Khasi & Jaintia Hills · Northeast Hill Massif
Festivals
| Festival | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Ka Pomblang Nongkrem | Five days in November, at Smit | The thanksgiving and propitiation rite of Hima Khyrim, held at the Iing Sad at Smit. Goats are offered, the Syiem and the Ka Syiem Sad perform their respective parts, and unmarried women dance in the inner ground while the men circle outside. It is the largest ritual occasion of the Niam Khasi year. |
| Ka Shad Suk Mynsiem | Three days in April, at Weiking ground, Shillong | The dance of the joyful heart — a post-sowing thanksgiving organised by the Seng Khasi, and the most visible indigenous-religion occasion in the city. |
| Behdienkhlam | July, after sowing, at Jowai and Tuber | The Pnar festival whose name means driving out disease — behdien, to drive away, khlam, plague. Men beat the roofs of houses with bamboo poles to expel sickness, tall decorated rot structures are carried through the town, teams push a heavy log into the muddy Aitnar pool, and the wooden-ball game dad-lawakor is played between the two halves of the town. It is the biggest Niamtre occasion of the year and it is emphatically a public event rather than a private rite. |
| Wangala at the western fringe | October–November | The Garo harvest festival is observed in the Lyngngam and western villages where A·chik and Khasi settlement interleave — the one point in the Khasi calendar that belongs to a neighbouring culture. |
| Christmas and the carol season | December | With most of the population Christian, December is the loudest month in the hills. Village and church choirs sing in four parts, carol groups move between houses, and Shillong's music scene turns almost entirely to gospel and choral repertoire for a fortnight. |
| Autumn festival season and the harvest dances | October–November | Village-level thanksgiving dances across the plateau and the Jaintia uplands, most of them tied to a particular hima or clan and not advertised outside it. |
| Shad Beh Sier and the archery meets | Through the dry season | Archery is a formal club activity in the Khasi hills, with daily shoots at the Shillong Polo Ground and matches between village clubs; the shooting is accompanied by phawar and, on formal occasions, by dance. |
The festival calendar of Khasi & Jaintia Hills — what is celebrated, when it falls and what happens. (7)