10 Families Keep Manipur's 500-Year Salt Tradition Alive

In Ningel village, tucked away in Manipur's Thoubal district, something precious is being saved from extinction. Ten families are keeping alive the centuries-old tradition of making Meitei Thumpak, flat salt discs crafted from natural saline springs that bubble up from the earth.

These aren't ordinary salt cakes. For hundreds of years, Manipuri kings gifted Thumpak to warriors and allies as tokens of honor, valued as highly as gold in local folklore. Families used them in birth ceremonies and weddings, and the Meitei people even worship Thumleima, a goddess of salt, praying for abundant springs to keep their communities thriving.

The process is backbreaking work. These dedicated families collect mineral-rich brine from Thumkhong, one of India's last natural saline springs, carrying it in pots to their homes. They boil the water for hours over wood fires, then carefully shape the concentrated salt into traditional flat discs by hand.

Modern packaged salt nearly wiped out this tradition. What once involved an entire village now survives through just 10 families. Of the six natural springs that existed, only three remain active today.

Each Thumpak sells for just Rs 10 to Rs 15, barely covering costs. Yet these families continue the tradition because they understand what's at stake. Thumpak represents cultural identity, ancient wisdom, and a unique chapter in India's story of human ingenuity that spans centuries.

Why This Inspires

These 10 families aren't just making salt. They're choosing heritage over convenience, preservation over profit, and cultural identity over easy money. Their dedication shows that some traditions deserve protection not because they're practical, but because they tell us who we are and where we came from. Every hand-shaped disc carries generations of knowledge, ritual, and community pride.

Against all economic odds, they're proving that ancient wisdom still has a place in modern India.