Ima Keithel: The World’s Largest Women-Run Market“媽媽集市”——世界上最大的婦女經營集市

At first glance， Ima Keithel is much like any other market. Lines of vendors are here from dusk until dawn， eagerly flogging everything from fresh fruit to fish and fabrics. But after walking through its huge network of more than 5，000 stalls spread across three multi-story buildings and a sea of surrounding tin shacks， one unique aspect becomes hard to ignore： every single trader， without exception， is a woman. “We are just like family， we’re sisters，” says Meilani Chingangbam， a 65-year-old who has been selling religious ritual products like incense and shrine decorations at the market since 2002. “It’s a beautiful place to work. Everyone is trusting and kind.”

乍一看，伊瑪·基塞爾集市和其他集市差不多，一排排攤販從黎明到黃昏在這里熱情兜售著各色商品——從新鮮水果到魚和織物，應有盡有。然而，穿行于三幢樓房和周圍一片鐵皮棚子里總共5000多個攤位之間，你會很快注意到一個特點：所有商販都是女人，無一例外。“我們就像一家人，是姐妹。”65歲的梅拉妮·欽岡巴姆說道，“在這里工作很棒，大家相互信任，都很友善。”她從2002年起就一直在該集市銷售宗教儀式商品，如香和神廟裝飾品。

Ima Keithel， meaning “mother’s market” in the local Meitei language in Imphal， the capital of India’s northeastern state of Manipur， is said to be the largest women-only market in the world. Men can enter the space， but only to buy goods， or to work as porters or guards.

因帕爾是印度東北部的曼尼普爾邦的首府，在當地的曼尼普爾語中，Ima Keithel義為“媽媽集市”，據說這是世界上最大的純女性商販集市。男性也可以進入這片區域，但僅限于采購商品，或是充當搬運工或保安。

During the early morning rush， the scent of eromba， a local dish of mashed potato， bamboo shoots and dried fish chutney， sizzles through the air. In one corner， a group of matriarchs are huddled around discussing problems with delayed deliveries and subpar produce. All the while， women stop by to leave offerings at the shrine of Ima Imoinu， the goddess of wealth and business and the market’s main protector.

清早總是一片忙亂景象，空氣中飄散著“埃隆巴”的氣味，這是當地的一道菜品，由土豆泥、竹筍和魚干酸辣醬制作而成。幾個領頭的婦女聚集在一個角落，協商著關于交貨延遲和產品質量欠佳的問題。而與此同時，女人們在伊瑪·伊莫伊努神龕前駐足，奉上貢品——伊瑪·伊莫伊努是財富與商業女神，也是這個集市的主要守護神。

The crowded aisles are stacked high with all manner of delightful treasures： fragrant pinewood and jade-colored betel nut leaves， handcrafted pottery and bamboo baskets， fine silken blankets and rugs in technicolor1 hues. Filling the spaces in between them are rows of traders wearing vibrant pink， yellow， red and green shawls. “You can get absolutely anything you could dream of here，” says Lina Moirangthem， a local Meitei tour guide. “The market is cheap and right in the heart of the city. The entire state’s economy practically runs thanks to these women.”

擁擠的過道上堆滿了琳瑯滿目的貨品：有香香的松木和翠綠的檳榔葉，有手工制作的陶器和竹籃，還有色彩斑斕的精美絲綢毯子和地毯。過道之間是一排排商販，她們都披著披肩，粉的、黃的、紅的、綠的，很是鮮艷。“你能想到的任何東西，在這兒幾乎都可以買到。”曼尼普爾當地導游莉娜·莫伊朗特姆說，“集市位于市中心，商品都很便宜，這些婦女帶動了整個曼尼普爾邦的經濟。”

Per custom， only women who are married can officially trade in the market， and to gain a space in the official area， a woman must be nominated by a retiring vendor， who will usually choose a successor she is related to like a sister， daughter or cousin. Priya Kharaibam， for example， is the third generation of her family’s pottery traders at Ima Keithel， following on from her grandmother. “I am proud to run the family business，” says the 34-year-old， flanked by a wall of terracotta pots.

按照慣例，只有已婚婦女才能在該集市正式做生意，若要在正規區域有攤位，必須獲得一位準備退休的老商販的指派，而老商販一般會從其親屬中選擇接替者，像是姐妹、女兒或堂表姐妹。比如，普里婭·卡賴巴姆是她家在“媽媽集市”從祖母起的第三代陶器銷售商。“能經營家里的生意，我覺得挺自豪。”這位34歲的婦女說道。她身旁有一堆赤陶罐子。

The creation of Ima Keithel dates back to the 16th century Kangleipak Kingdom， when it began as a makeshift， open-air market for bartering crops. To bolster the war efforts against the neighboring Burmese， in 1533 conscription was made mandatory in Manipur and all men were trained as warriors from a young age to protect the kingdom’s perimeters， which run along the border with Myanmar. It was left， then， for the women to run the city.

“媽媽集市”始于16世紀的康萊帕克王國，起初是一個交換農作物的臨時露天市場。為增強作戰力，抵抗鄰國緬甸，1533年曼尼普爾邦開始強制征兵；所有男性在很小的年紀就被訓練成士兵，去保衛與緬甸接壤的王國邊界地區。于是，維系城市運轉的重任便落在了女性身上。

“The market was run by women of the state in open air，” says Lokendra Arambam， a former scholar of the region’s precolonial period at Manipur University. “It began as an all-female activity of selling fish， vegetables and other economic products.”

“當時曼尼普爾邦的婦女們就在露天市場做生意。” 曾在曼尼普爾大學研究該地區前殖民時期的學者洛肯德拉·阿蘭巴姆說道，“從一開始這里就是純女性集市，她們賣魚、蔬菜，以及其他經濟產品。”

Thanks to Imphal’s easily-accessible， strategic position at the center of Manipur， the city gradually grew to become the economic hub of the region， and the women of Ima Keithel became more and more influential. But beyond the day-to-day business trading and exchange， the hardy matriarchs of Ima Keithel have also played a crucial role in social and political activism in Manipur throughout the 500-year-old history of the market right up to this day. In 1891， for example， the women’s protests forced a backtrack on reforms introduced by the British colonizers that favored external trade over them. In 1939， angered at the British policy of exporting local rice to other parts of India， they confronted the army in what was the Anishuba Nupilan， or Second Women’s War and won.

因帕爾位于曼尼普爾邦的中心，由于其四通八達、具有戰略意義的地理位置，這座城市逐漸發展成為這一片區的經濟中心，而“媽媽集市”的婦女們也越來越有影響力。“媽媽集市”迄今已有500年的歷史，除了日常的商貿活動，這里強勢的女性主事人們在曼尼普爾邦社會和政治活動中也發揮了重要作用。例如在1891年，婦女們發起抗議，迫使英國殖民者撤銷實行更有利于對外貿易而對她們不利的改革方案；1939年，英國殖民政府要把當地大米賣到印度其他地區的政策讓婦女們很是氣憤，于是她們發動“第二次婦女之戰”（Anishuba Nupilan）與軍隊對峙，并最終獲得勝利。

More recently， when the state government announced plans to build a shopping mall on the market’s site in 2003， they organized weeks-long mass strikes， bringing the economy to a standstill and forcing a reversal. Even now， the women hold regular protests to exert influence， and their input has a serious sway on local elections. “There’s a huge strength of women working here，” says Thoudam Ongbi Shanti， president of one of the market’s vendors’ groups. “But we are not extraordinary people， we just want to make ends meet. We want to be responsible mothers.”

最近一次是在2003年，曼尼普爾邦政府宣布計劃在市場原址興建購物中心，她們組織起長達數周的大規模罷工，導致經濟停滯，最終迫使政府撤銷決定。如今，她們仍會定期舉行抗議活動，在有關事情上施加影響力，而她們的訴求常常會對當地的選舉產生重大影響。“在這兒工作的婦女們蘊藏著驚人的力量。”該集市一個商販小組的組長圖達姆·翁格比·尚蒂說，“但我們不是什么超人，我們只是想維持生計，好好養育孩子。”

These days Ima Keithel is a microcosm of Manipur’s egalitarian society. The state has one of the highest female literacy rates in India and it is seen as a pioneer for gender equality across the country. And while the vast majority of Manipur’s population is the local Meitei ethnic group， true to its progressive values the market also houses Hindi women as well as those representing the state’s 33 indigenous groups. Tungdar Makunga， a 50-year-old vendor from the Maring tribe who occupies a spot in a part of the less formal tin-roofed outer area， is among them. “Even though I only started here recently and I’m not officially registered， the other women are very cooperative and friendly，” she says. “They make space for me if I need it.”

如今，“媽媽集市”是曼尼普爾邦平等社會的縮影。曼尼普爾在印度是婦女識字率很高的一個邦，被認為是促進全國性別平等的先驅。雖然曼尼普爾邦大部分人口為當地的曼尼普爾族人，但“媽媽集市”秉承進步開放的價值觀，也接納講印地語的婦女以及代表該邦其他33個本土族群的婦女。50歲的通格達爾·馬昆加便是其中之一，這位女商販來自馬林部落，在集市相對不那么正規的外部鐵皮棚區域有一小塊地方做生意。她說：“雖然我剛來不久，沒有登記注冊，但大家都很友好，愿意幫我，我需要的時候，她們還會為我騰地方。”

Others have used the freedom of the market to break out of traditional social norms. The 80-year-old fabric seller Nongmai Them Khumsonbi says that when she was a newlywed her husband， at the time a low-paid government clerk， opposed her wish to become a trader at the market because he did not believe a woman should work. “He didn’t want me to go out，” she grins. “But I won the argument. And I eventually started earning more than him.”

還有的婦女利用集市給予的自由來擺脫傳統社會規范的束縛。80歲的農邁·特姆·庫姆松比是位布料商，她說剛結婚那會兒，丈夫是個政府職員，收入很低，卻反對她去集市做生意，認為女人不應該工作。“他不愿意讓我出去拋頭露面。”她笑著回憶道，“兩個人爭論好一陣，最后我贏了。結果是我開始掙得比他多。”

Not everything has been a smooth transaction for these women， however. In January 2016， a magnitude-6.7 earthquake sustained serious damage to the market buildings， and it took almost two years to rebuild. Closures that lasted more than a year during the pandemic also took a toll on the livelihoods of the traders. But now business is back in full flow at this pioneering yet centuries-old market of mothers in remote northeastern India， every day a mesmeric mix of vibrant colors， sounds and smells—and the positive effects for the women are priceless.

然而，這些女人們在此做生意也并非事事順利。2016年1月發生的6.7級地震使集市的樓房建筑遭到嚴重損壞，用了差不多兩年時間才重建好。新冠疫情期間，集市關閉一年多，也讓商販們的生計受到打擊。但現如今，在偏遠的印度東北部，這個具有開拓性卻已由母親們經營了幾個世紀的集市上，商業活動已全面恢復，鮮艷的色彩、不同的聲音和氣味每天都在此匯聚，讓人著迷。而最寶貴的是集市對婦女們產生的積極影響。

“I love my work from the heart， I do it passionately，” says Oinam Ongbi Jayela， a 64-year-old tailor and widow. “But it’s not just work. I’m relaxed here. It makes me happy to be with these women. Being here， I feel that I will live for a long time.＂

“我真心喜歡我的工作，干起來充滿熱情。”64歲的寡婦裁縫奧伊納姆·翁格比·賈耶拉說，“但除了工作，還有別的東西。在這里我很放松，和這些女人在一起讓我非常快樂。要是一直在這兒工作，我覺得自己會很長壽呢。”

1 technicolor色彩鮮艷的，艷麗多彩的。