International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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Volume 8 Issue 5
September-October 2026

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Postpartum Ritual of Confinement: An Anthropological Exploration of Maternal Healthcare Practices among the Meitei-Pangal Women, Manipur

Author(s) Ms. R.L. Fatima Kh., Ms. Debashmita Banerjee, Prof. Benrithung Murry
Country India
Abstract Childbirth is a crucial part of women’s life and maternal health. Birth and its immediate postpartum period are precarious period for both mother and child. This precarious postpartum period is socially managed through a ritual of confinement called meining kunba in Meitei-Pangal society. Women are bound with cultural beliefs, practices, norms and tradition during this postpartum confinement. Through ethnographic inductive study, fieldwork was carried out in a village with 172 households and 897 population- 448 females and 449 males. Methods used are in-depth interview (21) and case study (3) of ever-married women of (15-49) years old. Through content analysis and data interpretation, it is found that meining kunba is an inevitable postpartum healthcare practice and observed traditionally by Meitei-Pangal women immediately after childbirth. Beside healthcare practice, it is culturally defined and understood as the initial 40days of postpartum period. This postpartum confinement is ritualised firstly, to provide optimum maternal and childcare; secondly, protection against vulnerability of evil spirit and lastly, maintain ritual purity due to concept of pollution. The present study provides an anthropological perspective of postpartum ritual of confinement, cultural logics behind its practice as well as, its social significance in regulating fertility behaviour, foster kinship ties and preserve tradition of a society. It will provide a template to understand cultural needs of women so as to address broader challenges women faced to access maternal healthcare service.
Keywords Meining Kunba, Maternal Healthcare Practice and Meitei-Pangal Women
Field Sociology > Health
Published In Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On 2026-10-26
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E-ISSN 2582-2160
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CrossRef DOI prefix of IJFMR is 10.36948/ijfmr

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