The sangai or the Indian Eld’s deer resides as an isolated single population in the world’s only floating national park in Manipur ? the grassland-dominated Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP).
Culturally, the sangai finds itself imbedded deep into the legends and folklore of the Manipuris. Based on a popular folk legend, the sangai is interpreted as the binding soul between humans and the nature. The slaying of the sangai, an unpardonable sin, is conceived as the rude breaking up of the cordial relationship between humans and the nature. When humans love and respect the sangai, it is respecting nature. In the sangai, therefore, humans find a way of expressing their love for the nature. Socially, the sangai is the symbol of a prized possession of the state.
It is believed that the name sangai was coined from its peculiar posture and behaviour while running. By nature, the deer, particularly the males, even when running for its life stops occasionally and looks back as if he is waiting for someone and hence the name.
Picture Credit : Google
