SHILLONG: Tucked in the misty emerald valleys of Meghalaya is Smit, a village that holds the traditional and ceremonial seat of the Syiem of Hima Khyrim, an ancient Khasi kingdom. On Monday, the village came alive with the rhythmic thuds of the Ksing drum and the distinctive tunes of the Tangmuri pipe as Ka Pomblang Nongkrem, also known as the Nongkrem Dance Festival, concluded at the courtyard of the Iing Sad, a thatched royal palace built without a single nail or metal part.
The five-day annual thanksgiving and religious festival of the Khasi community is observed to appease the goddess Ka Blei Synshar, seeking her blessings for a bountiful harvest and the prosperity of the people. A goat is also sacrificed as an offering to the revered guardian deity U Lei Shyllong, associated with Shillong Peak, from whom the city of Shillong derives its name, as well as to the ancestors and ancestresses of the ruling clan.
The festival follows a strict sequence of ancient rites, with rituals, offerings and blessings performed during the first three days. The fourth day, known as Iewduh Day or Pomblang, sees the sacrifice of the specially selected ‘Lang Nyngokong’, or the first ceremonial goat. The festival culminates on the fifth day with the Shad Nongkrem, where unmarried women adorned in gold, silver and silk, along with men carrying their swords (waitlam) and white yak-tail whisks (sympiah), perform the traditional dance in the courtyard.
The women perform in a slow and dignified manner, moving forward and backward in small, tight circles at the centre, with their eyes downcast. The men, meanwhile, dance with greater energy and vigour, forming an outer circle around the women. They hold a sword in their right hand and a white yak-tail whisk in their left.
The Syiem of Khyrim performs the rituals on behalf of the entire Hima (kingdom), as according to Khasi mythical tradition, the Syiem clan of Khyrim descends from ‘Ka Pah Syntiew’, a divine ancestress and queen in Khasi folklore believed to have been a gift from Lei Shyllong.
The Nongkrem dance this year witnessed the participation of 237 young women in Ka Shad Hinieh and 224 men in Ka Shad Mastieh.
The Syiem of Khyrim, Dr Balajied Syiem, expressed gratitude for the community’s continued ability to uphold its traditions.
“We are thankful that we can still uphold our old traditions. The traditional Khasi rituals are offered every year and today as well. After the dance, we will complete the rituals in the evening,” he said.
Syiem also expressed gratitude to the people of Hima Khyrim for their contributions towards the festival, citing financial constraints. He thanked the Ministry of Tourism and the Meghalaya government for providing annual funds for around 10 years, while expressing hope that the grant would be increased to meet the needs of the time.
“We are hoping that the grant will be increased later on according to the needs of the time. We are hopeful that the Centre will provide us abundant support,” he added.
Deputy chief minister Sniawbhalang Dhar, who was also present at the festival, expressed delight at the active participation of the people and the festival’s continued growth.
“I am very glad to see the people of Nongkrem as a whole and nearby villages who have come forward to celebrate the Shad Nongkrem. It is really wonderful because this festival is growing from year to year,” he said.
Expressing the government’s commitment to supporting the festival, Dhar said it would continue to extend assistance through infrastructure and other means.
“We always listen, we always support in the form of infrastructure and other things because the government always supports all types of denominations. We, the government, are always behind our own people,” he said.
“In Meghalaya, there is one uniqueness: Christians respect non-Christians, and non-Christians respect Christians,” he added.
