Shillong, November 14: The ‘Ka Pomblang Nongkrem’ popularly called the “Nongkrem Dance” festival on Thursday attracted thousands of people from various villages including foreign and domestic tourists to the courtyard of the grand Iing Sad to witness the oldest traditional ritual of the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya.
The Nongkrem Dance festival is basically a harvest festival of the Khyrim Syiemship (state) usually held for five days. It is organized every year in the month of November, the Nongkrem dance has been drawing a sea of culture enthusiasts and also shutter bugs from the country and from outside the state as well.
Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma and governor KK Paul were among the dignitaries who also came to witness the festival along with traditional heads.
John, a teenager from Pittsburgh in the US said he could hardly wait to see the queen perform at the courtyard while his friends Catie and Sharmila (from Canada) explained about the significance of the dance and how it is performed, the least that they know from the internet and books available in the market.
The three of them, like many foreign tourists, could not help but let their camera record the longest and the most important traditional harvest festival of the Khasis in the State.
The Nongkrem dance is performed after the fourth day religious ritual gets over. On Wednesday the opening dance (or royal dance) took place at the break of the break.
The young girls from the ‘Syiem’ house actually take part in this maiden dance.
However, on Thursday which is the fifth day of the celebration, young boys dressed up in multi hued silk dhotis, coat and a plumed turban and adorned with sparkling ornaments swayed on to the beats of the drums and to the tunes of the Tangmuri (pipes).
While the maidens, dressed in silk-robes, gold and silver ornaments and a silver crown, danced in the inner circle, the boys and men formed a protective ring around them.
What is unusual about the festival this year was the unavailability of the rice beer for sale. The festival otherwise drew a lot of people every year to buy and taste to the best traditionally prepared fermented rice beer which is usually available during the Nongkrem dance.
The use of rice-beer is a must on every ceremonial and religious occasion of the Khasis, but the Nongkrem dance is one such event when rice beer was usually available for sale.
According to the elders and the volunteers outside the venue, the selling of rice beer was discontinued last year when there were a series of unwanted incidents. – By Our Reporter
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