he led was an attempt to purify the traditional Kabui religion. It developed into a political challenge to British authority, encouraging non-payment of taxes and proclaiming the coming of a Naga kingdom. Jadonong was eventually arrested and hanged. The movement he and his young prophetess, Gaid- inlui, founded, provided a basis for subsequent Naga political associations both before and after independence.