About Sajibu Cheiraoba
Sajibu Cheiraoba, also called Sajibu Nongma Panba, is the Meitei new year, kept on the first day of the lunar month Sajibu. In 2027 it falls on Wednesday, 7 April 2027. Meitei families in Manipur, Assam, Tripura and well beyond cook a feast, offer it to the household deities at the gate, and climb a hill in the afternoon.
Cheiraoba is a home festival. The work happens in the kitchen and at the gate, and the outing is a walk up a hill after lunch. The full name, Sajibu Nongma Panba, describes the date itself: Sajibu is the first month of the Meitei year, nongma is the first day of a month, and panba means to be. So the name simply says "it is the first of Sajibu".
How the date is set
Sajibu begins with the new moon of March or April, so Cheiraoba usually lands on the same lunar day as Gudi Padwa and Ugadi. In 2026 it was on Thursday, 19 March. The Manipur government names the day each year in its list of public holidays as "Sajibu Nongmapanba (Cheiraoba)", and that list is the date to follow.
The same 2026 list also carries a second holiday called Cheiraoba, on 14 April. That is the mid-April solar new year, which some Vaishnava Hindu families in Manipur keep instead of the lunar date. It falls the same week as Bohag Bihu in Assam. Most Meitei households treat the Sajibu date as the new year. If a friend greets you twice, this is why.
The day, in order
- The days beforeCleaning and new clothes
Clothes, utensils and the whole house are cleaned and old things thrown out; families buy new clothes. In older practice the walls were freshly coated with black mud each year
- The eveShopping and snails
Khwairamband Keithel and the women's market in Imphal fill up with buyers. One writer records a custom of eating snails at dinner and counting the shells, with an even count taken as lucky
- Early morningAthenpot kaba
Elderly women offer fresh fruit, vegetables, rice and seasonal flowers to Lainingthou Sanamahi, the household deity, and the deity's clothes are changed
- MorningCooking
The men of the house traditionally cook while the women help with the cutting and washing
- Late morningThe offering at the gate
The eldest son places food on a plantain leaf at the front gate and the back gate, and the family remembers its dead
- MiddayMathel laanba and the feast
Families send dishes to relatives and neighbours, receive theirs, and then sit down to eat
- AfternoonChing kaba
Families, mostly the young, climb a nearby hill before sunset
The offering at the gate
This is the heart of the day. A small patch of ground, about two feet square, is cleaned at the front and back gates and decorated with mud, flowers and leaves. On a plantain leaf the eldest son sets a small mound of steamed rice ringed with dishes, plus a coin, fruit, flowers, a candle and an incense stick. The offering goes to three deities who guard the household: Kumsana Kumliklai, Lamsenba Tusenba and Lammaba Tumaba. It is usually done before noon.
Accounts agree that the dishes offered are odd in number, usually three, five, seven or nine. One writer says an even number is cooked for the family table, so the two counts can differ. The older custom was vegetable dishes only. Many families now add fish to the meal, and some add meat.
The same morning the family remembers relatives who have died, often with their photographs draped in white cloth and set out with candles, fruit and flowers. So Cheiraoba is a cheerful day, but it is not a careless one.
The climb and the gifts
After the feast, people head for a hill. In Imphal the usual ones are Cheiraoching, Chinga at Singjamei, Heibokching at Langthaban, Langol and Iroishemba near Uripok, and these get crowded by mid-afternoon. Some explain the climb as a way to honour the hill deities. Others say climbing high on the first day lifts your fortunes for the year.
Married daughters often visit their parents with a gift, traditionally cloth, for their parents and brothers, and the young seek the blessings of elders. This runs the other way from Ningol Chakouba in autumn, when the brothers feed the sisters.
- Sajibu
- The first month of the Meitei lunar year, beginning with the new moon of March or April
- Nongma panba
- Being the first day of the month
- Lainingthou Sanamahi
- The deity of the Meitei household, worshipped inside the home
- Athenpot kaba
- The early offering of fresh produce and flowers to Sanamahi
- Mathel laanba
- Exchanging cooked dishes with neighbours and relatives before the meal
- Ching kaba
- Climbing a hill; the afternoon walk after the feast
- Khurumjari
- A respectful greeting, said with folded hands
Who keeps it, and where
Cheiraoba belongs to the Meitei, whether they follow Sanamahism, the older Meitei faith, or Vaishnava Hinduism. Accounts of its origin differ. Sanamahi followers trace it to the legendary king Maliya Fambalcha, after whom the Meitei calendar, Maliyafam Palcha Kumshing, is named. Writer Rajkumar Sanatomba Singh credits its present form to King Kiyamba, who ruled from 1467 to 1508. Neither can be checked against a single early record.
It is a state holiday in Manipur and is kept by Meitei families in the Barak Valley of Assam and in Tripura. Manipuri associations in Bengaluru, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune hold shared lunches, as do groups in Toronto and Melbourne. Manipur's Naga and Kuki-Zo communities have their own new-year and harvest festivals, so don't assume every Manipuri you know keeps this one.
After the violence that began in 2023, the festival was kept quietly for two years. Reports from Imphal in March 2026 noted bigger crowds at markets and hills than in recent years.
Happy Cheiraoba, Ima and Ipa. I will be home before the offering at the gate, and I am holding you both to the climb up Cheiraoching after lunch. May the new year keep you well.
Happy Cheiraoba. Thank you for cooking with me this morning and for remembering my grandparents at the gate. Here is to a calm, healthy year in our home.
Happy Cheiraoba from home. Someone climbed Cheiraoching for you this afternoon. Cook a few dishes even in a small kitchen, and call when you sit down to eat.
Happy Cheiraoba, and a good start to the Meitei new year. Hope the feast is long, the hill is not too steep, and the year ahead treats your family kindly.
Thinking of you on Cheiraoba, as you remember the one you lost at the offering this morning. Wishing your family a gentle and peaceful new year.
Ima, Ipa, Cheiraoba gi khurumjari. (Mother, Father, my respectful greetings on Cheiraoba.)
Do
- Wish on the Sajibu date in the Manipur holiday list; if a friend keeps the mid-April date instead, wish them then.
- Use family words where you can: Ima for mother, Ipa for father, Iche for an elder sister.
- If you visit, accept the dishes that are sent round; turning down food on mathel laanba is awkward.
Avoid
- Don't call it just "Manipur's Gudi Padwa"; it shares the lunar day but has its own deities and rituals.
- Don't tease about the offering at the gate or the snail shells; for many families these are prayers.
How to wish someone on Sajibu Cheiraoba
A good Cheiraoba wish is about a clean start at home: the house scrubbed, new clothes, the feast offered at the gate, the climb up a hill after lunch. From children it is respect for parents and elders; from a married daughter it often goes with a gift for her parents and brothers. The family also remembers its dead during the offering, so for a household that lost someone this year, a quieter line that names the person suits better than a cheerful one.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Meiteilon (Manipuri), written in Meetei Mayek or Bengali script.
When is Sajibu Cheiraoba in each year?
Sajibu Cheiraoba is set by the Meitei lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 19 days later than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027may vary by location
- 2028may vary by location
Frequently asked questions
When is Sajibu Cheiraoba in 2027?
Sajibu Cheiraoba 2027 falls on Wednesday, 7 April 2027. The exact date can vary by location and local calendar, so confirm with your community.
Why does Manipur have two Cheiraoba holidays?
Manipur's 2026 holiday list named Sajibu Nongmapanba (Cheiraoba) on 19 March and a separate Cheiraoba on 14 April. The first is the lunar new year on the first day of Sajibu, which most Meitei families keep. The second is the mid-April solar new year that some Vaishnava Hindu families follow.
Why do people climb a hill on Cheiraoba?
After the midday feast, families walk up a nearby hill such as Cheiraoching or Chinga in Imphal. Some say the climb honours the hill deities, and others say that rising high on the first day of the year lifts your fortunes for the months ahead.
What is offered at the gate on Cheiraoba?
The eldest son places a plantain leaf with a mound of steamed rice, an odd number of dishes, a coin, fruit, flowers, a candle and incense at the front and back gates. The offering goes to three guardian deities, Kumsana Kumliklai, Lamsenba Tusenba and Lammaba Tumaba, and the family remembers its dead at the same time.
Is Cheiraoba the same day as Gudi Padwa and Ugadi?
Usually, yes. All three fall on the first day of the lunar month that starts with the new moon of March or April. They are different festivals, though: Cheiraoba has its own Meitei deities, the gate offering and the hill climb.
How do you wish someone a happy Cheiraoba in Manipuri?
Most people write "Happy Cheiraoba" in English. For a respectful Meiteilon touch, "Cheiraoba gi khurumjari" means respectful greetings on Cheiraoba, and you can begin with Ima and Ipa when writing to parents.
Do married daughters go home on Cheiraoba?
Many do. Married daughters often visit their parents with a gift, traditionally cloth, for their parents and brothers, and the young seek the blessings of elders. It is the reverse of Ningol Chakouba in autumn, when the family feeds its daughters.
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