recorded past. History however became more enlightened by the beginning of the 13th century owing to the cultural, trade and sometimes turbulent relations which had grown up with the people of the valley. References to the Tangkhul were found as early as the 13th century during the reign of Thawanthaba (1195-1231 AD) of Ningthouja Meitei dynasty. The chronicles refer to the frequent raids in many tribal villages by these Kings.
There has always been some form of relationship between the Tangkhul and the Meitei in terms of political alliance and trade relation. Some items of Naga material - culture indicate a long history of contact between the plain and hills. The “Elephant Cloth” (Leirungphi), for instance, resplendent with complex animal designs, worn by the Nagas of Manipur, has its origin in the wish of the ruler of Manipur in the mid-seventeenth to present his Naga allies with a special cloth. The popular Tangkhul shawl “Changkhom” is also known as “Karaophi” in Manipur. The Tangkhul dance (pheichak) was known as “Chingkheirol” in Manipur, from the fact that it came from “Chingkhei” (North East of Imphal).
During the reign of the most powerful Meitei King Pamheiba a.k.a. Garib Nawaz (1709–1748) for the first time, the heartland area of the Tangkhul country was brought under the suzerainty of Manipur. In 1716, the king’s forces invaded the great Tangkhul village of Hundung and sixty eight prisoners were captured. In 1733, the king sent a military expedition to Ukhrul and conquered. The outcome of the expeditions incurred heavy casualty on the King’s forces; the royal chronicles record the death of seventy Meitei soldiers. The defeat of these two big villages situated in the heart of Tangkhul country was landmark in the establishment of the Meitei political hegemony over the Tangkhul hills which started feeling the brunt of the Meitei power. The Ningek inscription of king Garib Nawaz refers to the Khullakpa of Okhrul
