The Art of Bamboo: Bamboo in Manipuri Cultural Life India, Bangladesh and Myanmar: Cane and Bamboo Crafts of NE India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand

Bamboo is a tall plant found perennially in the tropical and sub-tropical areas of the globe. Bamboo species, numbering around 44, are found growing both in the valley and hills of hills of Manipur. Some of the names of the different species found in Manipur are saneibi Bambusa nutans, khok Bambusa mizorameana, naat schizostachyum munsoi watangkhoi Dendrocalamus hookeri, longa, tenwa Neomicrocalamus prainii uein Dendrocalamus longispathus, wamu, unal unap Dendrocalamus hamiltonii utang Bambusa tulda, poksang Schizostachyum pergracile meiribop Dendrocalamus latiflorus moubi Melocanna baccifera liwa, laiwa Chimonobambusa callosa, ui Dendrocalamus manipureanus, tongjiwa Schizostachyum fuchsianum etc. In the past it was an impossibility, on the part of both the valley and hill people, to maintain a cultural way of life without bamboo. The meeteis/meiteis who have settled outside of Manipur and India still continue with the cultural associations of bamboo.