Manipuri of Tibeto-Burmese origin, Manipuri is a combination of seven dialects. The Manipuri language is ancient, but its literature up to practically the 19th century belongs to the folk tradition, though that is rich enough.
Some of the works that are famous are the Kumaba, a royal chronicle; Numit Kappa, a prose work of about the 10th century; Naotinkhon Phambal Kaba of the 16th-17th centuries; Lelthak Lekharol of the 17th century.
Adaptations and translations of Sanskrit classics are also to be found. It was only in the early twentieth century that modern Manipuri poetry began to get a form. Kamal Singh is a noted writer in Manipuri who has composed the poetic work, Le Paren as well as a novel, Madhabt, A.D. Singha is a poet whose outstanding work is Kamsa Badha, an epic.